Veterinary Jurisprudence. 
ROT IN SHEEP. 
Salisbury County Court .— E. Everett, Esq., Judge. 
Strong v . Phillips. 
This was an action to recover the sum of £33 4s. 6d., for a breach 
of warranty on the sale of some sheep by the defendant to the plaintiff. 
The case was origipally tried in this court in January last, when a 
verdict was given for the defendant. At a subsequent court, an appli¬ 
cation was made for a new trial, on the ground that the verdict found 
by the jury was contrary to evidence. His honour granted the appli¬ 
cation on condition that the costs of the first hearing should be paid by 
the plaintiff. The case accordingly came on for re-hearing on Wednes¬ 
day last, before a jury, and the court was crowded throughout the 
trial, which lasted from twelve until after seven o’clock. Air. Edlin, 
of the Western Circuit, instructed by Mr. Balch, of Bruton, and Messrs. 
Squarey and Whatman, of Salisbury, was counsel for the plaintiff; and 
Mr. T. W. Saunders, of the Western Circuit, instructed by Messrs, 
Hoddings, Townsend, and Lee, was counsel for the defendant. 
Mr. Edlin , in opening the case, said that Mr. John Strong, the plain¬ 
tiff, was a farmer living at Evercreech, in the county of Somerset, and 
Mr. Charles Phillips was also a farmer living at Burford St. Martin, in 
the county of Wilts; and the action was brought for a breach of war¬ 
ranty respecting the sale by the defendant to the plaintiff of fifty-two 
ewe sheep at Wilton fair, on the 12th of September, 1859, which the 
defendant warranted sound. His case was, that this was a false war¬ 
ranty, that the sheep were unsound, and that his client was entitled to 
recover damages for the loss which he had sustained by reason of such 
unsoundness. 
John Strong deposed—I live at Small Down Farm, in the parish of 
Evercreech, Somerset. On the 12th of September last I was at Wilton 
fair, when 1 agreed to pureliase fifty-tw^o sheep of Mr. Phillips, at 
£1 13s. 6d. per head. I ask^d him how it was they were so poor, when he 
replied, “ If you had seen the downs on which they have been feeding, 
von would not wonder at that, as they have run on the poorest down in 
Wiltshire.” I asked him whether the sheep were sound, and he said, 
“ Hear 1 I’ll warrant them sound.” Upon that warranty I bought the 
sheep and paid for them. Mr. Coles, a farmer, was present at the time. 
I paid the defendant in a refreshment booth £87 2s. for the sheep. 
They got home to my house on the 14th of September. I put them on 
apiece of ley. On the 18th of September—four days after the arrival 
of the sheep—one of them died. Another died on the 26th, a third on 
the 30th, and a fourth on the 7th of October. On the 4th of November 
one died, and another on the 6th. Mr. Ashford examined that one. 
I lost another also on the 17th of November. On the 26th of that 
month I sent for Mr. Hoddinott to ki l one of the sheep. 1 examined 
the liver. 1 also examined the livers of the sheep which were shown 
to Mr Ashford. They were all in a similar state, and there w'ere fiukes 
in the livers of all the three sheep. About a fortnight after Wilton fair 
I bought twenty sheep of Mr. Green, at Shepton Mallet market, and 
