ROT. 



r6ad and ditch bottoms. And he adds, that a Lincolnshire 

 •farmer purchafed fome turnips in Nottinghamfhire, upon 

 which he intended to winter a flock of fheep. The firft di- 

 vifion, confining of about forty, were detained one night at 

 a village near to the place formerly alluded to, by the over- 

 flowing of the Barling's Ean, and were put upon a piece of 

 flat land which leads to the river. The water had not re- 

 turned to it6 former channel more than a day or two. 

 Every one of the forty fheep became rotten ; whereas the 

 other divifion, which flopped no where by the way, efcaped 

 the diforder, and remained well. Sheep were formerly ad- 

 mitted into fome adjoining paftures, in travelling to and from 

 the neighbouring fairs and markets ; but fo many of them 

 contradted the rot, that, for fome time paft, the graziers in 

 this county will not fuffex their flocks to flop for a moment 

 near the village. He has repeatedly examined the fufpedted 

 ditches and paftures, but never obferved either flukes, or any 

 of the plants, to which the rot has been attributed : though 

 he muft candidly acknowledge that he ought to have fought 

 for them with more care and attention. Tliefe ditches com- 

 municate with a rivulet, which frequently overflows its banks, 

 and the inclofures are then deluged with water. The foil 

 confiits chiefly of loam or clay, and the furface is fo flat and 

 level on both fides of the river, that for wain of proper de- 

 fcent, the water is a long time detained upon the grounds. 

 He is credibly informed, that in this place the rot affects 

 fwine, hares, and rabbits, as well as fheep. 



It is further ftated, that he has likewife been informed 

 by Mr. David Wright, that a few years fince, as a drove 

 of fheep were pafling through a long lane in the parifh of 

 Irby, one of them, being weary, fell down in the middle of 

 the road. The others were permitted to range at large, 

 till their companion was able to travel. They were then 

 driven all together into a pafture, and it was foon difcovered 

 that only the tired fheep had efcaped the rot. As the flock 

 had never been feparated upon any occafion, we are entitled 

 to conclude that the diforder was contracted while the 

 tired animal remained upon the road. From thefe and 

 other cafes, the writer thinks himfelf juftified in afcribing 

 the rot in fheep, and other animals, to paluilal effluvia ; but 

 in regard to the nature and conltitntion of which he ac- 

 knowledges it is very difficult to form any rational opinion, 

 as they have hitherto eluded the molt fubtile and delicate 

 inquiries. 



In refpeft to the prevention of the diforder, he fuggefts, 

 that where neceflity requires the pafturage of moift grounds 

 in fummer or autumn, the fhepherd ought carefully to re- 

 move his flock into a dry fituation before the evening, and 

 provide them with corn, and good hay, or green food. He 

 fays that a confiderable farmer of Bohemia kept his fheep 

 found in the wet and fatal year of 1769, by feeding them 

 every night, when turned under a fhed, or into ftablcs, 

 with hafhed llraw ; and by eating it greedily they were 

 all faved. By this judicious practice, the fheep were re- 

 moved to fleep in better air, as well as preferved in a more 

 vigorous ftate of body. Sir John Pringle informs us, that 

 perfons have maintained themfelves in good health, during 

 fickly feafons, by inhabiting the upper (lories of their houfes ; 

 and he has reafon to believe, that by merely confining fheep 

 on high grounds through the night, they have efcaped the 

 rot. He adds, that after the dew is exhaled by the fun's heat, 

 fheep may be fuffered to range in moift and fwampy places, 

 with lefs danger, becaufe the miafmata, which are formed 

 in the night, and remain entangled among the grafs, or float 

 -,n the lower part of the atmofphere, are chiefly diffipated 

 with the dew. Therefore, unlefs they be very copioufly 

 produced in the day time, or are unufually virulent, they 



9 



will not be fufliciently concentrated to do much injury to 

 healthy fheep. While at reft and afleep, the operations of 

 the fyftem are more feebly performed, and then fheep are 

 peculiarly expofed to difeafed actions. By conforming to 

 thefe regulations, he has known one flock efcape entirely, 

 while others have fuffered materially in the fame open field, 



And it is confidently afTerted, that decoctions of bitter 

 herbs, with fait, have frequently preferved fheep from the 

 rot. Salt is fuppofed to conltitute a part of Fleet's cele- 

 brated noftrum ; and we know that bitters are defervedly 

 recommended to prevent intermittents, the dyfentery, and 

 other diforders, which originate from exhalations. In Ox- 

 fordfhire, Dr. Lower has frequently known fix or feven 

 fpoonsful of ftrong brine and ftale urine, with foot fteeped 

 in it, to be given with great fuccefs. This is done at 

 fpring and the fall of the year, when the dew is counted 

 mod dangerous. This courfe of phyfic is continued eight 

 or ten days, or till the fheep cat their meat heartily ; and 

 if they were taken in time, there feldom died any in a 

 whole flock. For the fame purpofe, Ellis recommends the 

 following medicine in his " Practical Hufbaudry." Take a 

 peck or more of malt, and mafh it, as though you would 

 brew it into ale or beer, and make eleven or twelve gallons 

 of liquor ; then boil in it a quantity of fhepherd's purfe, 

 comfrey, fage, plantain, penny-royal, wormwood, and blood- 

 wort : add yeaft, and afterwards fait the mixture ; then 

 turn the liquor into a veflel. After April comes in, give 

 feven or eight fpoonsful to every fheep, once in the week, 

 if the weather be wet, and if dry not fo often. 



Some have fuppofed that there are various objections to 

 the above notions concerning the nature and caufes of the 

 rot in fheep ; but efpecially that of its not being met with 

 in the fheep of fome other diflridts where mar/b miafmata, 

 and the difeafes which depend upon it, greatly prevail. It 

 has, indeed, been ftated in the view of eliciting the truth 

 of the matter, by Dr. George Pearfon, that there is an 

 apparent difficulty or objection to the above writer's con- 

 clufion — tint the rot in thefe animals is occaiioned by the 

 fame morbific agent which occafions intermittent and remit- 

 tent fevers — in the circumftance that in fome of the marfhes 

 of the county of Kent, where intermittent fevers affect a 

 great proportion of the inhabitants ; and even perfons re- 

 nding in the neighbourhood, although living on dry chalky 

 lands, where fuch difeafes never (hew themfelves, if at fome 

 diftance from the low grounds, unlefs in confequence of 

 importation ; and in Chitney marfh, on the river Medway, 

 near the ifle of Sheppey, one of the moft prolific fituations 

 for agues to be found in the kingdom ; and which is 

 equally famous for its pafturage, by which very great 

 numbers of fheep are fed and kept ; where the fallow 

 and indeed cadaverous countenances of the inhabitants, 

 fhewed that moft of them were ill, or were recovering 

 from agues ; on inquiring into the health of the fheep, 

 befides the evidence of the fine healthy condition of the 

 animals, it was found, on the authority of a fhepherd 

 who had lived thirty-fix years in the marfh, that he had 

 only feen the diforder once, and that was in the firft 

 year of his refidence there ; nor is the rot at all common 

 in any part of the county of Kent. The Leicefter breed of 

 fheep, he afTerted, were fubject to it, but not the fheep 

 bred in the marfh ; nor were thefe animals fubject to any- 

 other difeafe more frequently than in other fituations in 

 general, or particularly in the upland?. On tliefe grounds, 

 the doctor thinks; it would appear that one kind of miaf- 

 mata of marfhes which produce agues, do not in all fituations 

 alfo produce the rot. He does not, however, conceive it 

 logically juft to conclude, from the inftance which has been 



given, 



