274 SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. 



!he ntKler law near to the hinder extremity, in order to press the angular veni, which Tiasse* 

 in that place, to make it swell ; he touches the right cheek at the spot nearly eipiioi>tant 

 tVoui ihe eve and mouth, and there tiud.s the tubercle which is to guide him, and also I'eclg 

 the angidar vein swelled below this tubercle; he then makes the incision from below 

 upward, half a finger's breadth below the middle of the tubercle." 



When the vein is no longer pressed upon, the bleeding will ordinarily 

 cense. If not, a pin may be passed tlirt)ugh the lips of the orifice, and & 

 iock of wool tied round them 



For thorough bleeding, the jugular vein is generally to be nrefeiTed. 

 The sheep sliould be firmly held by the head by an assistant, and the body 

 confined between his knees, with its rump against a wall. Some of the 

 wool is then cut away from the iniddle of the neck over the jugular vein, 

 and a ligature, brought in contact with tlie neck by opening the wool, is 

 tied around it below the shorn spot near the shoulder. The vein will soon 

 rise. The orifice may be secured, after bleeding, as described in the pre- 

 ceding method. 



As once before remarked, the good effects of bleeding depend almost 

 as much on the rapidity with which the blood is abstracted, as on the 

 amount taken. This is especially true in acute disorders. Blacklock 

 tersely remarks : " Either bleed rapidly or bleed not at all." The orifice 

 in the vein, therefore, should be of some length, and I need not inform 

 the least experienced practitioner that it should be made lengthwise with 

 the vein. A lancet is by far the best implement, and even a short-pointed 

 penknife is preferable to the bungling fleam. 



Another important rule in venesection is that, where indicated at all, it 

 should always be resorted to as nearly as possible to the commencement of 

 the malady. 



The amount of blood drawn should never be determined by admeasure- 

 metit, but by constitutional effect — the lowering of the pulse, and indica- 

 tions of weakness. In urgent cases as, for example, apoplexy or cerebral 

 inflammation, it would be proper to bleed until the sheep staggers or 

 falls. 



The amount of blood in the sheep is less, in comparison, than that in 

 the horse or ox. The blood of the horse constitutes about one-eighteenth 

 part of his weight, that of the ox at least one-twentieth, while the sheep. 

 in ordinary condition, is one-twe-nty-second. For this reason, we should 

 be more cautious in bleeding the latter, especially in frequently resorting 

 to it. Otherwise, the vital powers will be rapidly and fatally prostrated. 

 Many a sheep is destroyed by bleeding freely in disorders not requiring 

 it, and in disorders which did require it at the commencement, but of 

 which the inflammatory stage has passed. 



The Place of Feeling the Pulse. — The number of pulsations can be 

 determined by feeling the heart beat on the left side. The feinoral 

 artery passes in an oblique direction across the inside of the thigh, and 

 about the middle of the thigh its pulsations and the character of the pulso 

 can be most readily noted. The pulsations per minute in a healthy adult 

 sheep are set down by Gasparin at 65, by Youatt at 70, and by Hurtre! 

 d'Arboval at 75. My own observations accord most neaily with those of 

 Oasparin. 



LIST OF MEDICINES EMPLOYED IN TREATING THE DISEASES O^ 8HEEP 



Ale. — In oases of debility, unaccompanied with fever, a small amouni 

 of ale ia sometimes f»>and a good stimulant. It may be given to feeble 



