ROT IN SHEEP. 
529 
tenant of Mr. Frampton’s, of Moreton, Dorset, “ remarked, 
and it is the general observation of the count} 7 , that those 
watered lands never rot sheep in the spring, though they imme¬ 
diately follow the water, or are turned in at any time, or in any 
manner; but if they are turned into the after-grass, it merely 
rots till the autumnal watering, after which they are safe. 
They keep their sheep in till May-day, which, they assert, 
would be sure to rot them, was not the land watered; and, 
also, that the very best land in the country for rotting is 
perfectly cured by watering/* 
Subsequently to this the deviations from health are 
exceedingly slow, and it may be said that they are in¬ 
sidious. It is very difficult, therefore, for us to say what are 
really the early symptoms of rot, if we except this accumu¬ 
lation of flesh. There can be no doubt that in an advanced 
stage of the disease, we take cognizance of the affection 
very readily ; but unfortunately it happens that the symp¬ 
toms which then show themselves are such as to prove 
that the system is quickly breaking up, and that the time has 
passed for curative measures. At first, I say, these symp¬ 
toms are exceedingly insidious, but subsequently to this ac¬ 
cumulation of fat they are well marked. For instance, after 
a certain length of time we find that such animals have an 
occasional cough, that their appetite is somewhat impaired 
and fastidious—to-day feeding pretty well, to-morrow scarcely 
at all. They will be easily acted upon by all external causes, 
and if exposed to wet and cold will suffer a great deal of 
inconvenience. Much of the progress of disease will depend 
upon the treatment to which the animals are subjected. I 
may say, by the way, that I am familiar with one case in 
which a gentleman in Norfolk, who has a sandy-heath farm, 
purchased some sheep in the latter part of August in one 
year, and he was not aware that they were affected with rot 
until the February of the following year. Being satisfied 
that the sheep had not received the disease while they were 
in his possession, he sought out the dealer from whom he 
bought them, and on tracing the matter out, it was ascer¬ 
tained that other portions of the same flock were also 
affected; the dealer consequently took them back and paid 
the cost of them. The slow progress of the disease was en¬ 
tirely due to the circumstance that the sheep were placed upon 
a dry sandy soil, and well supplied with highly nitrogenized 
food, and not exposed to great inclemencies of the weather. 
Had causes of the opposite kind been brought into operation, 
the disease would have much earlier declared itself in the most 
unmistakeable manner. I have stated that the animals have an 
