SECTION III. 
DISEASES OF SHEEP. 
INTRODUCTION. 
The duties incumbent on the shepherd are of a most arduous 
kind ; and he that performs them rigidly, even with a mo¬ 
derate range of pasturage, will have little leisure time on 
his hand. Sheep are accustomed to enjoy an ample district 
of country for feeding, and being widely scattered, the shep¬ 
herd has little opportunity of watching the condition of 
their individual health. Some will naturally be seized with 
maladies, unobserved by the shepherd, and in many instances 
die without being seen in some sheltered corner, where they 
retire for quiet, when overtaken by disease. 
It is of great importance to have shepherds well versed 
in the different complaints to which sheep are liable, and to 
be able to distinguish the disease immediately on its earliest 
appearance. The diseases are comparatively few, and these 
in general well marked. 
The sheep is not that stupid and defenceless animal 
which many suppose him. In extensive mountain ranges, 
where they but seldom see mankind, and where they are not 
