682 



THE DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF THE OX. 



the lambs to suck at all. This inflammation of the udder is 

 perhaps even more common in the ewe than in the cow. Pro- 

 bably the disorder may be in part brought on by the hardness 

 or dryness of the soil, or by its being wet and dirty, and partly 

 also by the vigorous bumps imparted by the head of the lamb. 

 This malady, garget, may be particularly frequent and destruc- 

 tive in warm and damp seasons, when there is a great abun- 

 dance of grass. In some cases the udder swells rapidly, 

 develops hardened knobs, becomes greatly inflamed, and, unless 

 the progress of the disease is arrested within twenty-four hours, 

 the udder may mortify and the sheep die. 



If an examination be made, one or both teats or the whole 

 of the udder may be found to be red and enlarged and tender, 

 and there may be several tumours on it. The best plan is to 

 clear away the wool, and foment with warm water. A dose of 

 Epsom salts, sa,y about three or four ounces, should be given. 

 A suitable ointment should also be rubbed on the udder, and 

 the dose of salts may be repeated. If the udder enlarges con- 

 tinuously, and the heat and tenderness go on increasing, and the 

 tumours become larger and more numerous, and some begin to 

 soften, a deep incision should be made into that portion of the 

 udder where the swellings are ripest, the matter pressed out,, 

 and the part well fomented with warm water. The ulcers or 

 open tumours may be well bathed twice or thrice a day with 

 a weak solution of chloride of lime or with some other 

 disinfectant liquid, such as lotion of boric acid or of carbolic 

 acid. 



It is generally advisable to separate the lamb from the ewe,. 

 and sometimes it may be possible to put them together again in 

 a few days^ time. The above disease, it should be borne in mind, 

 is liable to come on again, in a ewe which has once suffered, 

 from it, and hence it is advisable that at some convenient time 

 after recovery has taken place the ewe should be fattened with 

 a view to slaughter. 



