1S38] 



FARiMERS' REGISTER. 



fess 



arreat number of yeiirs ; every obs;'rvation of his is, 

 tiiert'lbro. eiiiitleil to part'cular attention. 



" I liave remarked, that sheep are. most liable to 

 rot immediately afior losinir their fleeces ; and in 

 the momh of November, when the cold first be- 

 gins. No rot can be contracted without warmth, 

 "or in spritt,<r, belbre the sun's influence is become 

 considerable ; but, when the disposition is once ac- 

 quired, it can only be subdued bv f)-o.«t, or a long 

 succession of cold weather. Gabriel Plats as- 

 sures us. with confidence, derived from the expe- 

 rience of seventy-lour vears, that the only infecti- 

 ous monihs that beijret the ijreat rot are May and 

 June, wh.°n excessive moistures befall those 

 months. In a few instances, it has appeared 

 in April, when showery weal her and rjreat heats 

 have prevailed. In ordinary year.-^-, meadow may 

 be irrjirafed till Mav, without any injury to the oc- 

 cupier. In doubltui cases, theijeneration of mias- 

 ma will be efFccfually restrained, by continuing a 

 copious and retraljir watering till the grass is 

 well grown. The late Mr. Bakew^ill was of opi- 

 nion, that afier May-dav he could communicate 

 the rot at pleasuCe, by flooding, and afterwards 

 siockiuiT his closes, while they were drenched and 

 saturated with moisjure. In summer, rivers and 

 brooks are often suddenly swollen by thunder- 

 storms, so as to pass over their banks, and cover 

 the adjacent low lands. In this state no injury is 

 sustained during the inundation ; but when the 

 water returns to its former channel, copious exha- 

 lations are produced fi'om the swamps and low 

 lands, which are exceedinixly dangerous to-the hu- 

 man consiiiution, smd to several other animals as 

 well as sheep. I formerlv^ mentioned, that during 

 the summer, Mr. Harrison could give the rot 

 to his sheep in a few minutes, bv grazing them 

 upon the moist sofl land, from which the water of 

 the Barling's had just retired. While there is any 

 current, the sheep will never become tainted, aj- 

 thoufrh they often wade in search of their food. 



" Whrn miasmata are once formed, they pre- 

 serve their noxious powers and destructive influ- 

 ence unimpaired, till the cold weather puts an end 

 to their force and activity. In mild seasons, epide- 

 mic diseases have been known to afflict the hu- 

 man constitution, durinn the greatest part of win- 

 ter ; and the pastures which have once become un- 

 sound, are only to be recovered by the setting in of 

 frost, or a succession of cold days and nijrhls. 



"The autumn and winter "of 1799 and ISOO 

 were remarkably mild and warm At Candlemas 

 time, sheep that were pasturing on the fen and 

 commons at VValshinbroufrh, near Lincoln, took 

 the rot, and died in the f iliowing autumn. No 

 farmer in that parish recollected to have suffered, 

 a' any other time, from the rot in spring. Mr. 

 Thompson, of Horncastle, informs me, that many 

 3'ears since, his brother occupied a low, wet close 

 in the parish of Hatton, and lost all his sheep, be- 

 fore winter, of the rot. From that time the land 

 remained unemployed till about Candlemas. It 

 was then filled wiih strono-, healthy sheep ; but 

 Ihey were all rotten, and many of them dead 

 before the following May-day. He recollects. 

 that there was very little frost durino; that winter, 

 and, consequently, the effluvia were kept alive by 

 the abundance of the herbage. Plats gives it for 

 an infallible symptom, that when bees fail, and 

 their hives feel light, a great rot of sheep is to be 

 expected ; which gives a very seasonable warning 

 Vol. V-80 



to bleed the sheep under the eye, or in the mouth, 

 as oft as they see occasion, in the end of summer, 

 or in autumn ; or to accustom those which are sus- 

 pected, to lick salt in troughs, or to take some 

 brine with dry food, as they may be easily trained 

 to it by gentle degrees ; or to force down a dose of 

 salt, as is directed. 



" Where iiecessify requires the pasturage of 

 moist grounds in summer or autuum, the shep- 

 herd ought carefully to remove his Hock into a dry 

 situatioii ticffire the evening, and provide them 

 with corn and good hay, or green Ibod." 



Upon the whole, from whatever cause the rol 

 mav proceed, it is evident, that the chief thing on 

 which the liirmer can depend is, that of changing 

 the situation of the sheep to a dry spot, or 

 of keeping them in warm and well-sheltered 

 yards, and regularly giving them sweet, dry keep; 

 If medicine be necessary, let a ball be given daily, 

 lor a fortnight, composed of five grains of muri- 

 ated quicksilver, and one gram of opium, in cam- 

 phor or turpentine ; increasing the proportions, 

 if the operation be deficient, and with slight inter- 

 vals, if the balls operate too powerfully. When 

 the sheep begin to recover, salt should be con- 

 stantly given them with dry food ; and, when 

 they "are turned out, they should be driven _td 

 a dry, salubrious, and elevated sheep-walk, or in- 

 to a'salt-marsh, if there be one in the vicinity. 



The Rubbers, or Hubs, is a species of itchj 

 which renders sheep extremely restless, and in 

 consequence of which they rub themselves to 

 death, beinfr completely, but gradually, exhausted, 

 from not being able to leed. Their skins are per- 

 fectly clean ; and, when dead, their flesh becomes 

 of a greenish hue, without possessing any bad 

 taste. Those animals which are fed on fine, rich 

 soils, are more liable to the rubbers than those 

 which are pastured on poor lands ; and the dis- 

 ease usually terminates in the course of three 

 or four months. No eflectual remedy has been 

 hitherto discovered ; though it is probable that 

 relief misht be obtained by washing the diseased 

 sheep withslrong soap-suds or ley, or by recurring 

 to the remedies employed for the scab. 



Scab. — This disease is likewise known by the 

 name of shab, or ray, and is attended with an in- 

 tense itchincf, and cutaneous, scabby eruptions, 

 occasioned by the impure state of the blood, it 

 prevails chiefly in wet situations, and during rainy 

 seasons; and as the scab is said to be infectious, 

 the diseased animals ou<rht, in every case, to be se- 

 parated from the rest of the flock. 



The scabbed sheep should next be washed 

 with a stonff decoction of tobacco in brine, (in the 

 proportion of one pound to two gallons,) to which a 

 little oil of turpentine has been added ; or, in inve- 

 terate cases, with a lather of black-soap, lime-wa- 

 ter, or sublimate-water, and oil of turpentine ; sul- 

 phur and bay-salt, or Glauber's salt, being admi- 

 nistered internally. The following preparation has 

 also been found effectual : — 



Mix one pound of tobacco, one ounce of wfiite arse- 

 nic, one pint of oil of turpentine, o.nd six quarts oi beef 

 brine, with a small quantity of tar, and boil the whole 

 fill the ingredients become incorporated so as to form a 

 liniment. 



In applying which, everj' scab must be broken; 

 and the sheep be well rubbed, that the liquid may 

 penetrate every part. Another efficacious remedy 



