THE CULTIVATOR. 
277 
FOOT-ROT (so called) IN SHEEP. 
Luther Tucker, Esq.— A late number of the Bos¬ 
ton Cultivator contains an article on this subject from 
Mr. Jewett of Weybridge, Vermont, which induces me 
to send you this communication. The importance to the 
sheep-raising community of this whole continent to un¬ 
derstand the nature and causes of the many diseases to 
which sheep are liable, is incalculable, and when well 
understood, they will be surprised to find the ease with 
which they can be cured, and in most instances prevent¬ 
ed. When Mr. Jewett is informed that I w'as born and 
raised a shepherd, and that the little information I pos¬ 
sess is the result of long and attentive practice, he will 
I am sure, readily give me credit for the true intention 
with which I write, namely, to set him and others right 
as to the true cause of, and remedy for, this (so called) 
disease, and not to find fault with him, or enter into any 
controversy about it; for I willingly admit that he gives 
evidence of some practice and observation, and that I be¬ 
lieve it is only necessary to direct that observation to 
make him a valuable shepherd. 
Properly speaking, there is no such disease of itself, as 
foot-rot. It is invariably the result of the neglect of 
another disease, simple and easy to cure, or the result of 
accident by a bruise of the foot in some way; and always 
evinced by a slight but visible lameness in whichever 
foot is injured. It is not contagious, neither can it he 
communicated by inoculation . I saw the latter tested my¬ 
self by the late Mr. Field, father of the present able 
veterinary surgeon, of London, on a visit to an extensive 
flock-master in Leicestershire; and I think by the time 
you read this through, you will be convinced yourself as 
thoroughly as though you saw the experiment tried, of 
the impossibility of its being so communicated, inasmuch 
as foot-rot is not a disease of itself. 
Sheep have a secretory outlet between the claws, pe 
culiar to them, which is liable to become obstructed, 
and when obstructed for a few days the tender skin be¬ 
tween the claws becomes red and inflamed, the sheep be¬ 
comes lame on that foot, and more lame immediately af¬ 
ter its first rising in the morning than at any other time 
of day, the inflammation making greater head-way while 
at rest during the night than at any other period. The 
watchful and observant shepherd will see the lame sheep 
at once on putting his flock up in the morning, and will 
apply the remedy, which is simple. First clean the claw 
by running your finger or thumb up and down through 
it, wet with your spittle, if you have no water conven¬ 
ient, then take out your bottle of spirits of turpentine and 
wash it well with your finger with that, let the sheep lie 
a few minutes until the claw is thoroughly dry, (I shall 
afterwards describe the simple mode of securing a sheep 
so as that it cannot get off its side until loosened by the 
shepherd,) and then rub between the claw a mixture of 
two parts tar and one part sheep’s suet boiled together, 
well blended and let cool, which the shepherd should 
always have prepared and in a tin box to take out with 
him. This done let the sheep go to pasture again, and 
repeat the same dressing every second day until the sheep 
becomes well of the lameness, or until the skin breaks, 
which it sometimes will do in spite of the dressing, and 
assumes the nature and appearance of the disease called a 
scald, when you must then apply the liquid dressing de¬ 
scribed below. The scald is a disease of itself, though 
sometimes produced by the stoppage of the secretory out¬ 
let of the claws in the manner described above, is gene¬ 
rally produced by very heavy dews, or a long continued 
series of humid weather, which predisposes the foot to 
this injury. It is as the other disease, first discovered by 
the shepherd from lameness, but at a different hour of the 
day. When the flock are first put up in the morning, the 
dew is heavy, is cooling to the foot, and washes between 
the claws clean, and though the scald has made its ap¬ 
pearance, yet at that hour, the moisture prevents the fric¬ 
tion of the parts from hurting and causing lameness, and 
it is not discovered until towards noon, when the dew is 
all gone, and between the claws becomes dry, and the 
friction commences to hurt and irritate the parts, and 
then the lameness becomes apparent. When this is the 
case the shepherd knows it is the scald*—he collects his 
flock, catches the lame sheep, ropes them as it is termed, 
