OF FOOT-ROT IN SHEEP. 
215 
disease, is quite obvious. They are generally brought from 
lands where their range of pasturage was greater than in these 
situations. In their former state, from the exercise which the 
animal took, and the nature of the grounds on which it pastured, 
the hoof was worn down as it grew. But, under the state in 
question, the hoofs not only continue to grow r , but, where the 
land is moist, that grow T th is greatly increased; and the animal 
does not tread upon hard ground, nor has it exercise to wear 
them down. Now, in the case of man himself, when the nails 
of his fingers or toes exceed their proper length, they break, or 
give him such uneasiness as to induce him to pare them. And 
the same takes place with the hoof of sheep. But there is this 
difference in the case of the latter, that when their hoof once 
breaks, as the animal has not the power of paring it, the part 
thus broken must continue a wound. Some parts grow out of 
their natural and proper proportions ; the crust of the hoof grows 
too long; and the overgrown parts either break off* in irregular 
rents and unnatural forms, or, by over-shooting the sole, allow 
small particles of sand or earth to enter into the pores of the 
hoof. These particles reach the quick, and set up an inflamma¬ 
tion, which is followed by the destructive effects which are too 
well known to require description. 
Similar effects are produced on soft w T et grounds. The feet, 
in such a situation, are not only not subject to a proper degree 
of friction to wear down the hoofs, but the growth of the hoofs 
is materially increased by the soft and moist state in which they 
are kept. And this state renders the feet the more liable to the 
disease, as it opens up the pores of the horn, and allows the 
earth or sand to penetrate and wrnund the quick, in the manner 
1 have already stated. On soft sandy ground, of a dry nature, 
the same circumstances may occur. The soft sand gives way 
by the weight of the animal, and the crust of the hoof is not 
worn down. The sand penetrates between the sole and the 
crust, as lias been already explained, and produces inflammation. 
The disease, however, is not so common on sand as in the other 
situations to which I have alluded, the sand seldom being found 
in such a loose state. k 
There is another circumstance which tends to produce the 
disease in an overgrown hoof. The length to which the crust 
grows changes completely the proper bearing of the foot; and 
this lengthened crust, by being extended forward, is subjected 
to the whole W'eigbt which the foot has to bear. Bv the con- 
tinued strain of the parts on this lengthened toe, inflammation 
is set up in a manner similar to w : hat occurs in acute founder in 
horses; and this inflammation produces effects extremely ana- 
