PREVENTIVE MEDICINE 371 



preventing the spread of this disease should it be found in a flock. 

 New purchases should not be put on clean pastures until they have 

 been carefully examined, and should be kept in isolation for a 

 month. All fresh arrivals should be put through an anti-foot-rot 

 bath as a precaution. The shepherd, after examining suspected 

 feet, or after dressing diseased feet, should wash his hands in dis- 

 infectant and also disinfect his paring knife before going on to 

 examine non-infected animals. Pastures known to be infected 

 should, if possible, be left vacant for the greater part of the winter. 

 The treatment of contagious foot- rot is best effected by passing 

 the animals through an antiseptic footbath, and, as this same 

 measure is a preventive one, its consideration here is not out of 

 place. 



The Board (now the Ministry) of Agriculture and Fisheries 

 initiated the bath treatment of foot-rot, and the following recom- 

 mendations are taken from their Leaflet.* The bath may be of 

 wood or concrete, it should be 16 feet long and 8 ins. wide with 

 sides sloping outwards, the ends of the bath should be 3 ins. in depth. 

 The side fences should be about 3 feet 6 ins. high and 22 ins. wide 

 at the top. The solution through which the sheep are to walk which 

 has given good results is 1 Ib. copper sulphate in 1 gallon of water, or 

 half this strength if prevention only is aimed at. The copper 

 sulphate must be of good quality and should not be in very large 

 lumps. Badly affected sheep should have their feet dressed before 

 being put through the bath. A day when the grass and soil are 

 dry should be chosen. Sheep should be slowly walked through the 

 bath, and especial care in this respect is necessary with ewes with 

 lamb at foot so that the udder does not get splashed. As copper 

 sulphate or any other effective foot-rot solution is poisonous, the 

 bath should be covered over when not in actual use. 



Various other substances are used instead of copper sulphate, 

 of which the following may be cited : Three ounces of arsenic 

 with three ounces of washing soda boiled in two gallons of water ; 

 one part of commercial sulphuric acid to ten parts of water ; sheep 

 dips are also used. A not uncommon method of dealing with foot- 

 rot is to spread freshly slaked lime in a gateway through which the 

 sheep are slowly walked. Of all the methods in use the copper 

 bath is probably the most effective. Dressing each affected sheep 

 separately and allowing them three hours' rest in a well strawed 

 yard afterwards is a good method. All necrotic and cheesy or 

 broken horn is pared from the foot, and a dressing composed of 

 alum, 1 oz., copper sulphate, 1 oz., and Stockholm tar, 3 oz., is 



* Leaflet, No. 154. 



