484 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
June  2,  1904. 
An  Epidemic  Among  Lambs. 
Never  does  a  lambing  season  pass  with  some  measure  of  loss. 
Accidents  will  happen  in  the  best  reguiated  families.  Some¬ 
times  the  losses  are  light,  and  are  only  looked  upon  as  a  neces¬ 
sary  evil.  Account  has  been  taken  of  them,  and  as  they  were 
anticipated,  no  one  is  surprised.  But  every  now  and  then 
sundry  ailments  assume  largo  proportions,  and  can  be  only 
classed  as  epidemic ;  and,  in  cases  of  this  kind,  the  losses  are 
great,  and  cause  serious  embarrassment  to  the  loser.  We  can 
well  recall  ravages  from  foot-and-mouth  disease,  wdien  the  poor 
ewes,  after  lambing,  had  no  strength,  no  vitality  left,  and 
lambs  by  the  score  on  every  farm  where  this  visitation  had 
prevailed,  either  died  straight  off,  or  had  to  be  hand-reared. 
Similar  losses  occurred  after  the  wet  seasons  of  ’78,  ’79.  Liver- 
fluke  attacked  the  ewes ;  they,  in  most  cases,  managed  to  lamb, 
and  then  succumbed.  Naturally  enough  the  constitution  of 
the  lamb  was  more  or  less  debilitated. 
As  to  the  autumn  losses  among  lambs,  we  hardly  like  to 
dwell  on  the  subject.  Worm  in  the  throat  has  done  more  harm 
to  flock  masters  than  the  ravages  of  a  destroying  host.  Skit, 
scour,  or  other  forms  of  diarrhoea  have  laid  low  their 
thousands ;  indeed,  the  flock  master  has  ever  a  hand-to-hand 
struggle  with  disease  in  some  form  or  other.  This  is  partly 
because  by  high  feeding  and  undue  coddling  the  natural  con¬ 
ditions  in  which  sheep  were  originally  found  have  been  com¬ 
pletely  altered.  There  is  too  much  of  artificial  life ;  and  this 
sooner  or  later  brings  its  own  punishment.  We  have  acclima¬ 
tised  the  sheep  everywhere,  quite  regardless  of  its  natural 
habitat ;  we  have  made  it  more  or  less  exotic,  and  then  we 
wonder  why  every  now  and  then  Nature  rebels  and  flouts  us  and 
our  plans. 
Early  in  the  lambing  season  this  year  we  heard  of  small 
losses  arising  from  what  is  called  Navel-ill,  .Joint-ill,  or  Big- 
joint.  This  happens  every  year ;  but  presently  accounts  came 
in  telling  of  severe  loss,  not  on  one  farm,  but  on  many;  indeed, 
an  one  instance,  the  loss  of  lambs  amounted  to  200.  Affairs 
began  to  look  serious.  An  enquiry  has  been  instituted,  and 
prompt  steps  taken  to  stay  the  plague.  Prevention  being 
better  than  cure ;  and,  indeed,  it  is  doubtful  if  real  cures  are 
ever  made.  The  veterinary  inspector  sent  down  by  the  Board 
of  Agriculture  to  inquire  into  the  matter  makes  many  useful 
and  wise  suggestions.  The  gi.st  of  his  remarks  are  to  be  found 
in  the  May  copy  of  the  “  Journal  of  the  Board  of  Agricult.ii'e.” 
In  this  particular  instance  the  county  affected  is  Lincolndiire  ; 
and  it  is  well  to  remember  that  in  this  countv  are  to  be  found 
very  large  flocks  of  pedigree  sheep.  The  holdings  are  big,  and 
eminently  adapted  for  sheep ;  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  this 
particular  class  of  stock  has  been  a  bit  overdone. 
