120 THE DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF THE OX. 



frequent; and although it may be observed that many of the risks 

 and dangers rather point to the necessity of prevention than to 

 that of cure, still a knowledge of the causes of loss and damage 

 is of primary moment, not only in so far as it bears upon the 

 question of prevention, but also inasmuch as it must and does 

 facilitate acquisition of an acquaintance with good and reliable 

 methods of treatment. 



The subject now being entered upon has not as yet been 

 thoroughly worked out. It is true that some of the most usual 

 and best known disorders of sheep, such, for instance, as ver- 

 minous bronchitis, sheep-rot, sheep-scab, small-pox of sheep 

 {variola ovina), rheumatic arthritis (a disease which at times 

 seems to assume a peculiar epizootic form, the sheep hobbling 

 about with swollen hock and knee-joints, from which a greenish 

 fluid exudes if the joints are opened), braxy (in many cases iden- 

 tical with anthrax), the mild form of cattle plague which occurred 

 in English sheep at the time of the grave outbreak among oxen 

 in this country, foot-and-mouth disease of sheep, and other ovine 

 diseases are fairly well understood by specialists. But there are 

 other maladies with which the sheep is liable to be afflicted which 

 are not yet perfectly comprehended in regard to their origin and 

 the best means of prevention and cure. A great deal remains 

 unknown, and it is of paramount importance that connections 

 betwixt the diseases of sheep and those of other animals should 

 be well and carefully learnt. With respect to the more common 

 complaints, it may be said that they are very similar to those 

 which occur in oxen, and that similar lines of treatment, but 

 with much smaller doses, are often indicated. The digestive 

 system being similarly constituted, and the sheep feeding on 

 similar food, the derangements of the alimentary mechanism are 

 also similar. For instance, should the rumen be. found to be 

 engorged, a skilful veterinary surgeon may perform the operation 

 of rumenotomy in the sheep, as also in the case of the ox. 



The sheep, like the ox, when debilitated, is, of course, very 

 frequently consigned to the butcher, and hence the advice of the 

 veterinarian in regard to what should be done must, as in the 

 case of oxen, be always given with this alternative very clearly 

 in view. Moreover the sheep, being necessarily a much less 

 valuable animal than an ox, in the general way cannot be treated 

 with the same degree of attention. It is very seldom that the 



