f a Fig. 65. b given of a vertical section of it, where b is the hinged lid by which the corn is put into the box, whence it is at once received into the hopper d, the bottom of which, being open, and brought near that of the box, a small space only is left for the corn to pass into the box, the hopper forming the corn-store; a is the cover of the box raised on its hinges by the rod f, acted upon by the platform e f, fig. 64, and when in this position, the sheep put their heads below a at c, fig. 65, and eat the corn at d. Machines of similar construction have been devised to serve poultry with corn at will.* It is a safer receptacle for corn in the field than the open oil-cake trough, fig. 52, but the animals require to become familiarised with its use. THE VERTICAL SECTION OF 1065. Sheep may be fed on horse-chestnuts. In Switzerland, the chestnuts are bruised in a machine for the purpose, and 2 lbs. of them are given to each sheep, morning and evening, by little at a time, as they are of a heating nature. They impart a rich flavour to the mutton. 1066. It is necessary that I point out the diseases to which the animals, whose care falls under our notice, are liable, in the various seasons; but I shall not enter into the particulars of their treatment, leaving you to consult the works of accomplished veterinarians. The first disease which presents itself on sheep, in the low country in winter, is purging, occasioned by eating too heartily of the tops, when first confined on turnips. At first, the complaint is not alarming, and the physicking may do good ultimately; but should it increase, or continue beyond the existence of the exciting cause, it may pass into diarrhoea, causing prostration of strength, and at last terminate in dysentery. When the purging is moderate, the pain is inconsiderable but when aggravated, the mucous membrane, which is the seat of the disease, acquires a tendency to inflammation, and griping and colicky pains are the consequence. The disease should not be thought lightly of, but speedily checked. When the green food, as in this case, is obviously at fault, the sheep should be removed to dry pasture until the symptoms disappear. One year, I remember, the whiteturnip tops grew so luxuriantly, that when Leicester hoggs were put on in October, they were very soon seized with purging, and the symptoms were much aggravated by alternate occurrences of rain and raw frost. The sheep were removed to a rough moory pasture, which had been reserved for the ewes ; and, while there, I caused the field-workers to switch off the tur* Prize Essay of the Highland and + Hogg On Sheep, p. 100. nip-tops with sickles, and thus got rid of the cause of complaint. In a short time the hoggs were restored to the turnips, and throve apace; though the wool behind was much injured by the fæcal discharge. And this is one of the losses incurred by such a complaint; and at a season, too, when it would be improper to clip the soiled wool away, to the risk of making the sheep too bare below to lie with comfort upon the cold ground. 1067. Sheep are sometimes infested with a species of louse, which belongs to the same generic group as that of the horse, and is named the Trichodectes sphærocephalus, the Pediculus ovis of the older zoological writers. It is characterised by Mr Denny as having the head nearly orbicular, rough, aud fringed with stiff hairs, and the third joint of the antennæ longest and clavate. Being one of the gnawing lice, it destroys the wool by cutting it near the root. 1068. This animal is perhaps induced to make its appearance by an increase of condition after a considerable period of poverty. It is seldom seen on Leicester sheep, because, perhaps, they are seldom in the state to induce it; but hillsheep are not unfrequently infested by it, and when so, it is amazing what numbers of the vermin may be seen upon a single sheep, its powers of reproduction seeming prodigious. It lodges chiefly upon and below the neck, where it is most effectually destroyed by mercurial ointment, which should not, however, be applied, in quantity, in very cold or in very wet weather; and in these circumstances, tobacco-juice and spirit of tar may be safely used. Professor Dick says, that, in slight visitations of the louse, a single dressing of olive oil will cause its dis appearance. 1069. The Ettrick Shepherd mentions a curious danger to which sheep affected with lice are liable, "the animal is in danger of being bridled. This is occasioned by the animal's bending its neck extremely to claw its throat with its teeth; on which occasions the teeth often fasten in the wool, so that it cannot disengage them, and it soon loses the power of its neck. I have known several die in this way."