THE STOMACHS. 293 



little bag of flax seed is firmly secured to the lower end, and 

 on dipping the rod into hot water to limber it for use, the 

 bag becomes perfectly soft and slipgery. Some wind the end 

 of the probang with tow and dip it in oil. 



There is usually no great difficulty in removing the 

 obstruction, but the sheep is often injm-ed so that it subse- 

 quently dies, in consequence of the lacerations inflicted on the 

 parts by the haste or carelessness of the operator. Too much 

 care and gentleness can not be manifested in every part of 

 the process. 



Where the obstruction can not be thus removed, veterinary 

 practitioners cut down upon it from the outside, and having 

 removed it, the edges of the esophagus are carefully brought 

 together, with two or three stitches, and the threads left long 

 enough to project from the external wound. The skin is also 

 stitched together, and a bandage placed without much 

 pressure round the neck. If the sheep is fleshy a moderate 

 cathartic should be administered, and it should be kept on 

 mashes or gruel until the wound is closed. I would not, 

 however, recommend this process to persons unfamiliar with 

 surgical operations. 



The Stomachs and theie Diseases. — I shaU describe 

 the stomachs to some extent for the better understanding of 

 their diseases ; and for this purpose I quote the following 

 from my " Sheep Husbandry in the South " : 



" On opening the abdomen the omentum or caul is found 

 covering the intestines. It is a thin, and, in a normal state, 

 colorless and transparent structure, formed of two membranes, 

 between which extend streaks of fat in the form of a net. 



"The external appearance of the stomachs is given in the 

 foUovdng cut (see next page) of those of a young sheep 

 which died of disease. Their arrangement iS slightly 

 different in the animal. 



