244 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



FOOT EOT m SHEEP. 



Messes. Editors : — I notice Mr. "W. Brown's in- 

 quiry about foot rot in sheep. " 1st Cause :" Soft, 

 s[)ongy land is most generally the cause, but stand- 

 ing iu dirty yards, on their own manure, is some- 

 times the cause. Overstocking is often the cause; 

 the land becomes foul; the sheep only eat the 

 herbage because hunger compels them, and not be- 

 cause they relish it ; this will cause foot rot, scab, 

 and ticks. "Cure:" Pare the diseased feet thor- 

 oughly with a sharp knife. When much diseased, 

 the hoof separates from the sensitive parts, and that 

 part of the hoof must every particle be removed. 

 Then apply a salve composed of pulverized blue 

 vitriol with lard or butter; if in hot weather, it is 

 better to mix a little tar with the salve, to make it 

 more adhesive. The best way to pulverize the vit- 

 riol, is to hang up an iron pot witli a rope or chain, 

 put in a half pound of vitriol, and then a canon 

 ball ; by taking hold of the pot with both hands, 

 and giving it a certain motion, which any man will 

 soon find out, the ball rolls on the vitriol and pul- 

 verizes it, and the finer it is ground the better. 



The whole flock sliould have their feet examined 

 and pared — sound and unsound — paring off" all loose 

 hoof of the unsound, and the salve applied to both 

 sound and unsound. The unsound should be sepa- 

 rated from the sound, and at the expiration of about 

 three days give the unsound another dressing with 

 the salve, examining closely to see that the paring 

 has been effectually done. Go over the sound ones 

 in a week after the first dressing, and give them 

 another dressing with salve between the hoofs, and if 

 none are found ailing they may need no further at- 

 tention, but it is safer to give them two more dress- 

 ings, say ten days to a fortnight apart. The un- 

 sound should be dressed every three or four days 

 for three or four times, when they ought to be 

 cured ; but it is safe to give them a dressing once 

 in two weeks for several times. It requires great 

 vigilance to effect a cure. 



The disease is as contagious as the plagrte. I 

 have seen young lambs, at four days old, walking 

 on their knees to save their sore feet. When the 

 State of New York contained over six millions of 

 sheep, the foot rot prevailed to an alarming extent; 

 but now that the State contains only about three 

 milhons there is very little foot rot, or at least I do 

 not hear much of it. 



If Mr. B.'s land is soft and wet, he will have to 

 reduce his sheep stock or drain liis land, or he wont 

 keep them cured. A hardpan subsoil which comes 

 near the surface is bad for foot rot, because the soil 

 remains long wet after every rain. Shallow surface 

 drains, say about seven inches deep, (they can be 

 made by the plow,) help such land wonderfully for 

 sheep pastures, and in fact on all wet hilly land they 

 do ranch good. The drains should not be straight 

 up and down the hill, but slanting, — the furrow 

 being turned to the lower side, which prevents it 

 from filling up the ditch. Persevere, Mr. B., — 

 study and apply common sense, along with the hints 

 I have now penned, and I know you will succeed. 



Near Geneva, N. Y. JOHN JOHNSTON. 



"The cause of the disease in sheep called Foot- 

 Rot," (inquired for by W. Browx,) is usually con- 

 tagion with infected animals, or with the virulent 

 dischargo from the same. It is sometimes said to 



appear in a mild form, attended with little or no 

 danger, but this is not often the case, and these 

 mild attacks are often followed by those of the se- 

 verest kind. It was first known in Germany, after 

 the introduction of the Merino sheep, and has prob- 

 ably followed them to England and this country. 



Foot-rot first shows itself, says an English writer, 

 in the limping gait of the animal, which gradually 

 increases ; generally commencing with one of the 

 fore feet, afterward both are affected, and at last 

 this lameness exfcends to the hinder feet, with in- 

 creasing bodily weakness. The diseased foot is hot 

 and swollen, and the skin of the coronet is inflamed. 

 An acnd humor exudes, which thickens on expo- 

 sure to the atmosi^Jiere, and . inflames and destroys 

 the surrounding skin, and in time, if neglected, the 

 very foot itself. It oftenest occurs among the finest 

 wooled sheep, and is of a very infectious nature, 

 spreading through an entire flock in a month or 

 two, and often taken by sound sheep from merely 

 passing through pastures or over roads where those 

 infected have recently been driven. 



The cheapest and least troublesome remedy, is 

 that promulgated by Mr. Howland, of Cayuga co., 

 N., Y., through the Albany Cultivator, some twelve 

 years ago. He has used it very successfully, eradi- 

 cating the disease entirely from his large but badly 

 affected flock. It consists in simply mixing flour 

 sulphur with the salt given to the sheep, in a pro- 

 portion just sufficient to discolor perceptibly the 

 salt, or about one twentieth part. They are regu- 

 larly fed with this mixture the season through. In 

 large quantities the material is very cheap, and its 

 administration is attended with but slight trouble. 



An Ohio wool-grower of long and large experi- 

 ence, relates; in one of the early volumes of the 

 Oliio Farmer, his experience in curing foot-rot in 

 sheep. His practice was different from Mr. How- 

 land's, and his success for a long time doubtful; 

 but he at last succeded in eradicating it from his 

 flock. He bought a few over one hundred high- 

 bred, fine- wooled ewes, knowing they had the rot, 

 but thinking to cure it with little difl^culty. With 

 nippers and sharp knives the diseased parts of the 

 hoof were clipped and pared away, as long as any 

 appearance of unsoundness was seen. The feet 

 were then immersed in a solution of blue vitriol 

 and vinegar, as strong as the liquid would dissolve 

 when boiling hot, holding them in long enough for 

 the powerfully corrosive solution to penetrate the 

 foot thoroughly. This was done to every foot, of 

 every sheep, whether they showed signs of disease 

 or not. They also had about half a pound of sul- 

 phur in their salt once in two weeks. This treat- 

 ment was followed up, at intervals of ten days or 

 more, nearly eighteen months, — for though they 

 often appeared to be cured, the disease would break 

 out again with renewed violence. He finally placed 

 those which remained cured for two weeks in a sep- 

 arate enclosure, and hurying the last case, removed 

 the disease entirely. Other remedies might be 

 mentioned, but the above are probably as good a« 

 any, and we will not detain the reader. * 



In the last Farmer I notice the inquiry, " Is the 

 foot rot in sheep contagious?" It is estabhshed 

 among the farmers here that it is, and my own ex- 

 perience in the matter is as follows : — I had a very 

 fine flock of sheep, divided into three lots, or flocks. 

 At the time of washing I was sick and not able to 