+ 1070. A quart bottle of decoction of tobaccoleaf, containing a wine glass of spirit of tar, is a useful lotion, for many purposes, for a shepherd to have constantly in his possession; and it is easily poured out by a quill passed through the cork. 1071. Another disease to which sheep are subject on passing from a state of poverty to improved condition, is the scab, and hoggs are most susceptible of it. This disease indicates its existence by causing sheep to appear uneasy, and wander about without any apparent object; to draw out locks of wool with its mouth from the affected parts, as the disease increases; and, lastly, to rub its sides and buttocks against every Agricultural Society, vol. vii. p. 405. prominent object it can find, such as a stone, a tree, a gate-post, the nets, and such like. Mr Youatt says that it arises from an insect, a species of acarus ;* and mercurial ointment is a sure remedy; a weak compound of 1 part of the ointment with 5 of lard for the first stage, and another, a stronger, of 1 part of ointment and 3 of lard, for an aggravated case. The ichorous matter from the pustules adheres to and dries upon the wool, and gets the name of scurf, which should first be washed off with soap and water before applying the ointment. The scab is a very infectious disease, the whole flock soon becoming contaminated; but the infection seems to spread, not so much by direct contact, as by touching the objects the animals infected have rubbed against. Its direct effects are deterioration of condition, arising from a restlessness preventing the animal feeding, and loss of wool — large portions not only falling off, but the remainder of the broken fleece becoming almost valueless; and its indirect effects are propagation of the disease constitutionally, and hence the loss to the owner in having a scabbed flock, for no one will purchase from one to breed from that is known to be, or to have been, affected by scab. 1072. The very existence of this disease is disgraceful to a shepherd-not being able to detect its existence at the earliest stage, and allowing it to make head amongst the flock. When it breaks out in a standing flock, it must have been latent in the sheep, or in the ground, when the shepherd took charge of the flock, and some shepherds have only the skill to suppress, not eradicate it; but it is his duty to examine every sheep of his new charge, and every newly purchased one, before being allowed to mix with the hirsel, and also to make inquiry regarding the previous state of the ground. 1073. On soft ground sheep are affected with foot-rot, when on turnips. The first symptom is a slight lameness in one of the fore-feet, then in both, and at length the sheep is obliged to kneel down, and even creep upon its knees, to get to its food. The hoof, in every case, first becomes softened, when it grows mis-shaped, occasioning an undue pressure on a particular part; this sets up inflammation, and causes a slight separation of the hoof from the coronet ; then ulcers are formed below where the hoof is worn away, and at length arrives a discharge of fetid matter. If neglected, the hoof will slough off, and the whole foot rot off-which would be a distressing termination with even only one sheep; but the alarming thing is, that the whole flock may be similarly affected, and this circumstance has led to the belief that the disease is contagious. 1074. Much difference of opinion, however, exists among store-farmers and shepherds on this point, though the opinion of contagion preponderates. For my part, I never believed it to be so, and there never would have been such a belief at all, had the disease been confined to a * Youatt On Sheep, p. 53-8. VOL. I. few sheep at a time; but though numbers are affected at one time, the fact can be explained from the circumstance of all the sheep being similarly situate; and as it is the condition of the locality which is the cause of the disease, the wonder is that any escape the affection at all, rather than that so many are affected. 1075. The first treatment for cure is to wash the foot clean with soap and water, then pare away all superfluous hoof, dressing the diseased surface with some caustic, the butter of antimony being the best-the affected part being bound round with a rag, to prevent dirt getting into it again-and removing the sheep to harder ground, upon bare pasture, and there supplying them with sliced turnips. This cure indicates that the disease may have been prevented by carefully examining every hoof before putting the sheep upon the bare ground, and paring away all extraneous horn; and should the turnips be upon soft moist ground, let them be entirely sliced, and let the sheep be confined upon a small break at a time, which will soon be trodden firm, and walking superseded. I may mention that sheep accustomed to hard ground, when brought upon soft, are most liable to foot-rot, and hence the necessity of frequent inspection of the hoof when sheep are on soft ground; and if the farm has a large proportion of soft land, the shepherd should inspect a few sheep daily. 1076. Erysipelatous complaints occur in winter amongst sheep. "Wildfire, it is said," observes Professor Dick, "generally shows itself at the beginning of winter, and first attacks the breast and belly. The skin inflames and rises into blisters, containing a reddish fluid, which escapes and forms a dark scab. The animal sometimes fevers. Venesection (blood-letting) should be used, the skin should be washed with a solution of sugar of lead, or with lime-water, and physic given, such as salts and sulphur; afterwards a few doses of nitre."