some cases for three or four months, eats well, and never seems to lose its appetite until very near its death. On a post mortem examination we find no blood in the carcass or veins, no grub in the head, no appearance of disease in the vitals or other organs of the body, but sometimes a watery substance like that found in the tumors above described, between the skin and the flesh, chiefly upon the sides and belly. I have suffered severely from the prevalence of this disease in my own flock, and I send you these facts in the case, thinking that perhaps you may make such use of them as to elicit information in regard to its existence in other places, its prevention and cure."

It certainly is among the possibilities that this disease may be occasioned by laurel, the eating of which generally produces vomiting, but this is the effort nature makes to reject the poison. Whenever a much larger quantity of any kind of poison is taken into the stomach than is absolutely necessary to produce death, it generally acts as an emetic, and thus causes the whole to be ejected from the system, the excess of quantity becoming its own antidote. The leaves of high and low laurel, as also the leaves of other shrubs, contain prussic acid, which in a concentrated form is the most deadly poison known. Its modus operandi, according to Liebig, is to change the character of the iron of the blood, the object of the iron being to convey the oxygen which it receives in the lungs to every part of the animal system, and returning to bring to the lungs carbonic acid, which emanates from the decomposition of the worn-out tissues. Whatever substance is taken into the system that changes the character of the iron so that it ceases to absorb oxygen, deprives it of the vitalizing power, and if the poison be in a concentrated form, death must be the immediate result; if largely diluted, disease will probably precede death. Sometimes poison is administered in small quantities medicinally, and has a beneficial effect. Prussic acid is used to lessen the action of the heart, with the best of results, and at the same time increasing the appetite. But if this depressed action of the heart be continued for any length of time, disease must be the result. Prussic acid exists in the leaves of the laurel in a combined state, and has to be liberated in the stomach by fermentation, which, if taken in small quantities, and coming off slowly, may be taken into the system as slowly, without producing any nausea, and yet slowly produce death by slowly changing the character of the iron of the blood, which would lose its color and vitalization, just as fast as it lost its power to absorb oxygen, and would load the system with disease just in proportion as it failed to rid the system of carbonic acid. The fluid matter found in the tumors or under the skin, and discharged from the eyes and nose, might be the result of this change in the character of the blood, and ac

count for the want of manifestation of disease in the vital organs. This is but theory, however, but may be easily tested by exterminating every bunch of high or low laurel in every pasture where sheep are kept. We should as soon think of turning dogs loose upon sheep as sheep loose upon laurel. Neither should we abate our suspicions of that alder swale. Poisonous grasses will be likely to prevail there, particularly if not well exposed to the sun. Noxious grasses will in all probability be found, and though the older sheep would avoid the place, younger ones might stray or be driven there, and as we have before said, the domesticated sheep do not manifest so much sagacity in the choice of food as wild ones.

We thought when we first saw Mr. Felton's description of the disease which had affected his flock, that it bore some resemblance to the rot. The cause of the rot may be stated in plain language to be high living. For a great many years a controversy has been maintained among scientific men whether certain insects found in the liver, and called the liver fluke, are the cause or the result of the disease. Without joining issue with any party, we simply state that they are always found in the liver, and the liver is always diseased when the sheep are affected with the rot. These parasites are found in diseased livers of almost all the herbivora, and sometimes in that of man. Diseased liver is commonly the result of high feeding with too little exercise and not sufficient atmospheric air. Poultry are frequently fatted so, and disease of the liver introduced, in order that it may be enlarged to gratify the vitiated taste of the epicure. To avoid affecting the liver, we cautioned sheep owners against too little exercise, too warm quarters, and too high feed, and beg of them to remember that liver diseases are hereditary both in man and animal.

Sheep fed upon dry upland pastures, or on well drained lowlands, are never affected by the rot. It prevails upon lowlands when the seasons have been wet and the soil retentive of moisture, with a temperature favorable to decomposition of vegetable matter.

Mr. Bakewell, the originator of the Leicester breed, used to flood his lands, or hire lands that had been flooded, and also lands notorious for producing rot, for the purpose of rapidly fattening his sheep, or as some have it, for inducing rot.

M. Hammond says: "It appears every year in Egypt after the falling of the Nile, and it follows and keeps pace with the subsidence of the waters. Desolation and death accompany it wherever it passes, and it annually destroys at least 160,000 sheep. As soon as the waters of the Nile subside, the pastures which were submerged are speedily covered by a tender rushy grass. The sheep are exceedingly fond of it, and they are permitted to feed on it all day long. In the course of a very little time

they begin to get fat, when, if possible, they are sold. Their flesh is then exceedingly delicate, but soon after this disease begins to appear and the mortality commences. The disease is more frequent and fatal when the sheep are first turned on the newly recovered pasture than when the ground becomes dried and the rushy grass harder. But if the sheep pasture in the midst of mud or on the borders of marshes and canals, rot attends every step. The rot does not occur in elevated countries where the sheep feed on dry aromatic herbage. The Bedouins sell all the sheep which they can before they quit the Nile, for then they are in high and prime condition, after which they lose not a moment in reassembling their flocks and driving them back to the desert."

The early stages of this fatal disease give no indications of the malady that lurks in the system. The first symptom, instead of indicating disease, has more the appearance of health, for it is the rapid accumulation of fat, which increases till the general health is fairly undermined, then the animal becomes listless and unwilling to move, leaves its companions, shakes its head, depresses its ears and sinks rapidly in flesh; its eye becomes dull and glassy, the wool loses its brightness and comes easily from the skin, the breath becomes fetid, the bowels variable, at one time loose, at another costive; the skin becomes yellow and sometimes spotted with black; the eyelids are swollen; the lips, gums and palate have a pale tint; emaciation at this point becomes rapid-fever is induced and death quickly follows.

