1908.] 



Foot-Rot of Sheep. 



267 



careless manner that is adopted by some shepherds. It is 

 imperative to expose all the diseased tissue, and the more 

 advanced and neglected the case the greater will be the labour 

 required. The exposed diseased parts should be thoroughly 

 cleansed with suitable remedies by washing, or by standing the 

 patient in a bath for several minutes. All granulations or 

 fungoid growths should be removed with the knife or snipped 

 off with scissors. 



3. It is important to remember that all removed particles 

 of horn or other tissue should be destroyed, buried or disinfected, 

 as such infective material may serve as a means of further 

 spreading the disease. 



4. Whenever the cutting has been deep or the exposed surface 

 is extensive, a piece of clean tow, previously saturated in some 

 antiseptic solution, should be applied, and kept in position by 

 a properly adjusted bandage. 



5. Advanced and severe cases, implicating deep structures 

 of the foot, will require more constant attention and repeated 

 treatment, such as cutting away as much of the diseased 

 tissue as possible at each inspection, cleansing and disinfecting, 

 and finally covering the parts with antiseptic powder and 

 bandaging to keep both soil and filth out. In the case of in- 

 lamb ewes every care should be taken in handling the ewes, 

 and when individual treatment is deferred until after lambing, 

 all the flock should in the meanwhile be put through the shallow 

 bath (mentioned below) in the ordinary way at frequent 

 intervals. 



It was noticed some years ago that the ordinary process of 

 dipping sheep had a curative effect on foot-rot, and the good 

 results were ascribed to the action of the poison on the cause of 

 the disease. Arguing from this it appeared probable to the 

 Board of Agriculture and Fisheries that beneficial results 

 would follow the walking of affected sheep through a solution 

 of poison just deep enough to cover the hoof, and in practice 

 this was found to be the case. 



In order to test the effects of such treatment on a considerable 

 scale the Board, early in 1904, distributed thirty baths (16 ft. 

 by 1 ft.), each accompanied by 1 cwt. of copper sulphate, 

 amongst a corresponding number of sheep farmers in Great 

 Britain. The instructions were to walk the sheep once a month 



