1838] 



FARMERS' R E G I S 1' E K . 



635 



As poverty ol'kcep is the primary cause of this ma- 

 lady, the animals must l)e allowed the host and 

 most wholesome dry food, and should be carelUlly 

 kept from wet. 



fVnunds.— Besides the various casualties above 

 specified, sheep are liable to receive injuries li-om 

 being wounded liy thorns, &o., or worrieti, torn, or 

 bitten bv misehievous doers, or such as are not 

 thor.iui^hly broken in. Alihoiifrh sucii accidents 

 mav be in ireneral prevented by due care and at- 

 tention, yet in cases ol" common <j;reen wounds it 

 may be necessary to apply some healing or emuUi- 

 ent balsam or salve, like the Ibllovvinji: : — 



Let one ouirce of myrrh, a similar quantity of Soco- 

 trine aloes, and four ounces of purified turpentine, be 

 mixed with a quart of Kood brandy. The vessel 

 should be corked up, and exposed for one or two 

 weeks to a moderate heat, alter which it may be 

 strained otf, and preserved for future use in a closely- 

 stopped bottle. 



Lastly, the shepherd ought frequently to exa- 

 mine his flock, and see that their tails and buttocks 

 be kept perltjctly clean, otherwise they will be- 

 come tagged, or belted ; i. e., the skin will become 

 excoriated and sore from the dung that adheres to 

 those parts, especially when the animals are af- 

 fected with the flux, or white scour. Where this 

 is the case, the sheep must be taken into a dry, se- 

 parate yard, and well washed with soapsuds, the 

 wool around the seres being previously removed ; 

 after which the wounded parts may be strewed 

 with finely-pulverized white lead, or chalk, and 

 this may be succeeded by rubbing them with 

 a mixture of brandy and tar ; but cleanliness alone 

 will be quite sufficient to effect a cure. 



Oa the diseases of lambs. 



It sometimes happens that lambs, when yeaned, 

 are apparently liteless, in which case it will be pro- 

 per to blow into the mouth and nostrils ; a simple 

 expedient, which has been the means of restoring 

 multitudes of those useful animals. 



The Black-water is one of the most fatal mala- 

 dies to which lambs are subject; the cause is not 

 precisely ascertained; but the disease carries Ihem 

 off very suddenly, and occurs chiefly in the au- 

 tumnal quarter. The best preventive hitherto 

 known is, to keep them on very dry pastures. 



The blond, or red-water, likewise often proves 

 a mortal distemper to lambs. Its symptoms are 

 ■lameness and a slight swellinir of the joints, 

 accompanied with a violent inflammation that 

 spreads over the whole animal; and which, if 

 disregarded, terminates its existence in the course 

 of twenty-lour hours. This disorder is produced 

 by too great a quantity of food remaining in the 

 stomach, in a crude and undigested state. As 

 soon, therefore, as the disease appears, the lambs 

 must be taken home from grass, be bled, and an 

 emollient clyster administered. An ounce or two 

 of castor oil, or as many grains of emetic tartar, 

 should next be given, and the bleeding repeated, 

 if no favorable symptoms appear, the treatment 

 above specified being continued ibr lour, five, or 

 six days, as the case may require; and, during 

 that term, the lamb should be fed with milk. 



The skit is a kind of scour, or diarrhfjea, an^l ie 

 sometimes divided into green, and white, accord- 

 ing to the appearance of the dung. Give a de- 

 coction of hartshorn-shavings and finely scraped 

 chalk, in which a lew grains of opium have been 



dissolved, and keep them on dry, wholesome food, 

 in a well sheltered yard. 



On the diseases incident to swine. 



In the management of swine, various hints have 

 already been given lor the regular supplying them 

 with food, and a due regard to cleanliness; iheije 

 attentions cannot be too forcibly impressed, as on 

 account of the unruly habits of tflose animals, 

 they are the worst patients with whicli a farmer 

 can be tormented. 



Gar gut, or Garget. — This is an inflammatory 

 aflection of the udder, or bag, being distended 

 with coagulated milk, whence the lacteal ducts are 

 obstructed. It is chiefly occasioned by not suck- 

 ing down in proper time; though too rich keep, 

 belbre the time of liirrowing, will also produce 

 this malady. In slight cases, the udders may be 

 bathed with camphorated spirit of wine; but as 

 young pigs will never suck their dams when the 

 milk becomes vitiated, there is no alternative but 

 gently to express the corrupted milk, if it can be 

 effected ; otherwise it will be best to kill the sow, 

 which must necessarily perish from the inatten- 

 tion above noticed. Garget of the maw is merely 

 a distended state of the stomach and intestines, 

 from over-eating, and retained dung. Give one 

 or two drachms of jalap; and repeat if necessary, 

 adminisering at the same time a clyster of warm 

 water and common salt. 



Fever, or rising of the lights, as it is likewise 

 called, appears to originate from over-feeding; it 

 may be removed by administering a mixture of 

 sulphur and oil. 



I)iseasesof the lungs. — These are generally ac- 

 companied with a dry, husky cough, and wasting 

 of the flesh, occasioned by too great exposure (o 

 cold and wet. The best remedy is a warm, dry 

 sty, with a regular supply of food that is calcula- 

 ted to keep them cool, and allay the irritation at- 

 tendant on their cough. 



The mange, like the scab in sheep, is a cutane- 

 ous eruption, occasioned by inattention to cleanli- 

 ness in hog-sties. It is easily known by the vio- 

 lent rubbing of the swine against trees, or any 

 hard substance, with such violence as to tear 

 away the head of the pustule, and to produce a 

 disagreeable scab. When this disease appears, 

 the animal affected must be be separated from the 

 rest of the herd, washed thorouehly with a strong 

 soap ley. and anointed with the following unguent, 

 recommended by Dr. Norfbrd*. 



Incorporate one ounce of fine flour of sulphur, two 

 drachms of fresh-pulverized wliite hellebore, three 

 ounces of ho^'s-lard, and half an ounce of the water of 

 kali, (as prepared in the shops,) so as to form an oint- 

 ment. 



This is to be rubbed in at one time; and is said 

 to be sufficient for a breast of six or seven stone; 

 if properly applied. Dr. N. states that no repeti- 

 tion will be necessary, if the hog be kepi perfect- 

 ly clean after the cure is performed. In case there 

 i^i slight cough, he directs ii-om half an ounce to, 

 one ounce and a half of crude antimony, accord- 

 ir;g to the size of each animal, to be finely pul- 

 verized and mixed with his daily food, for ten days 

 or a fortnight, when the swine will be perfectly 

 restored. We should, however, doubt the pro- 

 priety of giving this medicine. If, from long 



* Annals of Aerric. vol. XV. 



