ON THE SHEEP OF ZETLAND* 



Water sickness, or general dropsy, is also a fre- 

 quent disease among the sheep. It occurs under 

 the different forms of anasarca, or water in the 

 cellular substance immediately under the skin, 

 and ascites, or water in the abdomen. This last 

 species of the disease takes place most commonly 

 in wet autumns, continues during the greater part 

 of winter, and sometimes carries off whole flocks. 

 Tapping has been tried, but I believe, never with 

 success. 



The Sturdy, or dropsy in the brain, is a very 

 common and fatal disease. The operation of tre- 

 panning the skull, and extracting the water-bag, 

 which lies upon the brain, has been repeatedly 

 and successfully performed since 1778, by indivi- 

 duals, who never either saw or heard of a treatise 

 on the diseares of sheep. A similar operation 

 has also been successfully performed on the cow. 



The disease, known in Zetland by the name of 

 the shell sickness, consists in a thickening and 

 concreting of the . omentum and larger intestines 

 into small white lumps resembling shells, from 

 which it derives its name. It is common to sheep 

 which feed on wet mossy pastures. They get 

 lean, are disinclined to move much about, and the 

 belly feels unequally hard. The people drive the 

 sheep, when affected with this complaint, to the 

 sea-side, and force them to eat sea-weed, and 

 swallow salt water, as the only cure. These sub- 

 stances operate as purgatives, and may, by that 

 means, contribute to remove the complaint. 



