Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-05-23
FOot-rot in Sheen.


Stockman, in long article on foot-rot
in sheep, gives the following as a uni
formly successful formula for preparing
a medicine to be used in dressing the
feet of sheep when diseased: Liquid
vltrlol, one quart; butyr OF anthony,
two ounces; suiphate of zinc, two
ounces; aquafortis, two ounces" This
is asserted to be enough to cure 100
sheep, as in flock of that size half of
the feet are usually found sound. What
liquid vitriol may eAdoes not appear,
but there are plenty of severe caustics
In the way of butvr of anthony and
nitric acid. The mixture is to be APP
piled from three or four-ounce vial,
with goose quill run through bees
wax cork" The propriety or bumani
ty Of using a burning caustic on raw,
diseased foot of a living and tender an
imal seems not to have been consid-
cred by this Ohio fockmaster. Furth-
ermore, we are told to treat the flock
each alternate day for a week; the sec
ond week treat them three times, and
the third week twice, the fourth week
twice, the fifth and sixth week also once
each; and if your work has been prop
erly done and you yet have four or five
sore sheep, just destroy them and
throw them to the hogs" After
twelve or thirteen successive dressings
with a caustic like nitric acid, warrant
ed to be successful, the torlnented ami
mails, with feet burned to incurable
sores, are to be thrown to- the hogs. for
SOOth
We have had a good deal of experience
with this disease, curing the ffocks one
summer only to get them inoculated
with the disease the next, though con-
tact with sheep belonging to neignbors
who practiced this heroic method of not
curing the disease We never had &C.
casion to go over our flock more than
twice, and made only the second exam
ination lest some little channel Tor
sinus) produced by the disease had not
been opened to admit of the application
Of the medicament used at the first OPP
GRAFTON. AS soon as anyone has by
practice acquired the necessary sur
gical skill to cut out from the diseased
foot every portion Of the rotten or pu-
trid flesh or horn he can so pare the
foot that one application of ointment
will certainly cure the disease The
pairing must be SO done that no blood
vessel shall be cut, and still the raw
tissues be exposed. The work is neces-
sarily slow and painstaking, but skill is
soon acquired. Like surgery in general
it cannot be taught otherwise than by
actual demonstration on the living sub
ject. All that is needed are couple of
sharp knives, one heavy and stout and
the other thin and narrow, for pairing
out irregular channels eaten into the
foot in various directions by the dis
ease, and trough in which TO lay the
sheep for the operation. 4 common
saw-buck with couple OF short boards
laid into it makes trough of about the
right height for convenience for work
ing at the feet. The animal is to be
laid in this trough, back down, and it
can neither get up or pull its feet away
from the operator.
To make the ointment, get a pound
or two, as may be needed, of blue Wit
riol (sulphate of copper and pulverize
as finely as if it were to be used in
rapidly and well, but it can be done
with hammer, or with pestle in an
iron mortar. After the vitriol is thor
oughly pulverized, it must be mixed
with all equal weight of hot melted lard
nothing else. Stir it till cool, and the
ointment is ready for use. With the
end of the finger, or small, stripping
brush, paint the raw, freshly-pared
surface of the diseased foot, being sure
that every portion affected has been
touched or creased. 1t does not give
the animal much pain and is not
washed off by the dews or rains on the
pasture. If foot has recently been
exposed to a contagion, it will be found
red and feyered between the hoofs, but
will not nave any raw sores Oh it.
Such feet need no pairing, but only the
application of the ointment. The ONT
ment should be applied to every foot
in the focks, whether diseased or not.
1.-THE affected feet are thoroughly and
skillfully pared and perfectly creased,