Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1869-06-17
Mortality among Sheep

Eastern papers a'e reporting TN
usual fatality among sheep in New
Hampshire and Vermont, and the
cause Of this fatality is attributed
by some to the bad condition in
which hay was secured last season.
The People, of Concord, N. II. says
that the prevailing rains of last in
| ly and august damaged a large
amount Of hay. 1t went into the
barn in a condition that rendered
mould inevitable. Cows did not
thrive during the winter, and the
complaint is that they do not now
give the usual quantity Of milk.
The Vermont Farmer says that
ircn every quarter come reports OF
losses of sheep, ranging from five
per cent. to fifty. Those who are
reported to be good feeders and
careful managers, join in the com
plaint, while the careless, improvi-
dent farmers lose them by the hun
dred. The symptoms appear to be
much the same in all cases report
ed. The observing farmer notices
a loss in appetite, accompanied BY
paIeness Of the lips and skin, but
fails to mark what we believe to be
the fact, that this loss ofrosy color
Of health exists long before the ap,
petite fails, or other indications OF
feebleness present themselves.
1t may be mentioned here, that
the color of the skin is the surest
and the first test of the healthful
tone ofthe system If, on opening
the fleece, the skin shows a glossy
pink, as if. the current Of bright
blood, charged with the elements
of nutrition, is coursing just be-
meath, there need be no fear Of that
sheep running down" If, on the
contrary, the cuticle is pale and
colorless, it is sure proof that fee
Bile current of watery blood, half
oxydized, is bearing poison to all
the vital parts, and leaving the use
/ less particles which its office is to
absorb and carry away, to decay
and generate disease and death.
The patient, which is usually in
low condition, soon exhibits weak
ness. Nursing and coddling are of
no avail, but seem to hasten DEATH
Some cases that have been examin-
ed, disclose numerous 'grubs in the
head" 1t does not appear that
parasites are the primary cause OF
the death, though they probably
hasten that result Sheep that get
in low condition and die off prema-
turely, usually have grub in the
head, and are supposed to die from
that cause, when, if they had been
taken good care of, they would
have resisted the injury done by
the grubs. and lived on in yigor
and health.
Last year was bad one for sheep
in almost every section, and their
condition generally, last spring, in
Ohio, was below that Of any other
I season for the past five years, and
/ the losses were more numerous
The peculiar winter was not favor
able, especially to flocks that came
up in the fall in low condition.
The open weather took away the
appetite and vitality, and sheep in
this condition contract disorders
readily.
The Farmer thinks there may be
other causes for the trouble among
sheep in Vermont; that breeders,
| in their effort to propagate and de-
velop "fancy points and brag feec-
es, have sacrificed constitution
High feed and pampering have had
the same result. Breeding from
rams out of such focks is certain
to produce delicate, feeble lambs
and sheep. Any hard exposure
breaks them down. Ohio Farmer.