Sheep, Swine, and Poultry Part 14

It is not wonderful that, under such circ.u.mstances, he should speedily sink. The male _acari_, when placed on the sound skin of a sheep, will likewise burrow their way and disappear for a while, the pustule rising in due time; but the itching and the scab soon disappear without the employment of any remedy. The female brings forth from eight to fifteen young at a time.

In the United States, this disease is comparatively little known, and never originates spontaneously. The fact, that short-woolled sheep--like the Merino--are much less subject to its attacks, is probably one reason for this slight comparative prevalence. The disease spreads from individual to individual, and from flock to flock, not only by means of direct contact, but by the _acari_ left on posts, stones, and other substances against which diseased sheep have rubbed themselves. Healthy sheep are, therefore, liable to contract the malady, if turned on pastures previously occupied by scabby sheep, although some considerable time may have elapsed since the departure of the latter.

The sheep laboring under the scab is exceedingly restless. It rubs itself with violence against trees, stones, fences, etc.; scratches itself with its feet, bites its sores, and tears off its wool with its teeth; as the pustules are broken, their matter escapes, and forms scabs, causing red, inflamed sores, which constantly extend, increasing the misery of the tortured animal; if unrelieved, he pines away, and soon perishes.

The _post-mortem_ appearances are very uncertain and inconclusive. There is generally chronic inflammation of the intestines, with the presence of a great number of worms. The liver is occasionally schirrous, and the spleen enlarged; and there are frequently serous effusions in the belly, and sometimes in the chest. There has been evident sympathy between the digestive and the cutaneous systems.

_Treatment._ First, separate the sheep; then cut off the wool as far as the skin feels hard to the finger; the scab is then washed with soap-suds, and rubbed hard With a shoe-brush, so that it may be cleansed and broken. For this use take a decoction of tobacco, to which add one-third, by measure, of the lye of wood-ashes, as much hog's lard as will be dissolved by the lye, a small quant.i.ty of tar from a tar-bucket, which contains grease, and about one-eighth of the whole, by measure, of spirits of turpentine. This liquor is rubbed upon the part infected, and spread to a little distance around it, in three was.h.i.+ngs, with an interval of three days each. This will invariably effect a cure, when the disorder is only partial.

Or, the following: Dip the sheep in an infusion of a.r.s.enic, in the proportion of half a pound of a.r.s.enic to twelve gallons of water. The sheep should be previously washed in soap and water. The infusion must not be permitted to enter the mouth or nostrils.

Or, take common mercurial ointment; for bad cases, rub it down with three times its weight of lard--for ordinary cases, five times its weight. Rub a little of this ointment into the head of the sheep. Part the wool so as to expose the skin in a line from the head to the tail, and then apply a little of the ointment with the finger the whole way.

Make a similar furrow and application on each side, four inches from the first; and so on, over the whole body. The quant.i.ty of ointment after composition with the lard, should not exceed two ounces; and, generally, less will suffice. A lamb requires but one-third as much as a grown sheep. This will generally cure; but, if the animal should continue to rub itself, a lighter application of the same should be made in ten days.

Or, take two pounds of lard or palm oil; half a pound of oil of tar; and one pound of sulphur; gradually mix the last two, then rub down the compound with the first. Apply as before. Or, take of corrosive sublimate, one half a pound; white h.e.l.labore, powdered, three-fourths of a pound; whale or other oil, six gallons; rosin, two pounds; and tallow, two pounds. The first two to be mixed with a little of the oil, and the rest being melted together, the whole to be gradually mixed. This is a powerful preparation, and must not be applied too freely.

An erysipelatous scab, or erysipelas, attended with considerable itching, sometimes troubles sheep. This is a febrile disease, and is treated with a cooling purgative, bleeding, and oil or lard applied to the sores.

SMALL-POX.

The author acknowledges himself indebted for what follows under this head to R. McClure, V. S., of Philadelphia, author of a Prize Essay on Diseases of Sheep, read before the U. S. Agricultural Society, in 1860, for which a medal and diploma were awarded.

Although the small-pox in domestic animals has, fortunately, been as yet confined to the European Continent--where it has been chiefly limited to England--no good reason can ever be a.s.signed why it should not at some future time make its appearance among us, especially when we remember how long a period elapsed, during which we escaped the cattle plague, although the Continent had long been suffering from it.

The small-pox in sheep--_variola overia_--is, at times, epizootic in the flocks of France and Italy, but was unknown in England until 1847, when it was communicated to a flock at Datchett and another at Pinnier by some Merinos from Spain. It soon found its way into Hamps.h.i.+re and Norfolk, but was shortly afterward supposed to be eradicated. In 1862, however, it suddenly reappeared in a severe form among the flocks of Wilts.h.i.+re; for which reappearance neither any traceable infection nor contagion could be a.s.signed. With the present light upon the subject, it would seem to be an instance of the origination _anew_ of a malignant type of varioloid disease. Such an origin is, in fact, a.s.signed to this disease in Africa, it being well established that certain devitalizing atmospheric influences produce skin diseases, and facilitate the appearance of pustular eruptions.

