150 THE FARMER'S 



ble young sheep I cured to different owners, with- 

 out ever acknowledging it, having no authority to 

 try such experiments. 



The following symptoms, after the operation, 

 may be depended on. If the smimal becomes con- 

 siderably sick, it is a good sign that it will recover. 



If it continues to grow sicker, and abstains from 

 feeding for the space of two days, it is likely to 

 die; and if in a condition to be lit for family use, 

 ought to be killed forthwith. The flesh o^the an- 

 imal is nothing the worse for this disease; on the 

 contrary, it is universally supposed by the country 

 people, that their flesh is sweeter, more delicate 

 and palatable, than any other. This, I suppose, 

 must be owing to their tender age, it being unusu- 

 al to kill any sheep so young, save lambs. 



The first symptom of recovery is their bleat- 

 ing. . If once they begin to bleat occasionally, 

 they are sure to recover, however stupid they 

 may appear at that time. It seems that they are 

 then becoming sensible of the want of society, the 

 only thing which causes sheep to bleat, and which 

 for a long time previous to that, they had totally 

 disregatded. 



I must mention here, that the most successful 

 curer of this distemper I ever knew, performed the 

 operation in a difiereni manner from the one prac- 

 tised by me, and above recommended. Instead 

 of a wire, he carried always a large corking pin 

 in his bonnet, and, like me, tapped every sturdied 

 sheep he found, but always above, putting the 

 point of the pin through the skull at the place 

 where it was most soft, in the same manner as the 

 trocar is used. As this does not at all endanger 

 the sheep's life, 1 frequently tried this plan previ- 