+ 1077. There is no circumstance upon which an argument could be more strongly founded in favour of arable land being attached to every hill-farm, for raising food for stormy weather, than the fatality of braxy. It affects young sheep of the Black-faced breed, which subsist upon the most elevated pasture. Indigestion is the primary cause, exciting constipation, which sets up acute inflammation of the bowels, and causes death. The indigestion is occasioned by a sudden change from succulent to dry food; and the sudden change is impelled by the sudden appearance of snow concealing the green herbage the sheep were eating, obliging them to subsist upon the tops of old heather, and the dried twigs and leaves of the bushes that overtop the snow. By this account of the origin of the disease, it is obvious that were stells provided for shelter, and turnips for food, the braxy would never affect young hillsheep. 1078. The Ettrick Shepherd thus describes its + Dick's Manual of Veterinary Science, p. 110. symptoms: The loss of cud is the first token. As the distemper advances, the agony which the animal is suffering becomes more and more visible. When it stands, it brings all its four feet into the compass of a foot; and sometimes it continues to rise and lie down alternately every two or three minutes. The eyes are heavy and dull, and deeply expressive of its distress. The ears hang down, and, when more narrowly inspected, the mouth and tongue are dry and parched, and the white of the eye inflamed. The belly is prodigiously swelled, even so much that it sometimes bursts. All the different apartments of the stomach are inflamed in some degree."* Violent inflammation succeeds, with a tendency to mortification and sinking, so that, after speedy death, the stench of the viscera, and even of the carcass, is intolerable. Its effects are so sudden, that a hogg apparently well in the evening will be found dead in the morning. 1079. Cure thus seems almost unavailable, and yet it may be effected, provided the symptoms are observed in time; when, if blood is drawn freely from any part of the body, as from nicks made across the under side of the tail, from the vein under the eye, and that behind the fore-arm, and a dose of salts administered in warm water, the animal will most probably recover.+ 1085. The byres are destined for the milk cows, the breeders of the calves; and in parts of the country, byres are also em 1080. But the grand object is prevention of the ployed in the fattening of the cattle for disease, by a timely supply of succulent food; and if turnips cannot be obtained, it may be worth the store-master's consideration whether oil-cake should not be provided, and given along with hay, during a storm. The laxative property of oil-cake is well established, and its carriage to the remotest hill-farm comparatively easy. Mr Fairbairn recommends the use of salt to young sheep, when shifted suddenly from fresh to dry food; and as a condiment it would prove beneficial, especially in the case of ruminants, as cattle and sheep, the structure of whose digestive organs renders them peculiarly susceptible of indigestion; and on this account it would be a valuable assistant to the more nutritious oil-cake. the butcher: but where they are used, of course hammels are dispensed with. We shall, by-and-by, see whether byres or hammels are best suited for the fattening of cattle. 1086. Before any of these apartments can be occupied by their respective tenants, they should be liberally littered with straw. The first littering of the courts and hammels should be abundant, as a thin layer of straw makes an uncomfortable bed, whereas a thick one is not only comfortable in itself, but acts as a drain to the moisture in the heap of manure above it. More comfort to cattle is involved in this ordinary matter than most farmers seem to be aware of, but it is obvious that the first layer of litter, if thin, soon gets trampled down, and in rainy weather the soil below it as soon becomes poached—that is, saturated with wet and pierced into holes with the cattle's feet; so that any small quantity of litter afterwards laid upon this, will but absorb the moisture below it, and afford no dry lair to the cattle. A thick layer does not become poached even in wet weather, the feet cannot pierce through it, and, acting as a drain, the moisture is let pass and The Mountain Shepherd's Manual, p. 13. ‡ A Lammermuir Farmer's Treatise on Sheep in High Districts, p. 194. Instead of entirely acquiescing in the Ettrick Shepherd's recommendation "to pasture the young and old of the flocks all together,"-as has been done in Peeblesshire, to the eradication, it is said, of the braxy,-as being in many cases impracticable and attended with no profit, Mr Fairbairn suggests, "Let the pasture for a hirsel be as nearly as possible of one soil. To overlook this is a mighty error, and the surest means of making the flock unequal. The heath should also be regularly burned, and the sheep never allowed to pasture long upon soft grass," but put them on turnips, as "an infallible antidote against the progress of the malady," which he has "invariably found to give a settling stroke to the disease."+ 1081. The Ettrick Shepherd mentions the existence of 4 kinds of braxy, namely, the bowel sickness, the sickness in the flesh and blood, the dry braxy, and the water braxy, all originating *Hogg's Shepherd's Guide, p. 32. kept below, and the bedding above remains unfavourable circumstances as regards the comparatively dry. command of straw. 