J<^EW ENGLAND FARMER. 



1>II|JL1SH1-1) r.Y NMI.l.lAM MCIIOI.S, ROGKItS' lil'lLllI.NCS. CONCljF.SS STREET, (KOURTH DOOR fROM STATC^TREET.)" 



Vol. II. 



BOSTON. SATURDAY, JULY 10, 1824. 



No. .00. 



VOR THK NEIV KMiLANU FARMKR. 



ESSAY ON SHEEP. 



BY H. n. GROVE. 

 [Conchuled from page 38G.] 

 Oil the disorders of Sheep. 

 Almost all the disorders which attack shenp 

 re caused by the want, and scldnm or never by 

 le excess of activity in tlie vital organs. Tlie 

 erves are very susceptible, but seldom act witii 

 reat force — and whenever they are powerlul- 

 excited, this excitement soon passes ofi' and 

 aves (lie animal extremely weak. It follows 

 om this that most of the means required for 

 le cure of diseases among- sheep should be cal- 

 jjated rather to excite than to allay the activi- 

 of the functions of life — a few of the most 

 tnimon diseases among sheep desei ve to be par- 

 :ularly noticed. 



The Ret 

 Exhibits itself scarcely at all externally. The 

 ood loses its high colour and tendency to co- 

 pulate and becomes watery. The first percep- 

 ale symptom therefore is the loss of the bright 

 d appearance about the eyes: the lips and iti- 

 ile of the mouth also become pale, as well as 



!e sliin generally under the wool. The ani- 

 \] continues to teed well and does not grow 

 jl or, although the natural vivacity is diminish- 

 11 and soire signs of iveakness occur. 



I The disease commonly gains strength in Ihe 

 inter. Watery swellings arc formed, particii- 



1 ly under the chin, which nre often absorbed; 

 \\i then reappear. Scon ;»fler these the :ni- 

 <|l generally dies witliout showing any sy.np- 



Ins of violent pain. Ewes attacked by this 



I I ease die most commonly about the tine oi 

 I'ppingtheir lambs. Tlie body on opening 

 iiibits copious collections of water aboit the 

 l;st and entrails, the blood is extreniel/ pale 



I well as the flesh. This disorder is tnques- 

 I liably caused by leeding in swampy grounds, 

 Ml a few hours are sufficient to fix it iipon a 

 l|ep. It is increased by damp, foggy wealh( r, 

 ' ile on the other hand, dry warm weather 

 I I high pasture, especially where there are 

 n}' aromatic herbs, are sonietiuies sufficient 

 counteract the lir<l symptoms and elTcct a 

 e. This disorder,boivever, when it hasrcach- 

 uch a point- that a common observer may 

 ice the symptoms, is probably iucurilie. At 

 ery eariy stage a cure is possible ii' the flock 

 ept carefully on high land wliere aromatic 

 I I'S are abundant and particularly among ju- 

 r bushes, and in bad weather carefully 

 ed and well fed. Horse chipsnuls are an 

 client article for fodder in this case also a 

 lure of juniper berries, wormwood, sage, 

 ' Jtinn, angelica roots, willow bark and other- 

 er herbs with a lidle salt and grain which 

 y will eat of their own accrrd, or if not, it 

 dd be administered in small quantities in the 

 •ning before they are drive'.i to pasture. li 

 -1 rot makes its appearance in a decided man- 

 before the winter sets in, it is useless to al- 

 pt any ihing more tha.T to latten the animal 

 oon as may be and sell him to the butcher. 

 ' ; rot certainly is not infectious, and it very 



often occurs that only a few sheep aie^allacked^l of vitriol, and used constantly for son.7 time. 

 „...) 11., : u :r ,^,j|| g.gne^,||y gg^(,j,j 3 radical cure ; nnolher ex- 



cellent remedy is a decoction of hellebore mix- 

 ed-with vinegar, sulphur, and spirits of turpen- 

 tine. Internal remedies are of no u»e except 

 when the disorder has induced other complaints 

 by weakening the general health 

 Tlie Sheep-Pox. 

 This disorder is contagious :<nd propagates it- 

 self by exhalation from Ihe sick to the healthy 

 animal, but it has not yet been discovered how 

 far these exhalations may extend. If, however, 

 it appears in a neighboring flock, care should be 

 taken to mitigate its efi'ecfs by a g€neral and 

 careful inoculation, since it is certain that the 

 disorder is less violent if taken by inoculation 

 than in the natural way. The operation is per- 

 fectly simple and easy. The animal is laid on 

 its back and held by two or three men while 

 the operator introduces the matter, from a pus- 

 tule five or six days old, in two or three places 

 between the legs or on t*e tail. The laacet 

 should be introduced in a slanting direction un- 

 der the skin about an eighth of an inch, and 

 when it is withdrawn, the skin should be pres- 

 sed down upon it so as to wipe off the matter 

 and leave it in the wound. A pustule is form- 

 ed generally in four days, and reaches its great- 

 est size on the sixth, when a few others gene- 

 rally appear near the first. 