The methods by which the disease in its early stages is ascertained, is, first by handling the sheep on the small of the back. If the flesh is loose and flabby, and when rubbed against the ribs it gives a crackling soundif the small veins at the corners of the eyes are filled with yellow serum instead of blood, then the animal may be declared unsound.

A post-mortem examination reveals a shocking state of disease, and to which no other name could be so appropriately applied as that of rot. Every cavity is filled with a yellow serous fluid, the flesh is pale and appears as though it had been soaked in water; the kidneys are pale and flaccid, the lungs filled with tubercles, the heart enlarged and softened, bowels sometimes distended with water, sometimes grown together, and at other times filled with tubercles; the liver a complete mass of disease, one part hardened, another soft and ulcerated, the passage through which the bile flows filled with flukes. There is no doubt but this is the origin of the disease. We do not thus minutely describe this disease because we think it a cause of want of success in this country, but knowing what a dreadful scourge it has been in England-some farmers having lost hundreds of sheep in a few weeks-yet notwithstanding such a fatal disease,

and many others of a milder form, sheep husbandry is continually on the increase in that country. We do not think it necessary to direct attention to that system of stall-feeding which we have before noticed, and assure all that the result, if carried to any great extent, will be disease of the liver; the second stage will be rot. And if any have had their flocks affected by it on account of their sheep feeding on soft spongy lands, they may be assured that the great preventive is thorough draining. Others have no occasion to fear it if they keep their sheep on dry upland pastures. It is said that tainted flocks have recovered when sent to pasture on salt marshes. This must have been in the early stage of the disease, when the liver only was affected. Changing them when the first symptoms of the disease make their appearance to dry upland pastures, will generally be attended with the most favorable results. While a free use of salt in the early stages has been found highly beneficial, this is a remedy simple and cheap. Sir John Sinclair states that at Mr. Mosselman's farm at Chenoi, beyond the Wavre, he found that salt was used for sheep, and by allowing them to lick it the rot was completely cured. But this must have been in the early stage. Mr. King, of Bath, England, says he purchased seven or eight sheep, all giving indisputable proof of rot in its advanced stage. He intended them for dissection, but as he did not require all of them, and during the winter season only he could dissect, he kept some till summer. They were supplied with nutritious food, free from moisture, and protected from storms and changes of weather. The result was that without medicine two of these rotten sheep recovered, and when he killed them, although he found that the liver had undergone some change, still the animals would have lived on for years. But it would have been very unsafe to have bred from such stock. The progeny in all probability would have had unsound livers. No attempt ought to be made to effect a cure after the first stages.

Sheep pastured at a distance from the seashore ought always to have a plentiful supply of salt easy of access, which is an excellent preventive of this disease.

Foot rot, a disease entirely different from rot, yet like it, has been the subject of much controversy among scientific men, the question being whether it is contagious or not. We do not intend to enter the arena of debate our object being to give the best and most reliable information we possess of the characteristics of the disease.

To properly understand the nature of the disease, we must have some knowledge of the structure of the foot, the arrangement of which is well adapted to the natural habits of the animal. The foot is divided into two toes. These are shod with hoofs, in many respects similar to the hoof of

the horse, consisting of two parts, the crust and sole. The crust covers the outside of the foot and extends inwards about half way between the toes towards the heel, the sole filling the space between the outer walls or crust, and the whole secreted from the vascular tissue underneath. The crust, like that of the horse, being harder and tougher than the sole, keeps up a sharp edge on the outer margin, and is intended to resist the wear and tear to which the foot is exposed. It is well adapted to the mountain ranges which are the abodes of sheep in their natural state. Dry, hard soil, or bounding from rock to rock, wear down the edges of the crust, and keep up that sharp edge. But when it is brought into pastures where the soil is soft and moist, and the pastures luxurious so as to require little travel in quest of food, the wear of the hoof is very trifling, the outer edge so increases, and in some cases so overlaps the sole that inflammation is produced by its pressing against the sole, which nature designed it should protect. Ulceration is the result. Sometimes this crust is rent or broken off when overgrown, laying bare the vascular part of the foot, allowing sand and dirt to reach those tender parts. Inflammation first ensues, then suppuration takes place, ulcers are formed, and if allowed to go on unchecked, fungus granulations are thrown out; soon the hoof falls of. This stage of the disease is attended with high inflammatory fever, the animal rapidly loses flesh, and if not quickly delivered dies of fever and starvation.

When the sheep first manifests lameness, the hoof should be paired off so as to expose the whole of the diseased part. Sometimes it is necessary to lance the affected part, particularly when it commences under the sole. After pressing out as much as possible of the corruption, then wash the foot with a solution of some caustic; blue vitrol and vinegar is very good; muriate of antimony is considered best. In case of fungus granulations, the blue vitrol might be sprinkled upon them in form of a powder, or lunar caustic might be applied; but in any case the foot should be kept clean by constant washing, which, if regularly performed, will soon effect a

cure.

The fact that a single sheep out of a flock is rarely affected alone, has given rise to the supposition that it is contagious. Yet we think it is without sufficient evidence, for when a flock runs in the same pasture it would be strange if the hoof of more than one did not become so enlarged as to produce lameness. And should any have the quick of the foot exposed by the hoof being torn, and be brought in contact with the virus from one already diseased, it certainly would produce ulceration as would any other virus; or a number might be affected from the same cause, without contagion or inoculation. Several French veterinarians made numerous attempts