SHEEP— CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



225 



The best application is oil of turpen- 

 tine, which should be well rubbed over 

 and around the part; while a quarter of 

 an ounce of hartshorn, and four ounces 

 of sweet oil, may be given to the animal, 

 and repeated in half an hour if the part 

 should continue to swell, or the sheep 

 appear to be seriously ill. Some shep- 

 herds, when they suspect an accident of 

 this kind, rub the part well with an onion, 

 and doubtless with considerable effect; 

 the turpentine, however, is more effectual, 

 and should be obtained as speedily as 

 possible. 



SHEEP, Scours in. — In scours, the sur- 

 face evaporates too little of the moisture, 

 and should be relaxed by diffusable stim- 

 ulants in the form of ginger tea. The 

 treatment that we have found the most 

 successful is as follows : take four ounces 

 raw linseed oil, two ounces of lime water ; 

 mix. Let this quantity be given to a 

 sheep on the first appearance of the above 

 disease; half the quantity will suffice for 

 a lamb. Give about a wine glass full of 

 ginger tea at intervals of four hours, or 

 mix a small quantity of ginger in the food. 

 Let the animal be fed on gruel, or mashes 

 of ground meal. If the above treatment 

 fails to arrest the disease, add half a tea- 

 spoonful of powdered bayberry bark. If 

 the extremities are cold, rub them with 

 the tincture of capsicum. 



SHEEP, Foundering. — In this malady, 

 the animal becomes slow in its move- 

 ments ; its walk is characterized by rigid- 

 ity of the muscular system, and, when 

 lying down, requires great efforts in order 

 to rise. 



Causes. — Exposure to sudden changes 

 in temperature, feeding on wet lands, etc. 



Indications of Cure. — To equalize 

 the circulation, invite and maintain action 

 to the external surface, and remove the 

 cause. To fulfill the latter indication, 

 remove the animal to a dry, warm situa- 

 tion. 



The following anti-spasmodic and dia- 

 phoretic will complete the cure : Powdered 

 lady's slipper (cypripedium^) 1 teaspoon- 

 ful. To be given every morning in a 

 pint of warm penny-royal tea. 

 , If the malady does not yield in a few 

 days, take powdered sassafras bark, one 

 teaspoonful; boiling water, one pint; 

 honey, one teaspoonful. Mix, and repeat 

 the dose every other morning. 



J 5 



SHEEP, Age of, How to Tell.— The 

 age of sheep may be known by examining 

 the front teeth. They are eight in num- 

 ber, and appear during the first year, all 

 of a small size. In the second year the 

 two middle ones fall out, and their place 

 is supplied by two new teeth, which are 

 easily distinguished, being of a larger 

 size. In the third year, two other small 

 teeth, one from each side, drop out, and 

 are replaced by two large ones, so that 

 there are now four large teeth in the 

 middle, and two pointed ones on each 

 side. In the fourth year, the large teeth 

 are six in number, and only two small 

 ones remain, one at each end of the 

 range. In the fifth year, the remaining 

 small teeth are lost, and the whole front 

 teeth are large. In the sixth year, the 

 whole begin to be worn; and in the 

 seventh — sometimes sooner — some fall 

 out and are broken. 



SHEEP *AND LAMBS, Care and Man- 

 agement of. — 1. Keep sheep dry under 

 foot with litter. This is even more neces- 

 sary than roofing them. Never let them 

 stand in mud or in snow. 2. Do not 

 starve them during the winter, but by an 

 abundance of food keep them in good 

 condition. A more painful sight than 

 the flocks of many farmers, near the 

 close of the winter, cannot be witnessed. 

 When a farmer has more sheep than he 

 can properly keep or sell, he should kill 

 the surplus when winter sets in, even if he 

 should get nothing from them but the 

 pelts. 3. Furnish an ample supply of 

 water, convenient of access, during the 

 winter months. 4. Always try to avoid 

 letting any of your sheep or lambs have 

 any sudden change of food. 5. Take 

 up lamb bucks early in the summer, and 

 keep them up until the December follow- 

 ing, when they may be turned out. 6. 

 Drop or take out the lowest bars as the 

 sheep enter or leave the yard, thus saving 

 broken limbs. 7. Count every day. 8. 

 Begin feeding grain with the greatest 

 care, and use the smallest quantity at 

 first. 9. If a ewe loses her lamb, milk 

 her daily for a few days, and mix a little 

 alum with her salt. 10. Let no hogs eat 

 with the sheep, by. any means, in the 

 spring. 11. Give lambs a little mill feed 

 in time of weaning. 12. Never frighten 

 sheep if possible to avoid it. 13. Furnish 

 sow rye for weak ones in cold weather, if 



