172 



DISEASES OF SHEEP. 



Finally, be aware that careful herding is not the leafl 

 efficacious of preventives ; a quiet, even-tempered, au«i 

 thoughtful shepherd, being here of f£ir more value thau 

 the stores of the apothecary. 



(130.) Pining. Sj/mptoms and Causes. The name 

 has arisen from the rapid w^asting, which is a promi- 

 nent symptom in this complaint. A farm can hardly 

 be subject to a more ruinous distemper, as the same 

 sheep will be affected by it year after year, and if a 

 ewe be attacked during autumn it is ten to one she 

 will not have a lamb in the ensuing season. Pining 

 only seizes on thriving sheep, preferring young ones, 

 those more especially of the larger breeds, and is con- 

 fined to farms where the land is principally micaceous 

 and covered with occasional stripes of benty grasses. 

 A whole flock sickens at once, their usual alacrity 

 appears to have deserted them, their eyes are dull, and 

 the whole animal seems weary and languid. At a 

 more advanced stage the wool acquires a bluish tinge, 

 the blood becomes thick, diminishing in quantity, and 

 the muscles assume a pale and bloodless appearance. 

 The bowels are constipated, and to this the feverish 

 symptoms apparently owe their origin. If the disease 

 progress, death will ensue in about a month.* 



(131.) Ti-eatment and Prevention. The first object 

 is to obtain a free discharge from the bowels by means 

 of purgatives, as, whenever a flux appears, the animal i; 



* A gradual wasting of the animal, similar to what occurs in pinmg, 

 may result from the irritation consequent on swallowing pointed bodies, 

 B3 pins or needles. 1 have in my possession a very stout needle, given me 

 by Mr Wilkin of Tinwald Downs, which was foundburied in the coats ol 

 the stomach of a young sheep which died under the above symptoms, 

 haviuij been ill aljout three months. 



