DISEASES OF SHEEP. 51 



throat with a mixture consisting of lard, one pound ; cam- 

 phor, a half ounce ; and assafcetida, a half ounce. Al- 

 though for a certain time such a treatment enjoyed a cer- 

 tain reputation as a preventive, it was subsequently found 

 to be inadequate, and of as little use as all other remedies. 

 There is still another remedy to be mentioned (besides vac- 

 cination, of which a full description will be given hereafter). 

 Such a remedy, although also of doubtful consequences, 

 .consists in all possible measures by which the transfer of 

 the pox from and to other localities may be prevented or 

 rendered impossible, especially when it is found to prevail 

 in neighboring places. All persons, all animals or things 

 which have been in contact with a diseased herd must be 

 kept separated from healthy herds, and the latter are not to 

 be permitted to feed or roam upon pastures, ways or pas- 

 sages (or in the neighborhood of such pastures, etc.) which 

 have been used by diseased animals : a distance of at least 

 four hundred yards from such infected places ought to be 

 carefully observed. Notwithstanding all such precautionary 

 measures, pox has often appeared in such separated herds, 

 and the owner of the stock is therefore unable to account 

 for such unexpected and unavoidable attacks. 



Vaccination of Sheep Pox. — After enormous losses 

 in sheep, and after all other precautionary measures proved 

 to be of no eifect, vaccination was at last thought of. It 

 was already known that the so-called human small pox 

 could be prevented by vaccination, and sheep pox being 

 very similar in its nature to human pox, the idea of pre- 

 venting it also by vaccination was indeed easily conceived, 

 and proved beneficial in its results. Since the introduction 

 of vaccination, sheep pox has ceased to be a perpetual 

 plague to whole countries, and only occurs amongst single 

 herds or in limited districts. Vaccination consists in the 

 intentional and artificial production of a disease similar to 



