The Rot in Sheep. 
85 
become so dry in a week as to admit of liorsns g:illoping over it without scarce!}' 
leaviiig the print of tlicir siioe, yet, as some parts of it are miicli lower, and con- 
sequently nearer the water by some feet than others, it might be supj)0sed that 
they would be more likely to produce the rot than those parts which are higher. 
But this is not the case. Jt lias been ascertained that they are equally infectious. 
Other meadows in this neighbourhood, irrigated partly by the same stream, have 
equally rotted the sheep though perfectly well drained. As those other mea- 
dows are entirely new, it cannot be said of them that there was a time when, 
though less well drained, they did not rot the sheep. They do not affect the 
question, What can be the reason why land which when less well drained was 
fed by sheep with impunity rots them now when it is much better drained? 
"It cannot be attributed wholly to the seasons, because other water-mea- 
dows in the same county but on a ditTerent stream did not rot the sheep in the 
spring or even in the autmun of 1834 ; some few out of very many have 
been supposed to take the rot ; and that in the antumn of 1834,* even on these 
meadows, scarce one has escaped the infection. But where they have taken it 
some parts of the laud have not been effectually drained. 
" These occurrences naturally excited attention, and recourse to every known 
means supposed to be capable of preventing this infection was resorted to. It 
lias been said that sheep folded on fallows and not allowed to go on to their 
pastures till the dew was off the ground ,have escaped the rot, when others 
which were allowed to remain constantly on them have taken it; that dry 
food given to them on dry ground during the night, and that salt and oil-cake, 
have acted as preservatives. The evidence of the good, effects of all these anti- 
•dotes has been such as it was impossible to doubt. But each and every one of 
them has been tried here with the greatest attention, and it is painful to add 
that they have all failed in every instance. The mode in which these experi- 
ments were made was this : Out of a large lot of fat wethers which were in the 
•course of being killed, and which were all believed to be sound, three at a time 
were selected for the trial of each of these remedies, and put on the meadows. 
At the end of three ■wrecks their livers were invariably found to be more or less 
infected, while the livers of the others of the same lot which had not been on 
the meadows, and which had remained in their usual dry pastures, reiuained 
imafifected. 
" This continued for some time ; but at last two wethers which had not 
been on the meadows were found to have diseased livers, and therefore it can- 
not be affirmed with perfect certainty that the subjects of the experiment bad 
taken the disease in spite of the remedies, because it is just possible that, 
like the two last, they might all have taken the infection at some previous 
period." 
To this statement F. B. replied : — 
" In vol. v. p. 503 of this Journal is an article entitled, ' On Water-Meadoivs 
.causing Bot in Sheep.' The very extraordinary circumstances detailed in 
that communication led me at first to think it an imaginary case, given to 
the public for the purpose of provoking discussion ; as lawyers say, ' a case 
stated for counsel's opinion.' But on farther consideration I shall treat it as 
a real one. 
"The writer says, 'About the year 1808 some land, jart of which had been 
under water, much of which was a bog, and part of which was nearly dry, 
was drained, levelled, and irrigated. Although it was drained, and was so far 
dry that horses could at all times walk upon it, yet it produced coarse herbage, 
rushes, and even some flags. In this state it remained at least fifteen years. 
* In the autumn of 1833, 200 ewes were fed on these meadows, and, when killed, 
were all found to be quite sound. 
