CHAP. ill. FOOT-ROT IN SHEEP. 519 



Soft boggy grass is apt to give sheep " scald," which is followed by 

 foot-rot. Perhaps the best preventive is pasturing them in such posi- 

 tions that they will have some hard-surfaced parts to go upon. 



Mr. Charles Howard, writing in the Journal of the Eoyal Agri- 

 cultural Society (Vol. I., 3rd series), 1890, gave the following recipe, 

 which he had found effective for the cure of foot-rot in sheep : , 



2 oz. verdigris, powdered. 



2 oz. armenic (Armenian bole), powdered. 



2 oz. blue stone (blue vitriol, sulphate of copper), powdered. 



oz. caustic, powdered. 



J pint turpentine. 



4 oz. Stockholm tar. 



2 oz. hog's lard. 



2 oz. oil of vitriol. 



Pour the oil of vitriol on last, and very slowly, or it will boil over. 

 Keep stirring with a stick until it leaves off boiling. 



Mr. Howard adds : 



" The course I pursue is to draw out all the lame sheep, take them to 

 some dry hovel or shed, thoroughly well pare their feet so that the 

 disease is bottomed, and then apply the ointment. The sheep remain 

 in the shed, or in a dry gravelled yard, for at least one night. I am 

 quite sure that, by the use of this ointment, and with proper attention, 

 the disease can be kept under. I fear that, in many cases, the shepherd 

 is not sufficiently relieved of his ordinary duties to attend adequately 

 to the sheep's feet. When the disease is prevalent he should have all 

 the assistance he requires. It is most desirable that the sheep's feet 

 should be every few weeks properly pared, a practice that will tend 

 very much to retard this disease. Toot-rot is one of the most subtle 

 of diseases. I have known my sheep to be quite free from it upon one 

 farm, but if taken to another, upon which there was pasture with 

 abundance of trees, they would within a very few days begin to fall 

 with it." 



The following mode of dealing with foot-rot is recommended by 

 Mr. David Buttar, Corston, Coupar Angus, N.B. : " Pass the whole 

 flock twice during the year through a solution of arsenic, which is thus 

 prepared. Boil 2 Ib. of arsenic with 2 Ib. of potash (pearl ash) in 

 1 gallon of water over a slow fire for half an hour. Keep stirring, and 

 at any signs of boiling over pour in a little cold water ; then add 



5 gallons of cold water. Put this solution to the depth of 1 in. to 

 1| in. (just sufficient to cover the hoofs of the sheep) in a strong, 

 well-made, water-tight trough, 12 ft. long by 18 in. wide, and about 



6 in. deep, with narrow strips of wood nailed across the bottom to 

 prevent the sheep from slipping. The trough must be set and fixed 

 perfectly level alongside a wall or other fence in some out-of-the-way 

 place. It should be provided with a good waterproof lid, secured 

 by a padlock, so as to prevent the possibility of danger from any 

 poison which might be left in the trough. There should also be a 

 wooden fence on the other side of the trough, extended somewhat at 



