THE EPIDEMIC AND INFLUENZA AMONG SHEEP.. 143 
administered in their food : they were convalescent in a fortnight 
or three weeks. My observations relative to sheep I will give you 
m another paper ; I can only observe here, that Glauber’s salts 
were found prejudicial to them, and that they required the treat- 
ment, to my surprise, to be modified accordingly. 
I remain, Sir, your, &c. 
ON THE EPIDEMIC, AND INFLUENZA AMONG 
SHEEP. 
By the same . 
To the Editor of" The Mark Lane Express 
Sir, — A t the same period when the epidemic pervaded the cat- 
tle of this district, it gradually developed itself amongst the docks 
of sheep, to the serious cost and disappointment of the farmer. It 
was a singular circumstance that, at the time when it was raging 
as an epidemic down in Cheshire and up in Derbyshire, bordering 
on the northern part of Staffordshire, we had not a solitary case in 
the neighbourhood, and had a sanitary cordon been drawn around 
us, it would not have been more effectually shut out ; nor was it 
until some of those inexplicable, mysterious, and inscrutable changes 
occurred in our atmosphere as autumn approached (and which set 
at defiance all the resources of science for detection and a satisfac- 
tory explanation), that the disease assumed its epidemic character. 
These atmospheric influences operate powerfully upon the animal 
economy, tending to change the healthy action of the system, and 
destroy its delicately and wonderfully balanced operations, and 
thus predispose the body to take on disease. 
The symptoms of the disease in sheep correspond exactly with 
those in the cow and pigs ; but they suffered more severely in their 
feet than the pigs, and equally as much as the cattle, the hoofs 
coming off more extensively than in either of the other two. The 
disease pursued equally the same course as in cattle, commencing 
in their feet. In one large flock the influenza broke out among 
them, accompanied with an affection of the feet similar to what oc- 
curred in the epidemic ; but they had none of the other character- 
istic symptoms of the latter disease ; we therefore considered it as 
arising out of having travelled 300 or 400 miles into this district, 
from its occurring in the feet immediately afterwards : but the in- 
lluenza did not occur among them until some weeks after their 
