380 DISEASES OF THE SHEEP, 



Another : — Spirits turpentine, tar, and verdigris, in equal 

 parts. 



Another, by Leonard D. Clift, Esq.,of Carmel, Putnam Co., 

 N. Y. : — 3 quarts of alcohol, 1 pint spirits of turpentine, 1 

 pint strong vinegar, 1 lb. blue vitriol, 1 lb. copperas, 1^ lbs. 

 verdigris, 1 lb. alum, 1 lb. saltpetre, pounded fine : mix in 

 close bottle, shake every day, and let it stand six or eight 

 days before using: also mix 2 lbs. honey and two quarts 

 of tar, which must be applied after the previous compound. 

 Two applications will entirely remove the disease. A cor- 

 respondent of the Cultivator says, that he used the above 

 with perfect success, while almost every other recipe that 

 he ever heard of, failed. 



There are an abundance of other mixtures or com- 

 pounds which are asserted to be " infallible cures ;" but the 

 question naturally arises. Is not the prevention better than all ? 

 and if so, what is it ? A friend of the writer, after having 

 become acquainted with the true cause of the malady, made 

 known by Professor Dick, and which has been fully present- 

 ed to the reader, immediately after his sheep are tagged, 

 which is done in April, he pares the horn or crust of the hoof 

 down to a level with the sole, and then applies a mixture of 

 tar — say four quarts, half a pint of spirits of turpentine, and 

 the same quantity of oil of vitriol, using it almost boiling hot. 

 The two latter ingredients are not mixed with the tar all at 

 once, but a little poured in at a time, inasmuch as they are, 

 in a heated stale, very evanescent. A small brush is used, 

 and not only the bottom of the hoofs, but the sides and clefts 

 are thoroughly coated. If the season is a wet one, he goes 

 through the same process late in the fall — but not otherwise. 

 By this precaution, although in the district of his residence 

 foot-rot is common, his sheep know nothing of the disease. 

 This is at least worthy of a trial by all. 



One remark more. Foot-rot is contagious beyond all 

 question : and hence necessary care is requisite not to put 

 sound sheep on grounds where infected ones have run ; no, 

 not during the spring, summer, or fall — not until the frosts of 

 winter have utterly destroyed the poison virus which has 

 been left by diseased flocks. The following instance will 

 show this precaution to be indispensably necessary : A farmer 

 of the writer's acquaintance having been sorely plagued with 

 foot-rot in his flock, frequently renewing itself after repeated 

 cures, resolved to slaughter the whole, which was according- 