and lays them on their side. He then takes his wash, 
previously prepared, composed of two parts tar, and one 
of oil of turpentine well mixed together, and then slow¬ 
ly added and stirred in, one part of muriatic acid (spirit 
of salt) with after that four parts of blue vitriol, very 
finely powdered, to which add spirits of turpentine suf¬ 
ficient to make the whole, when well shaken up in a bot¬ 
tle, of a liquid consistency, so that the wash may be ap¬ 
plied by dipping a feather into it, with which annoint 
the scalded parts with the feather. The bottle must be 
well shaken every time the feather is dipped in, and 
when the claws are dressed the sheep must then lay tied 
until the wash is perfectly dried in, and a sort of in¬ 
crustation is formed on the scalded parts,—every second 
day is enough to dress. It sometimes occurs that not¬ 
withstanding every care this scald turns to a sore, and 
then it is, that it is called the foot-rot. The sore is 
produced generally by something getting in between the 
claws, such as a bit of gravel or hard clay, or struck by 
some substance that would produce extra irritation, proud 
flesh and sloughing. The treatment then is, if the sore 
extends either way to the horny substance, to pare it 
away to the healthy edge, then shake a little fine pow¬ 
dered loaf sugar on the part, which will entirely take 
away the proud flesh, and then after half an hour apply 
the wash, and when dry, loose the sheep to pasture. 
Care should be taken never to wrap the foot with a cloth, 
unless when the horny substance is taken away, and 
the part is left entirely bared to the ground, and then the 
one claw only should be bandaged; or if both are bared, 
each claw should be separately bandaged, to prevent great¬ 
er friction of the parts, and to keep them the more cool. 
Under this circumstance alone, is a bandage on the foot of 
a sheep ever admissible, because it causes greater heat, 
and of course greater friction by keeping the claws bound 
together and not allowing them to spread. In this stage 
of the disease, it is necessary to dress every day, and it 
must be noticed, that the cool of the morning is the best 
hour for dressing, because the sheep in hot weather is 
much oppressed by being tied down on its side for the 
length of time, sometimes an hour or more, that the pro¬ 
per application of the dressing requires. It not unfre- 
quently happens that sheep show lameness when you can 
neither see a scald, nor discover inflammation between the 
claws from the stopage of the secretory outlet; and then 
the shepherd must look for the cause, by pressing and 
examining the hoof round, in the same way as the cause 
of lameness is sought for in the horse’s hoof, and when 
discovered, the horny substance must be pared down to 
the part affected, and then the applications made as be¬ 
fore described. In this case the lameness is produced 
from precisely the same causes, as the lameness in a hor¬ 
se’s foot, by a bruise or hurt, or by the prick of a nail, or 
the gradual working-in of some sharp gravelly substance, 
which when discovered, and on opening matter is 
found, it is immediately pronounced as foot-rot in the 
sheep, but who ever heard of foot-rot under similar cir¬ 
cumstances in the horse, or who ever supposed that the 
matter, if applied to another horse by inoculation, would 
produce lameness and a similar sore, in the same region, 
the foot? On this I deem any other remark unnecessary. 
No other help than the shepherd and his dog is required; 
nor no other instrument than a strong, sharp and well 
pointed two bladed knife, the large blade to pare down 
the hoof, the smaller one to cut out down to the part af¬ 
fected. 
The way of tieing down the sheep is as follows: get a 
soft rope made of tow with three plys, each ply as thick 
as your middle finger, five feet long; then splice both ends 
together and you have a double rope 2 feel 6 inches long, 
when you catch your sheep turn him gently on his side, 
then raise him to a sitting posture, having his head bent 
over under your stomach, take your rope and put it over 
the left hind leg just above the hock, catching the sinew, 
then give your rope two or three twists, so as to confine 
the leg, and pass it along the belly and on the side of the 
chest close under the elbow of the right fore leg or shoul¬ 
der, and pass the other end over his head on to his neck, 
lay him down on his side, and there he must remain se¬ 
cure until you choose to loose him. When you go to 
