144 A STUDY OF DISEASE IN GENERAL. 



The small size of the sheep, combined with its docile nature, 

 render its handling for examination and treatment in disease an 

 easy matter, but it may be as well to state here the proper man- 

 ner to catch them to avoid injuring the animal or the staple. 

 Sheep should not be held or lifted by the wool, as it not only 

 produces unnecessary pain, but the struggles on the part of the 

 animal cause the skin to be bruised. Ewes heavy in lamb should 

 never be caught by the hind leg for self-evident reasons. To 

 catch sheep, especially large heavy ones, seize the animal by the 

 neck with both hands, pass one hand around the body, grasp the 

 brisket, and lift the sheep clear from the ground, setting it on its 

 rump. When using a crook apply it quickly to the hind leg 

 above the hock, drawing the animal back sharply to prevent it 

 from springing sidewise and wrenching the leg; when the sheep 

 is within reach seize the leg, releasing the crook. The simplest 

 manner to lift a sheep without inflicting injury is to grasp it 

 around the body with the arms immediately behind the forelegs, 

 raising it and laying it on its side or setting it on its rump. The 

 domestication of the sheep calls for various operations, such as 

 shearing, washing, castration, etc., any of which when not 

 properly carried out being liable to cause disease; exposure to 

 cold storms, errors in hygienic surroundings, even if apparently 

 trifling, grazing on unsuitable pastures are all fertile causes of 

 disease. Even domestication predisposes to disease, especially 

 among the highly improved breeds, from the artificial nature of 

 the animal's existence, which renders the system more compli- 

 cated and susceptible to trifling derangements, which very 

 quickly become serious. Owing to the complex arrangement of 

 the digestive system it is frequently the seat of disease, which is 

 as often caused by an excess of aliment as a deficiency, or a super- 

 abundance of dry matter, or from the germs of parasites, which 

 mature and exist in the internal economy at the expense of the 

 health of the animal, and it will be observed that the diseases 