One  of  the  great  difficulties  to  contend  with  is  the  half- 
educated  shepherd.  He  cannot  be  got  to  see  that  disease 
follows  close  on  the  heels  of  dirt.  Indeed,  he  does  not  fully 
recognise  what  dirt  is!  He  is  never  more  than  superficially 
clean  in  his  work.  That  disease  lurks  in  unseen  germs  and 
atoms  he  is  loth  to  believe,  and  that  simple  disinfectants  wiil 
kill  these  unseen  germs  he  also  will  not  believe.  He  is  a 
careful,  good  fellow  according  to  his  lights ;  but  he  takes  very 
good  care  to  have  but  few  lights,  and  never,  if  possible,  does 
he  increase  them.  We  doubt  whether  it  be  within  the  range 
of  possibilities  to  educate  the  middle-aged  man  further.  In 
any  case,  it  is  an  uphill  job,  and  we  can  only  hope  that  the 
rising  generation  of  shepherds  will,  on  account  of  their  greater 
advantages  at  schools,  be  more  open  to  the  teacher  that  would 
fain  give  them  a  few  rudimentary  lessons  on  simple  i^recau- 
tions  to  ward  off  disease. 
We  may  as  well  observe  that  this  Navel-ill  is  by  no  means 
confined  to  lambs.  Calves  in  unhealthy,  dirty  surroundings 
are  very  subject  to  it ;  and  during  this  spring  season  there 
have  been  many  cases  of  this  same  complaint  attacking  young 
foals.  To  absorb  poisonous  matter  into  the  system  is  no 
difficult  matter  where  there  is  an  open  wound;  and,  in  the 
case  of  newly  born  .stock,  the  navel,  undres.sed  with  any  anti¬ 
septic  preparation,  is  the  very  entrance  the  poisonous  germ 
needs. 
A  source  of  evil  is  the  lambing-yard.  It  may  be  clean  and 
wholesome  at  the  beginning  of  the  season,  but  certainly  at  the 
end  of  a  fortnight,  if  not  sooner,  unle.ss  unusual  care  is  taken, 
the  place  may  be  nothing  but  a  hotbed  for  disease.  It  must  be 
ijorne  in  mind  that  we  are  not  now  considering  the  case  of 
Miiall  flocks,  but  we  are  speaking  of  those  where  the  ewes  may 
be  as  many  as  200,  300,  or  even  400  in  number.  The  lambing- 
yard  is  chosen  with  a  view  to  its  convenience  to  the  shepherd’s 
dwelling.  He  must  be  saved  as  much  as  possible.  It  also 
must  be  near  the  shelter  of  stacks  or  buildings.  It  is  well, 
too,  that  it  should  open  on  to  a  warm,  sunny  paddock;  and, 
therefoie,  it  is  often  found  that  there  will  be  but  one  spot  on 
the  homestead  that  answers  to  all  these  requirements.  Hence 
this  yard  is  used  throughout  the  whole  sea.son,  and  also  year 
after  year,  till  the  whole  place — the  ground  and  all  appear- 
taining  thereto — are  saturated  with  fcetid  matter.  If  any  in¬ 
fectious  disease  breaks  out,  the  situation  is  hopeless. 
We  oui’selves  believe  that  a  lambing-yard  out  in  the  open 
field,  if  shelter  be  provided  by  means  of  hurdles,  thatched  with 
straw,  would  be  far  preferable  to  the  warmer,  “snugger,”  and 
insanitary  quarters  at  home.  A  well-found,  comfortable, 
warm  sheiflierd’s  hut  would  be  provided,  and  the  whole 
apparatus  could  be  easily  moved  to  fresh  ground  when  half  the 
lambing  time  was  over. 
Now,  again,  as  to  preventive  measures.  We  have  .spoken 
and  written  so  much  on  the  same  question  respecting  calves, 
an'd  we  have  to  repeat  it  again  :  Clean  litter,  and  the  dressing 
of  the  navel  with  a  preparation  of  carbolic  acid  or  ointment 
is  good,  but  this  is  not  enough.  Many  ewes  lamb  quickly  and 
well  without  any  help.  Others  need  attention ;  and  a  shep¬ 
herd’s  hands  should  not  only  be  apparently  clean,  but  should 
be  purified — washed  and  brushed  with  a  disinfectant  solution, 
1  part  carbolic  acid.  2  parts  water.  Remember,  too,  danger 
lurks  under  the  nails ;  . these  should  he  cleaned  and  trimmed. 
Then,  again,  there  are  certain  forceps,  cords,  &c.,  which  a  shep¬ 
herd  may  use  in  difficult  cases  of  parturition,  and  these  are 
sources  of  danger  unle.ss  disinfected  by  being  boiled.  DiflBcult 
cases  of  parturition  often  mean  dead  lambs and  it  is  easy  to 
see  that  these  dead  and  partly  decayed  lambs  are  not  very 
wholesome  in  a  place  where  all  should  be  as  clean  as  possible. 
