SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 219 



LETTER XIV. 



ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF SHEEP. 



n^anetpr c( Americwi ovine veterinary works— of the English... Anatomical details of the iRltf-r valuable 

 — nectBdiiy of cuitin^ clear from their systems of pathology and therapeutics — rea-ons. ..Exciting caasee 

 uf disesae even in adjacent locahties in England not the same — popular superstitions on the subject. ..Ne. 

 cessarily greater ditferences as between remote countries possessing ditferent climates, etc.. ..Uavageg of 

 rot ill Europe — scarcely known in most parts of America. ..Exciting causes apparently the same in both... 

 lloof-ai', 'hough retained here by contagion, not primarily produced by the same causes as in England... 



Varioiis European di-eases not known here Ditierence in tlie pathology of the same diseases in this coun< 



try aad ia England. . .Tlie Eiigli^'h ones accompanied witli more intlammatory action — the American of ac 

 aslhe;iiu or sinking character . .I'athnlogical ditt'erences i|iiire a corresponding difference in therapeutics 

 . .English system of therapeutics objectionable for th >ve reason — on account of its expensiveuess— 

 and, for popular purposes, by the extent of its pharmac ."o . ..The proper ovine veterinary system to be 

 adopted— manner of classifying diseases. ..Anatomy of the riheep-how far to be studied— directions to be- 

 ginners. ..The Omentum. ..The Rumen. ..The Reticulum. ..The Maniplus. ..The Abomasum. ..The func- 

 tions of the ditferent Stomachs. ..The Duodenum. ..The .Jejunum. ..The Ileum The Coecum The 



(.'olon. ..The Rectum. ..The Mesentary. ..The process of digestion... The Spleen. ..The Pancreas. ..The 

 Eiver...The Kii'neys...The Bladder. ..The Uterus and Vagina. 



Dear Sir : Most of the veterinary works which have appeared in this 

 country in relation to the Sheep, Horse, and other domestic animals, have 

 been made up simply of medical recipes; or, if they have given systems 

 of veterinary nosology and pathology, these systems have been mere tran- 

 scripts of those of European, and particularly of English writers. 



I have examined all, 1 believe, of the most celebrated late English au- 

 thors, scientific and empirical,* on the diseases of the Sheep and their 

 cures. For anatomical and general pathological details, the works of some 

 of the former possess great value, and compare favorably with the treatises 

 on the same topics by the most eminent physicians and surgeons. This is 

 particularly true of the work on Sheep by the late Mr. Youatt — the fount- 

 ain-head from which most of the later English writers on the same subject 

 have so liberally drawn, and will probably continue so to do for a century 

 to come. For minute accuracy of description, particularly in the depart- 

 ment of pathology — for elaborate research into both facts and authorities 

 —for clearness and sparkling vivacity of style, this gentleman, it seems to 

 me, is entirely without a competitor among the English veterinarians, and 

 liis works will bear reading alongside those of a Cooper, a Louis, and a 

 Chapman. 



J. have hesitated whether to transcribe entire Mr. Youatt's treatise on 

 the Anatomy of the Sheep. It would be the sheerest affectation — not to 

 say plagiarism — to publish a mere abridgment of his remarks, or their sub- 

 stance dressed up in other words, as some late English w iters have done, 

 for the purpose of setting up pretensions to that originality which Mr. You- 

 att has left so little room for in this department. But as these Letters, Sir 

 are jjuhlish^d for the benefit of the many, rather than to instruct those al- 

 ready vpised to any considerable extent in Veterinary Science, I have been 

 led to doubt whether any systematic treatise on Anatomy is necessary. On 

 the v^^hole, I have come to t'ne conclusion that farther than Ho exhibit the 



* I do not use the word "empirical" here in its invidious sense. I mean to describe by it a class of 

 wrritera versed in erperimtnts mereli/. as contradistinguished from those who possess a scientific knowl/i>d«« 

 (.f physiology, patbology, therapeutics &.c 



