GENERAL FEATURES IN SHEEP MANAGEMENT. 183 



heavy pasture land it may be for a shorter time, provided the sheep 

 have been numerous, and a considerable number have been affected 

 by ailments caused by organisms which give rise to some of the 

 common, but very deadly, diseases to which sheep are heir. These, 

 generally, are in the form of worms, or in a stage which, after 

 entering the sheep, will develop into them ; though there are 

 others such as are conveyed by other means, as through ticks 

 and keds, which enter as specific diseases through inoculation. 

 These and their treatment are dealt with in detail in another 

 chapter ; but the importance of over-stocking cannot be too 

 strongly impressed. Flock owners have, through long ages, 

 recognised that if they sheeped their land too heavily they would 

 be subject to great losses. They knew their land would become 

 sheep sick, but they were not familiar with the organisms causing 

 them, and which the microscope and closer observation have 

 revealed. It is unfortunate that at present remedies have not 

 been found for some of the most deadly diseases, and it is to be 

 hoped that the extensive research work being carried out will 

 shortly supply serviceable remedies and means of prevention. 

 Good progress has been made, and if it rested only where the 

 recognition of the diseases and their causes reaches, much good 

 would have been done ; because already much that was obscure 

 in sheep management has been made clear, and practices which 

 were harmful have been stopped. Ordinarily, it may be said 

 that sheep on pasture suffer less from stale keep than do those 

 on artificially raised crops or arable land ; but that there is greater 

 liability to sheep sickness on grass land because many of the 

 diseases on arable land are greatly kept in check by the burial 

 of organisms to a depth at which they cease to live, and because 

 through repeated working of the land in fine, dry weather, they 

 are denied the moisture which is essential to their existence. The 

 thorough draining of arable land has made it healthier ; but grass 

 land has been far less subjected to draining. The healthiness of 

 the sheep on the light, chalk soils is well known, and no land carries 

 such a heavy stock ; heavy, wet pasture land, if stocked nearly 

 as heavily, would soon become sheep sick. 



Driving Sheep Slowly. Sheep should always be driven slowly, 

 though light, mountain sheep seem to defy this axiom. The heavier 

 breeds, however, are usually fed at higher pressure, and suffer 

 when unduly rushed. It is particularly necessary not to wash 

 or dip sheep directly they have had hard exercise and are heated ; 

 they should be well rested and be allowed to cool down ; moreover, 

 they should not be shorn when the bellies are full they should 

 have a partial fast previously. 



Ear-Marking. It is desirable to mark the sheep in a permanent 

 manner, and wool marking by means of a pitch brand does not 