Any  dead  lambs — either  born  dead  or  afterw'ards  dying — 
should  be  at  once  removed  and  destroyed,  and  this  should  be 
the  work  of  any  person  rather  than  the  shepherd.  On  no 
account  skin  a  diseased  lamb.  The  skin  is  not  worth  the  risk. 
The  present  disease  is  marked  by  stiffness  of  the  joints,  fol¬ 
lowed  by  formation  of  abscesses  on  almost  all  the  joints,  and 
in  the  lymphatic  glands,  and  the  lips  and  muzzle.  These  latter 
abscesses  are  liable  to  affect  the  udder  of  the  ewes,  so  it  does 
not  require  a  Solomon  to  see  that  it  must  be  madness  to  give  a 
fresh  lamb  to  an  ewe  who  has  lo.st  her  offspring  from  this  com¬ 
plaint :  the  udder  itself  is  a  new  .source  of  infection.  For  the 
same  reason  the  habit  of  clothing  a  livina  lamb  with  the  skin 
of  a  dead  one  to  induce  an  ewe  to  be  a  kind  foster  mother,  is 
a  pernicious  one. 
The  ewe  herself  would  often  bear  a  little  more  attention  to 
the  matter  of  trimming  behind,  i.e.,  the  tail  and  hind  legs. 
This  should  be  done  before,  rather  than  after  lambing.  We 
have  ourselves  seen  very  unclean  feeding  bottles  and  teats  used 
in  tbe  lambing-yard,  and  all  these  are  likely  vehicles  for 
conveying  infection. 
After  the  lambing  season  is  over  there  is  no  purifier  like 
fire  for  bedding  and  litter.  Hurdles  require  to  be  scraped  and 
washed  with  lime,  to  which  should  be  added  carbolic  acid.  A 
year  is  not  long  enough  to  purify  tainted  ground.  If  it  were 
practicable,  the  plough  and  a  green  crop  to  follow,  would  be 
the  finest  remedy.  We  always  have  lime,  but  don’t  use  it  as 
freely  as  we  might.  After  all,  we  go  back  to  the  old  point — 
the  responsibility  of  the  shepherd.  Get  liim  once  to  see  tlae  part 
he  must  play  in  the  prevention  of  disea.se,  and  the  disea.se  w'ill 
in  a  great  measure  be  stayed. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
Except  that  there  have  been  a  few  very  light  showers,  the 
week  has  been  dry,  with  plenty  of  sunshine.  We  are  busy 
swede  sowing,  and  the  seed  is  going  in  satisfactoriiy,  although 
we  have  sown  under  better  conditions.  The  land  appeared  fine 
enough  when  ploughed,  but  it  ridged  out  a  trifle  rough,  and  it 
has  been  a  case  of  hurry  against  time  to  make  each  day’s  work 
complete.  To  ridge  the  land,  spread  manure,  split  the  ridges, 
and  drill  the  seed,  requires  two  pairs  of  horses,  three  horses 
with  carts,  and  one  horse  to  drill  and  light  roll  down ;  light 
horses  to  put  in  three  acres  per  day. 
To  put  in  six  acres  with  a  larger  force  is  more  economical, 
for  five  carts  will  manure  for  four  ploughs,  and  one  horse  for 
drilling  is  still  sufficient ;  so  fourteen  hor.ses  will  complete  six 
acres,  although  the  light  rolling  must  be  left  until  next  morn¬ 
ing,  when  the  drill  horse  will  do  it  before  commencing  to  drill. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  finer  swedes  are  produced  by  the 
ridging  sy.stem,  but  it  is  a  great  strain  on  the  horse  labour, 
and  makes  swede  sowing  the  hardest  time  of  the  year  for  the 
animals. 
Strong  land  farmers  are  still  calling  for  rain,  and  their 
work  is  at  a  .standstill  for  want  of  it.  We  hear  pf  spring  corn 
which  w'as  put  in  very  roughly  not  yet  making  an  a])pearance. 
It  probably  will  not  until  there  has  been  a  good,  soaking 
downfall. 
