376 THE EOT. 



the farmer will have most to do, for the sheep having become 

 once decidedly rotten, neither medicine nor management wUl 

 have much power in arresting the evil — consists in altering 

 the character of as much of the dangerous ground as he can, 

 and keeping his sheep from those pastures which deiy all his 

 attempts to improve them. * * * jf all unnecessary- 

 moisture is removed from the soil, or if the access of air is 

 cut oif by the flooding of the pasture, no poisonous gas has 

 existence, and the sheep continue sound. * * * "pj^g 

 account of the treatment of rot must, to a considerable extent, 

 be very unsatisfactory." 



Mr. Youatt recommends the sale of sheep to the butcher 

 after they are found to be rotted ! To give what may be 

 styled the butcher's autopsy, I copy his remarks : — " It is 

 one of the characters of the rot to hasten, and that to a 

 strange degree, the accumulation of flesh and fat. Let not 

 the farmer, however, push this experiment too far. Let him 

 carefully overlook every sheep daily, and dispose of those 

 which cease to make progress, or which seem beginning to 

 retrograde. It has already been stated that the meat of the 

 rotted sheep, in the early stage of the disease, is not like that 

 of the sound one ; it is pale and not so firm; but it is not 

 unwholesome, and it is coveted by certain epicures, who, 

 perhaps, are not altogether aware of the real state of the 

 animal. All this is a matter of calculation, and must be left 

 to the owner of the sheep ; except that, if the breed is not of 

 very considerable value, and the disease has not proceeded to 

 emaciation or other' fearful symptoms, the first loss will 

 probably be the least ; and if the owners can get any thing 

 like a tolerable price for them, the sooner they are sent to 

 the butchers, or consumed at home, the better. Supposing, 

 however, that their appearance is beginning to tell tales 

 about them, and they are too far gone to be disposed of in 

 the market or consumed at home, are they to be abandoned 

 to their fate ? No : far from it." 



The above is a paragraph which I could most sincerely 

 wish stricken from the writings of its accomplished author. 

 It will astonish even those who are acquainted with the astute 

 and calculating selfishness of Mr. Bakewell's character to learn 

 that he purposely rotted sheep which were to be sold to the 

 butcher, to avail himself of the superior fattening properties 

 which the diseased animals temporarily possess ! This remark- 

 able fact is stated by both Mr. Youatt and Mr. Spooner.* 



* The Bale of the meat of diseased animals is regarded as infamous in all part j of 



