Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-07-10

Pg
runs with gearing attached to the wagon
wheels, is just the thing for large
orchards.-Prof. 4. Cook of Michigan
Agricultural College.
Sulphur for Sheep.
A correspondent of the Pittsburg
Stockman recommends that sheep farm
ers who are troubled with foot-rot in
their fiocks should feed sulphur, both
as cure and preventive. She says
her farther's flock of over 600 sheep was
cured thereby. Her recipe IS to ''mix
flour OF sulphur in the weekly allowance
of salt for the flock. Three lourths salt
and one-fourth sulphur is about the
right proportion. The sheep ought to
have the mixture about twice a week
until the feet are better then once a
week until perfectly we'll. The health
of the flock VIII be maintained in bet
ter condition by giving a dose of sui
phur three or four times during the
spring and summer, even when there
is apparently no disease among them.
Sulphur also drives away the ticks, or
rather it brings the sheep to such an
improved state Of health that the para
sites will not thrive. and die off,"
She adds that local treatment 'gave
only temporary relief" and it was a
great task to treat the leet locally two or
three times year. She finds sulphur
a cure-all Tor diseases of poultry, and if
attacked with chicken cholera, few
the worst cases.
We should not lave referred to the
matter at this time, but this is a season
of the year when farmers are apt to
neglect their fiocks, as they are in the
pastures and away from daily oversight
Warm weather, too, is great promoter
OF foot-rot, and hence, wherever it is in
the neighborhood, thorough care is req
uisite to prevent the spread
of so contagious disease. We
know from dear experience that
sulphur will neither cure, pre-
vent, nor mitigate that disease or any
other similar disease in any domestic
animal, unless it may be swine, and that
is still a matter for experiment. Be-
tween 1865 and 1869 We tried sulphur in
the salt, fed twice a week through the
summer, or at least until the labors of
harvest were over, SO that more time
could be given to the focks. One sea-
son flock was divided equally and kept
separate until after harvest. Half of
the flock had sulphur in its salt. and the
other half got none. When local treat
ment was finally given the condition of
the feetin one flock was apparently ex-
actly like that of the other flock. About
halr the animals in each flock had one or
more feet affected. The local treatment
given was thorough, and a perfect cure
of every animal resulted from the one
treatment, although they were given a
second treatment about ten days after
ward, but no trace of the disease vas
found. There was no guesswork about
IY0h UyQ nd nj frn
ment was sure.
Sulpher is also recommended as
vermicide. 1t is asserted that if fed to
sheep afflicted with ticks it will kill the
vermin or drive them off the animals.
A little common sense would show that
this is impossible. Sulphur is not di.
gestible IN the stomachs of domestic
animals, unless the hog may be excepted,
and 80 little of it could get into the cir
culation that it could have no appreci-
able effect upon the vermin which
sucked out this blood. Furthermore, if
anyone is inclined to think sulphur dis
tasteful to ticks, let him put few into
vessel containing -four of sulphur.
He will find that they can live tor days
when covered with the sulphur. If ex-
however, the ticks will die forthwith,
but the correspondent of the Stockman
does not use it in that way. The fumes of
sulphur will partially relieve case of
tOot-rOt, but are Otsuffciently penetrat-
ing to complete the cure. The fact that
local treatment in the case referred to
by the correspondent gave only tenn
porary relief shows plainly that the
work was not thorough or appropriate.
So the lazy mans remedy, feeding sui
phur, was resorted to and the sheep left
to suffer. One thorough treatment with
ointment OF sulphate of copper (blue
vitroD would have effected permanent
cure at cost in labor and indictments
of less than Is cents per head, and prob
ably less than 10 cents head. We
have cured focks fer less than that, but
did not wait till half or more of the al
finals were lame. Careful and COM
plete pairing away of all diseased tissues,
and then rubbing the ointment well in
to the diseased foot, and also into every
foot, diseased or not, in the whole flock,
will certainly cure the foot-rot perma-
nently, the animals remaining we'll un-
til exposed again to contagion from
some other flock.
Hog Cholera.
DR.. D. E. Salmon, chief of the bureau
of animal industry, has issued bulle-
tin on hog cholera, which will be sent
by the Department of Agriculture at
Washington to any one who writes for
it. In it DR.. Salmon gives the results of
many years experiments and observa-
l. e \ Ill L L