Soon after this the usual symptoms of fever 

 and genera! eruption take place, which last is, 

 however, .ncrs regular and safe than if the ani- 

 mal had taken Ihe disease without inoculation. 

 The only care necessary during the progress 

 of the disonler is to keep the sheep in a cool 

 and airy situation. Internal remedies are not 

 required, but the sores should be often washed 

 with a strong infusion of camomile flowers in 

 which a little blue vitriol has been previously 

 dissolved, and afterwards dressed with a salve 

 made of yolks of eggs and turpentine, mixed 

 with a little powdered charcoal. 



The Reeling Sickness 

 h never infectious, hut generally incurable. 

 Its first symptoms are * weakness in the gait 

 and a disposition in the animal affected to re- 

 main separate from the flock. The head is 

 thrown into an unnatural posture, generally on 

 one side. The animal then begins to turn 

 round, always in one direction, — stumbles and 

 falls repeatedly, sometimes with the head under 

 the body, then ceases to feed and soon dies. 



Lambs and yearlings only are usually liable 

 to this disorder, and very rarely sheep over 

 two years old. The seat of the disorder is al- 

 ways to be discovered on the brain where one or 

 more blisters are formed and filled with a wate- 

 ry secretion. 



The origin of this complaint, and of course 

 Ihe proper preventive treatment, remain as yet 

 undiscovered. A cure is .sometimes effected by 

 an operation through the skull to let ofl the wa- 

 ter. 



The first step in this case is to examine the 



in large (locks; and generally in such cases, if 

 the shepherd is iiouost, the disease mav he trac- 

 ed ill every case to some swamp or other wet 

 place where these particular sheep may have 

 strayed. 



The Mouth and Hoof Distemper. 

 These com|ilaii)ls seem to hsvo a mutual con- 

 nection since the former, which is Ihe mildest, 

 very often precedes the latter. In the mouth 

 the principal evil to be feared is that the sheep 

 become emaciated from the inability to eat. 

 The best remedy is to bathe the part affected 

 with a strong decoction of sage, mixed with an 

 equal quantity of vinegar and a little honey. 

 If the blisters contifiue to spread, half an ounce 

 of blue vitriol should be added to a quart of this 

 mixture. The disorder in the hoofs is soon dis- 

 covered by lameness and if this is evidently not 

 produced by any external injury, and especially 

 i several sheep in a flock are attacked at the 

 iame time, great care should be taken to obvi- 

 ate the effects of this disorder. The best reme- 

 ■Jy is a poultice of dough or fat loamy clay 

 ivhich should he applied to the foot by means of 

 I little bag, but not tied hard to the ancle, and 

 cept constantly wet with vinegar, till a swel- 

 ing appears on the upper side of tlie foot or in 

 he cleft of the hoof. This should then be open- 

 ed with a sharp knife and the dead hoof pared 

 )ff. The wound must be washed with cold wa- 

 er and sjirinkled with dry vitriol. The lame 

 jnimals should remain carefully separated Ironi 

 the sound ones, and the washing and sprinkling 

 with vitriol repeated till the cure is effected 

 This disease is not only contagious but also in- 

 fectious in Ihe highest degree and oftentimes so 

 violent as to produce caries in the bone after 

 the hoof is destroyed. 



The Itch or Scab. 



This disorder is dreaded more than any other, 

 and did in fact more damage in many districts 

 than any other, until the proper mode of treat- 

 ment was discovered. The scab is certainly 

 contagious and may readily be propagated by 

 merely touching the skin of a healthy animal 

 with matter from a pustule on another sheep — 

 but as far as my observation has extended the 

 infection is not conveyed through the atmos- 

 phere, thongh it often seems to he epidemic, and 

 particularly in very damp summers which afiect 

 sheep in many other ways so unfavourablv. 



It is discovered by the animal's conslantly 

 rubbing or scratching itself and making at Ihe 

 saiae time a peculiar motion with the lips the 

 scabs are sometimes dry and sometimes moist, 

 and spread very rapidly, though the animal con- 

 tiiiuej healthy in other respects, and generally 

 more lively than before. Afterwards however 

 the disorder beconies internal, the sheep be- 

 comes emaciated and dies from weakness and 

 pain. If the scab is observed at an early peri- 

 od it may be easily cured or at lea=t prevented 

 from spreading. One of the best remedies is a 

 strong decoction of tobacco to be applied to the 



liseased parts, after scratching off the scalis! skull carefully, in search of a soft spot in Ihe 

 with a comb or other instrument. The decoc- bone which usually indicates the spot affrcted. 

 (ion of tobacco mixed with lime wate^ and oil I The skull is then perfoiated with a trocar, act 



