SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 563 



half a pound of arsenic to twelve gallons of water. The sheep should pre- 

 viously be washed in soap and watei". The infusion must not be per- 

 mitted to enter the mouth or nostrils. 



No. 2. — Take common mercurial ointment, for bad cases, rub it own 

 with three times its weight of lard — for ordinary cases, five times its weight 

 of lai'd. Rub a little of this ointment into the head of the sheep. Part the 

 wool so as to expose the skin in a line from the head to the tail, and then 

 apply a little of the ointment with the finger the whole way. Make a sim- 

 ilar furrow and application, on each side, four inches from the first, and so 

 on over the whole body. The quantity of ointment (after being com- 

 pounded with the lard) should not exceed two ounces, and considerably 

 less will generally suffice. A lamb requires but one-third as much as a 

 grown sheep. This will generally cure, but if the sheep should continue 

 to rub itself, a lighter application of the same should be made in ten days. 



No. 3. — Take of lard or palm oil 2 lbs., oil of tar i lb., sulphur 1 lb. — 

 Gradually mix the last two, then rub down the compound with the first. — 

 Apply in the same way as No. 2. 



No. 4. — Take of corrosive sublimate I lb., white hellebore, powdered, ^ 

 lb., whale or other oil 6 gallons, rosin 2 lbs., tallow 2 lbs. " The first two 

 to be mixed with a little of the oil, and the rest being melted too-ether, the 

 whole to be gradually mixed." This is a powerful preparation and must 

 not be applied too freely. 



Mr. Spooner gives the preference to No. 1, as least troublesome ; Mr. 

 Vouatt to No. 2 ; and the author of the Mountain Shepherd's Manual to 

 No. 4. I should certainly prefer No. 3, if it is, as it is asserted to be, 

 equally effectual, for the reason that it contains no poisonous or dano-erous 

 ingredients. 



An erysipelatous scab, or erysipelas, attended with considerable itch- 

 ing, sometimes attacks the English flocks, but I have heard of no cases of 

 it here. This would be classified as a febrile disease. It is treated with 

 a cooling purgative, venesection, and oil or lard applied to the sores. 



Disease of the Biflex Canal. — From the introduction of foreign bod- 

 ies into the biflex canal, or from other causes, it occasionally becomes the 

 seat of inflammation. This is sometimes confounded with the hoof-ail, 

 but the diseases are entirely distinct and different from each other. In- 

 flammation of the biflex canal causes an enlargement and redness of the 

 pastern, particularly ^bout the external orifice of the canal. The toes are 

 thrown wide apart by the tumor. I never have known it to attack more 

 than one foot, and never have allowed it to go to the point of ulceration, 

 which it is said to do if neglected. There is none of that soreness and 

 disorganization between the back part of the toes — and none of that pecu- 

 liar fetor which distinguishes the hoof-ail. I never have found it anything 

 like so serious a disease as it is described to be by the English veterina- 

 rians. 



Treatment. — I have always scarified the coronet, making one or two 

 deeper incisions in the principal swelling around the mouth of the canal 

 — covered the foot with tar — and paid no more attention to it. 



Hoof- Ail. — The first symptom of this troublesome malady, which is or- 

 dinarily noticed, is a lameness of one or both of the fore feet. But on daily 

 examining the feet of a flock which have the disease among them, it will be 

 readily seen that the lesions manifest themselves for several days before 

 they ai-e followed v/ith lameness. Scarcely any Enslish writer whom I 



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