VETERINARY MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE. 163 
I see, a little lower down, that according to the usage of Pro¬ 
vence and Bigorre, if the rot appears in a flock of sheep in the 
course of three months after the sale, the purchaser has the 
power to set aside the sale altogether, or to return the diseased 
sheep, and to demand restoration of the price, with that of the 
care and keep of them. It is, however, well known that the rot 
in sheep may develop itself in less than two months, if these 
animals are badly fed, and especially if they are put into low and 
wet pasture. Here, again, the vendor may have to answer for 
acts of which he is altogether innocent. 
On the other hand I read, in the custom of Bresse, that in that 
country the warranty against epilepsy extends to nine days. In 
the custom of Haut Dauphiny the duration of the warranty 
against ophthalmia is also nine days ; but these two maladies, 
which are exceedingly serious, manifest themselves by occasional 
attacks, during which alone they can be recognized; and the 
intervals between these attacks are often three weeks, or a 
month, or more. 
What is the result of this ? That a merchant in those coun¬ 
tries, who wishes to get rid of a horse subject to either of these 
maladies, can do it without running any risk, by exposing him 
lor sale soon after the cessation of an attack. What, then, be¬ 
comes of the warranty offered to the purchaser by the usage ? Is 
it not a bitter derision ? 
We will speak of another inconvenience of these long delays, 
applicable to every case. Among the diseases which are, with 
good reason, considered as unsoundness in most of the customs, 
there are some which are thus viewed, not because they imme¬ 
diately prevent the working of the animal, but because they di¬ 
minish his variety of service, and abridge its duration ; not be¬ 
cause it is absolutely impossible to recognize them, but because 
it is necessary to observe them under other circumstances than 
those which can occur at the time of sale, in order to prove their 
existence. Broken wind is of this number; but, for reasons 
which we cannot comprehend, and which cannot be explained 
without reference to the times of ignorance when the usages 
were established, a warranty of forty days is accorded against 
this disease in the customs of eight or ten provinces. See here, 
among other inconveniences, that which has more than once hap¬ 
pened. A man, for an occasion which can only be temporary, is 
unwilling, permanently, to charge himself with an animal that 
perhaps he may not be afterwards able to sell without considerable 
loss;, he wishes also to avoid paying for the hire of the horse. 
What does he do? He knows that a neighbouring dealer has a 
broken-winded horse: he offers a good price for him, he buys 
