REARING AND -DEEDING OF ANIMALS. 337 



vessel like a teapot with a spout, or^lttvm a bottle with a quill passed through 

 the cork. A person lays the wool back in lines so as to expose the skin, and 

 pours out the liquid along the lines upon the skin. But when the distemper is 

 very violent, a mercurial preparation may be required. This is now to be ob- 

 tained in apothecaries' shops under the name of sheep-ointmejit. It is made 

 in balls, and when used is dissolved in oil, and applied to the skin of the 

 animal. 



Sometimes infected sheep will find their way into the best managed flocks; 

 but every care must be taken to keep the disease from breaking out, or to cure 

 it as quickly as possible when it appears. The infection of a diseased flock is 

 left behind it upon the hedges tnd pasture-fields, and therefore precaution is to 

 l>e used before a fresh flock is turned into fields where infected sheep had been 

 re-ently feeding. 



Another disease of sheep is the foot-rot, which is an inflammation of the 

 foot, followed by an ulceration and destruction of the hoof. The disease chiefly 

 prevails in wet seasons, or in soft grounds. It is a very painful disease, causing 

 the entire lameness and loss of condition of the animal. Certain grounds are 

 noted for communicating the foot-rot; and as it appears amongst the pasturing 

 -ason after season, such grounds are commonly said to be infected with 

 the foot-rot. The opinion that it is of a highly infectious nature is universal 

 amongst farmers and shepherds. But however circumstances may seem to 

 favour this opinion, some have conceived that it is more consistent with effects 

 observed to regard it as connected with the state of the pasture-grounds. Yet 

 it is dillicult to resist the evidence, that, having been produced, it is conveyed 

 to others of the flock by contact with the ulcerous matter of the diseased foot. 



Although painful and destructive to the good condition of the animal, this 

 diM-u>e is not absolutely fatal, except under entire neglect, in which case the 

 animal becomes unable to seek his food, crawls upon his knees, and, worn 

 away by exhaustion, perishes. But if early attention In- p;iid, the disease ad- 

 mils' of remedy. In the first place, let all the infected part of the hoof be pared 

 away, and the ulcerous matter removed, and then let the foot be washed with 

 snap" and hot water, and let the siirlare l;e tires-ed with some caustic, of which 

 the best is muriate of antimony. In incipient ra-es, ly simply paring the hoof 

 and cleansing it with soap and" water, and then dipping it in boiled tar, the pro- 

 gress of tin- disrate will be arrested. 



The next disease to be mentioned is of frequent occurrence. This is hydatids, 

 u'att-r-in-the-head as it is frequently termed. The cause of this 

 disease is a parasitic animal, a hydatid, which is found in the brain of sheep. 

 It enlarges in si/e, and, if not removed, ultimately destroys the animal. This 

 creature when distended with fluid resembles a round sac filled with water, 

 and hence it was lont: Mipposed to be water, and the disease, in consequence, 

 termed water-in-the-head. 



When the hydatid is in the brain, the animal affected shows great symptoms 

 of distress- he leans his head to one side, mopes by himself, continues turning 

 round, ana finally dies. The remedy for this disease is to reach the hydatid, 

 and to extract it, or at least to perforate it in such a manner as to destroy its 

 vitality. When it is situated at the surface of the brain, the part feels soft, and 

 it may be reached by a sharp instrument, as a common awl or gimlet, or the 

 hydatid itself may be extracted. This may be done by the trephine. Shep- 

 herds perform the operation in a rude manner by a sharp knife. A small por- 

 tion of the scull is so cut, as to be raised up like a lid. The hydatid being ex- 

 posed, is pulled out by pincers, and the fluid absorbed by a sponge or piece of 

 linen. The skull is "then replaced, and dressed with common tar put upon a 

 piece of soft leather. 



Often the hydatid may be reached by a wire thrust up the nostrils, and it is 

 remarkable that this operation frequently succeeds in the hands of shepherds. 



Sheep are liable to the attacks of various animals. One of these, a species of 

 aphis, termed the sheep-louse, is very common, and chiefly prevails where the 

 sheep are in an unhealthy condition. It is of a flat form, and attaching itself 

 to the throat and other parts, occasions much irritation. Tar, turpentine, or 

 tobacco liquor, are the substances chiefly used to destroy this animal, and any 

 simple mercurial preparation is effectual. 