1087. Sometimes a deficiency of straw is experienced in the early part of winter, from various causes, amongst which may be mentioned a dislike in farmers to thrash a stack or two of the new crop in early winter, even when no old straw or old stack of corn is left from the former cropand a ready excuse is found in the want of water or wind to move the thrashing machine; but however recently formed the stacks may be, and inconvenient to thrash their produce at the time, it should be done by some means rather than stint the cattle of bedding; for should bad weather immediately arrive, an event not unlikely to happen, the cattle may become so chilled in their ill-littered quarters, that a great part of the winter may elapse before they recover from its effects; and hence arise disease and serious reduction of profit. 1088. With even plenty of old stacks, a want of water to drive the thrashingmachine may really be experienced, and this is no uncommon occurrence in the beginning of winter on farms which depend upon surface-water only for their supply; and a windmill is in no better condition from want of wind. In case such contingencies may happen, it is the duty of the farmer to provide a sufficient quantity of litter in good time, -and there are various ways of doing this. Those who still use the flail may employ it at any season; and those having horse thrashing-mills are equally independent. Bog-land supplies coarse herbage, which should be made into hay in summer; but precaution is requisite in using turf as a bottoming for the litter of courts, as turf will become like a sponge full of water after the first fall of rain, and scarcely any quantity of straw will prevent the cattle rendering the bedding. above it a poached mass. I once tried turf, after considering it well dried, but was glad to drive it out of the courts again. Ferns cut and won, as also dried grass and leaves from woods, form an excellent foundation for litter. By one or all of these means, a comfortable bed may be provided for the cattle at the commencement of the season, under the most 1089. The plan of the steading, Plate II., shows two courts for young cattle, one on each side of the straw-barn. It will be observed that the left-hand court is entirely closed in by itself, while the right-hand one has a causeyed road round two sides of it, which is the cart road to the cornbarn, and to one of the doors of the strawbarn. The cattle have liberty to walk on this road when they choose, but it should nevertheless be swept clean every day by the cattle-man. The left-hand court is occupied by the calves, and the other by the year-olds. They are both fitted up alike with turnip troughs along the walls, with a straw-rack which stands independently in the middle of the court, and with straw-racks along the walls of the sheds, which, in these cases, are placed under the granaries in the highest part or north range of the building. 1090. The troughs for turnips are placed against the walls, as in fig. 66, where a is Fig. 66. may be filled up with any hard material; c is the flagging placed on the top of this wall, to form the bottom of the trough. Some board the bottom with wood; and, where wood is plentiful, it is cheap, and answers the purpose, and is pleasanter for the cattle in wet and frosty weather; but where flags can be easily procured, they are more durable: d is a plank 3 inches thick and 9 inches in depth to keep in the turnips. Oak planking from wrecks, and old spruce trees, however knotty, I have found a cheap and durable front for turnip troughs. The planks are spliced together at their ends, and held on edge by rods of iron e batted with lead into the wall, and with nut and screw in front. The height in front should not exceed 2 feet 9 inches for calves, and 3 feet for the other beasts, and it will become less as the straw daily accumulates. The trough, here shown short, may extend to any length along the side of a court. 1091. The straw-racks for courts are made of various forms. On farms of light soils, where straw is usually scarce, a rack of the form of fig. 67, will be found serviceable in preserving the straw from rain, Fig. 67. COVERED STRAW-RACK FOR COURTS. where a a is the sparred bottom inclined upwards to keep the straw always forward to the front of the rack in reach of the cattle. The shank supporting the movable cover, b, which protects the straw from rain, passes through the apex of the bottom. The shank with its cover is moved up and down, when a supply of straw is given, by the action of a rack and pinion, c, worked by the handle d. The rack is made of wood, 5 feet square, and 5 feet in height to straw. IRON STRAW-RACK FOR COURTS. and is rodded in the sides to keep in the It remains constantly on the ground, and is not drawn up as the dung accumulates, as in the case of the racks described. It is 5 feet in length, 4 in breadth, and 44 in height; the upper rails and legs are of 1 inch square iron, and the other rails inch. This is, of course, the most durable straw-rack. 1094. Few things indicate greater care for cattle than the providing of stored turnips for their use; such being not only |