DISEASES OF THE OX AND SHEEP. 203 



safe to take healthy sheep to pastures which have recently been 

 used for diseased sheep, since the discharge which is poured out 

 from the suppurating claws gets on to the grass, and from this 

 is communicated to the hoofs of healthy sheep. The malady is 

 very easily transmitted from sheep to sheep. Hence public 

 washing-pens are dangerous, especially if not in the course of a 

 running stream, since sheep may from them easily contract the 

 disease, or, indeed, other disorders such as scabies. If the 

 disease is properly taken in hand without delay, the loss ought 

 not to be great. Foot-rot may, however, exist in a flock for 

 years, if it is neglected, and thereby serious loss may ensue, not 

 to speak of great suifering on the part of the sheep. More- 

 over, one attack of this disease by no means confers immunity 

 for the future. 



In regard to prevention, in the first place we may insist upon 

 the advisability of thoroughly draining the land. Shepherds 

 ought to keep an eye to the hoofs of their sheep, and, if neces- 

 sary, they may occasionally pare them, so that they will not 

 readily split. Sheds used for sheep ought to be sprinkled over 

 with lime. Pastures should not be overstocked. Sheep ought not 

 to be allowed to be taken from infected districts to others which 

 are free from the disease, and those which have been recently 

 purchased ought to be kept in quarantine for about a fortnight 

 before they are put into contact with other sheep. If any 

 become lame, they should be isolated ; and those which have 

 been in contiguity with the lame sheep should be watched for 

 some time, especially if they manifest heat and more sensitivity 

 of the foot than usual, or an exudation in the interval between 

 the claws. The healthy sheep should not go near the diseased 

 sheep, or those which are suspected, nor should they travel by 

 the same roads, nor eat nor drink at the same places. They 

 ought to be examined every now and again for a week, and any 

 which are suspected to be diseased should be isolated. 



It is a wise precaution to make all the sheep, whether healthy 

 or not, pass through a trough containing, to a depth of 4 in. or 

 more, a solution made by dissolving 1 lb. of chloride of lime 

 in every bucket of rainwater. This trough may be placed in 

 such a position that the sheep pass through it once or twice 

 each day. After the disease has been cured, all the manure should 

 be taken away from the sheepfold,^ the floor of which should 



