124 
The Rot in Sheep. 
Avere taken continued sound, so that the compUiint," he sajs, 
" must have orifjinated with myself." 
The same author also, when describins^ the disease as it existed 
in 1817 in his own llock, observes that all the animals which 
were sold by him up to August of that year proved to be sound. 
To substantiate which he remarks, that in June he sold " a lot of 
about 1000 hogs and dinmonts to a gentleman in Roxburgh, all 
of which gave the greatest satisfaction. They were kept by this 
gentleman for two years, and afterwards sold in fine condition to 
the butcher. This was well," he adds, " for both parties, for 
the sales which I made in Octoher were all tainted, and from that 
time the animals consisted more of skins than carcasses. Here, 
then," he argues, " the facts bear me out in saying that in 1817 
no rot had taken place among my stock in the month of August, 
and the whole calamity that followed must have taken place 
subsequent to that period. Had any latent seeds of the disease 
been among them, the sales that I made in August must have 
turned out as bad to the purchaser as the animals that were 
retained did to myself, which was not the case, and which 
clearly demonstrates that the cause had been on my own farm. 
Of this 1 entertain not the smallest doubt ; and, after the most 
minute investigation, I can attribute it to nothing but an unusual 
luxuriant growth of grass, occasioned by the mild, soft weather 
during the months of September and Octoher, more especially 
during the first." 
]\Iany, if not the majority of practical farmers, concur in 
these views, but we think without sufficient reason. A wet 
autumn will unquestionably produce rot, but a wet summer is 
far more likely to do so. The experience of water-meadow 
farmers would even lead to the placing the origin of the dis- 
ease as early in the year as the end of May or beginning of 
June. "The late Mr. Bakewell was of opinion that after May- 
day he could communicate the rot at pleasure, by flooding 
and afterwards stocking his closes, while they were drenched 
and saturated with moisture."* Very much, however, depends 
on the temperature which prevails. Should this be high, and 
much wet fall at the commencement of the summer, the danger 
would be proportionably great. 'Speaking in general terms, 
however, [we have little fear of a wet month of May, or even 
beginning of June ; but as Midsummer approaches, so does the 
danger increase. 
Thousands of sheep took the rot at about this period of 1860, 
and as many, perhaps, subsequently thereto, and onwards into the 
autumn. The application as well as the value of pieventive 
* Harrison on liot, p. 3G. 
