DISEASES OF SHEEP. 343 



dispensable for safety if the least evidence of the disease is noticed 

 in the flock. And as each sheep is shorn it is immediately passed 

 through the disinfecting liquid in the manner mentioned. Indeed 

 this is the time when the sheep should be dipped for the scab 

 disease, and all three operations are thus easily and cheaply per- 

 formed by any suitable arrangement by which the flocks may be 

 passed through each in succession. 



As this disease is extremely virulent, a close watch should be 

 kept for its appearance, and any sheep going on its knees should 

 be immediately caught and operated on. Prevention, as in the 

 equally serious disorder of the scab, is imperative, as the cheapest 

 and only practicable means of avoiding enormous trouble in a 

 large flock of sheep. It is also a wise precaution to closely exam- 

 ine the feet of any purchased sheep, especially those which have 

 been transported on the railroads, in the common sheep cars, 

 before they are turned out into a flock. There is no more danger- 

 ous possibility of infection than this, and as to be safe is better 

 than to be sorry, the importance of this precaution cannot be 

 overestimated. 



There are- several kinds of preparations in use for this pur- 

 pose, but the sulphate of copper solution is ganerally esteemed 

 to be the most effective. This may be prepared as follows: Five 

 pounds of the sulphate of copper are dissolved in five gallons of 

 water, six pounds of fresh lime are slaked in four gallons of water, 

 the two liquids are strained into a cask and diluted to twenty 

 gallons. This is not so caustic as the sulphate alone, but is 

 equally effective. 



IMPACTION OF THE STOMACH. 



Sheep are not so subject to this disease as cattle are, but at 

 times they will overgorge themselves, as on fresh clover, covered 

 with early frost, and by the chilling of the stomach digestion 

 is prevented and fermentation occurs. This causes a large quan- 

 tity of carbonic acid gas to form in the stomach and the pres- 

 sure of it, closing the openings of the stomach at both its ex- 

 tremities, great suffering ensues. This occurrence obviously inter- 

 feres with the giving of any relief by medicine, and the only 

 recourse is to an operation by which the stomach is pierced and 

 the collected gas is let out. The right spot for this opening 

 is at the center of a triangle the base of which is about four 

 inches long in a sheep, and runs along the body sufficiently low 

 to avoid the kidneys, and the other two sides meet at a point 

 directly below the middle of the base. The puncture is made 

 by means of a sharp-pointed instrument called a trochar, fitting in 

 a tube called a canula. The part of the body indicated is pierced 

 with this instrument, which is then drawn out leaving the canu T a 

 or tube in the opening. The gas thus escapes, and the needed 

 medicine is poured into the stomach (the rumen) through the 

 tube, which is furnished with a cup-like top for this purpose. 

 This medicine consists of one dram of aromatic spirits of am- 

 monia, followed in one hour by two ounces of raw linseed oil. 



