TREATMENT OF LEG EVIL. 



183 



and atmospheric variations, being entirely overlooked; 

 but, as I have already remarked in paragraph (136), the 

 only proof of a disease being contagious, is its spread- 

 ing rapidly on the introduction, from a distance, of an 

 infected individual into a previously-healthy flock. 



Sheep which acquire fat at an early age, are pecu- 

 liarly liable to this disease : a sufficient argument, if all 

 others were wanting, against the unnatural and foolish 

 practice of accumulating a load of grease on the bodies 

 of young animals. By so doing, the action of the heart 

 and lungs is materially embarrassed, and, on the animal 

 being chilled, or the balance of its circulation otherwise 

 accidentally deranged, mortification (leg evil) is almost 

 certain to occur. Even simple scratches are often 

 fatal in these over-fat animals, from inducing gangrene. 



Tlie first intimation the shepherd has of the approach 

 of leg evil, is the occurrence of fever and lameness, 

 accompanied by blue or livid patches on the leg, gene- 

 rally about the ui)i)er part of the hoof or knee. The 

 skin on the affected parts, in a few days, exhibits scat- 

 tered vesicles, not unlike the blebs which form in erysi- 

 I)elas ; it then gives way, and the parts beneath are 

 seen of a darker tinge, soft, pulpy, and completely 

 gangrenous. 



Leg evil may prove fatal in a few days, or not for 

 several weeks, much depending on the extent of the 

 sloughing portions, which may include the entire leg, 

 or legs, or may be limited to a single patch. 



(145.) Treatment of Leg Evil. When the animal 

 is in high condition, and the disease has arisen spon- 

 taneously, bleeding is the first thing to be thought of. 

 It must, however, be conducted cautiously, it being 



