The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-07-07
Foot Rot In Sheen.


With all its fearful array of symp.
toms, can the hoof rot be cured on its
first attack on flock? The worst case
can be promptly cured, | reply, as |
know by practical experiments. Take
"a single sheep, put it by itself, and adj
minister the remedies daily, after the
English fashion, or as | shall presently
prescribe, and there is not an ovine dis
ease which more surely yields TO treat.
ment. But, as already remar ;ed, in
this country, where sheep are so cheap
and labor in the summer months so
dear, il would be out Of the question for
an extensive flock to attempt to
keep each sheep by itself, or to make
daily application of remedies. There is
not flock master within my knowledge
who has ever pretended to apply rene
dies oftener than once week, or regu-
larly as often as that and not one in
ten makes any separation between the
diseased and healthy sheep of a flock
into which the malady has been once
introduced. The consequence neces-
sarily is, that though cure is effected
of the sheep then diseased, it infected
or inoculated others, and these in turn
scatter the contagion before they are
cured. OF this there is not particle of
doubt. Nay, | know, by repeated OBJ
servatiOn, that a sheep once entirely
cured may again contract the disease,
and thus the malady performs perpet-
ual circuit in the flock. Fortunately,
however, the susceptibility to contract
the disease diminishes, according to my
observation, with every succeeding at
tack and fortunately, also, as already
stated, succeeding attacks, other things
being equal, become less and less viru-
lent.
What course, then, shall be pursued
Shall the hock-master sacrifice his sheep
shall he take the ordinary halfway
course-or shall he spend more on the
sheep than they are worth in attempt
ing to cure them? Neither. The course
| would advise him to pursue will APP.
pear as | detail the experiments have
made.
Treatment-The preparation of the
foot is subject of no dispute, but the
labor can be prodigiously economical
by attention to q few not very common
ly observed particulars. Shee,, should
be yarded for the operation immediate
ly after a rain, if practicable, as then
the hoofs can be readily cut. In dry
time, and after night which has left
no dew on the grass, their hoofs are al
most as tough as horn. They must be
driven through no mud or soft dung on
their way to the yard, as it doubles the
labor Of cleaning their feet. The yard
must be small, so that they can be easily
caught and it must be kept well lit
tered down, so they shall not fill their
feet with their own manure. If the
straw is wetted, their hoofs will not of
course dry and harden as rapidly as in
dry straw. Could the yard be built over
a shallow, gravelly- bottomed brook, it
would be an admirable arrangement.
The hoofs would be kept so soft that
the greatest and most unpleasant part
Of the labor, as ordinarily performed,
would in n great measure be saved and
they would be kept free from that dung
which, by any other arrangement, will
more or less get into their feet. a place
might be prepared in any little brook
by graveling, or by laying a floor of
boards on the bottom.
The principal operator or foreman
seats himself in a chair; couple of
good sharp knives Zone at least thin
and narrow one), a milestone, the pow
erful toe-nippers, bucket of water with
a couple of linen rags in it, and such
medicines as he chooses TO employ be-
ing within his reach. The assistant
catches a sheep and lays it partly on its
l.. LIT H. l., & Al,
foreman. the head coming up about to
his middle. The assistant then llneels
on some straw, or seats himself on a
low stool, at the hinder extremity Of
the sheep. If the hoofs are long, es-
pecially if they are dry and tough, the
assistant presents each foot to the fore
man, who shortens the hoof with the
toe.nippers. If there is any filth be-
tween the toes. each man, after first u.s.
ing stick, takes his rag from the buck
ct of water. draws it between the toes
and rinses it, until the filth is removed
Each then seizes his knife, and the pro-
cess of pairing away the horn COM
mences-and on the efiectual perform
ance of this all else depends.
If the disease is in the first stage
I. G., II tIlele Is merely All eTdSlOn ana
liberation of the cuticle and flesh in the
cleft above the walls of the hoof-no
pairing is necessary; but if liberation
has established itself beyond the hoof
and the heshy sole, the liberated parts,
be they more or less extensive, must be
entirely denuded of their horny cover
ing, cost what it may of time and care
1t is better not to wound the sole, so as
to cause it to bleed freely, as the run
ming blood will wash off the subsequent
applications but no fear of wounding
the sole must prevent full compliance
with the rule above laid down. At
worst, the blood can soon be staunched,
however freely it flows, by few touch
es of caustic--say butter of anthony.
If the foot is in the third stage-a
mass of rottenness and filed with mag
gots-the maggots should first be killed
10y spirits of turpentine, or a solution of
corrosive sublimate, or other equally
efficient application. 1t can be most
conveniently used from bottle having
quill through the cork. BY con-
tinuing to remove the dead maggots
with a stick, and to expose and kill the
| 4 l.. II