The disease once rooted soon becomes epizootic, and causes a greater mortality than any other malady affecting this animal. Out of a flock numbering 1720, 920 were attacked in a natural way, of which 50 per cent. died. Of 800 inoculated cases, but 36 per cent. died.

Numerous experiments have proved beyond all doubt that this disease in sheep is both infectious and contagious; its period of incubation varies from seven to fourteen days. The mortality is never less than 25 per cent., and not unfrequently whole flocks have been swept away, death taking place in the early stages of the eruption, or in the stages of suppuration and ulceration.

The _symptoms_ may be mapped out as follows: The animal is seized with a s.h.i.+vering fit, succeeded by a dull stupidity, which remains until death or recovery results; on the second or third day, pimples are seen on the thighs and arm-pits, accompanied with extreme redness of the eyes, complete loss of appet.i.te, etc., etc. It is needless to enumerate other symptoms which exist in common with those of other disorders.

_Prevention._ At present, but two modes are resorted to, for the purpose of preventing the spread of the disease, which promise any degree of certainty of success. The first is by _inoculation_, which was recommended by Professor Simonds, of London. This distinguished pathologist appears to have overlooked the fact that he was thereby only enlarging the sphere of mischief, by imparting the disease to animals that, in all probability, would otherwise have escaped it. By inoculation, moreover, a form of the disease is given, not of a modified character, but with all the virulence of the original affection which is to be arrested, and equally as potent for further destruction of others.

By such teaching, inoculation and vaccination would be made one and the same thing, notwithstanding their dissimilarity. Even vaccination will not protect the animal, as has been already shown by the experiments of Hurbrel D'Arboval.

The second and best plan of prevention is _isolation and destruction_, as recommended by Professor Gamgee, of the Edinburgh Veterinary College.

This proved a great protection to the sheep-farmers of Wilts.h.i.+re, in 1862. In all epizootic diseases, individual cases occur, which, when pointed out and recognized as soon as the fever sets in and the early eruptions appear, should be slaughtered at once and buried, and the rest of the flock isolated. By this means the disease has been confined to but two or three in a large flock.

_Treatment._ In treating this disease, resort has of late been had to a plant, known as _Sarracenia purpura_--Indian cup, or pitcher plant--used for this purpose by the Micmacs, a tribe of Indians in British North America. This plant is indigenous, perennial, and is found from the coast of Labrador to the sh.o.r.es of the Gulf of Mexico, growing in great abundance on wet, marshy ground. The use of this plant is becoming quite general, and good results have almost uniformly attended it.

Take from one to two ounces of the dried root, and slice in thin pieces; place in an earthen pot; add a quart of cold water, and allow the liquid to simmer gently over a steady fire for two or three hours, so as to lose one-fourth of the quant.i.ty. Give of this decoction three wine-gla.s.sfuls at once, and the same quant.i.ty from four to six hours afterwards, when a cure will generally be affected. Weaker and smaller doses are certain preventives of the disease. The public are indebted to Dr. Morris, physician to the Halifax (Nova Scotia) Dispensary, for the manner of preparing this eminently useful article.

SORE FACE.

Sheep feeding on pastures infested with John's wort, frequently exhibit an irritation of skin about the nose and face, which causes the hair to drop off from the parts. The irritation sometimes extends over the entire body. If this plant is eaten in too large quant.i.ties, it produces violent inflammation of the bowels, and is frequently fatal to lambs, and sometimes to adults.

_Treatment._ Rub a little sulphur and lard on the irritated surface. If there are symptoms of inflammation of the bowels, this should be put into the mouth of the sheep with a flattened stick. Abundance of salt is deemed a _preventive_.

SORE MOUTH.

The lips of sheep sometimes become suddenly sore in the winter, and swell to the thickness of a man's hand. The malady occasionally attacks whole flocks, and becomes quite fatal. It is usually attributed to noxious weeds cut with the hay.

_Treatment._ Daub the lips and mouth plentifully with tar.

TICKS.

The treatment necessary as a preventive against these insects, and a remedy for them, has already been indicated under the head of "FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT," to which the reader is referred.

SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

HISTORY AND BREEDS.

The hog is a cosmopolite, adapting itself to almost every climate; though its natural haunts--like those of the hippopotamus, the elephant, the rhinoceros, and most of the thick-skinned animals--are in warm countries. They are most abundant in China, the East Indies, and the immense range of islands extending throughout the whole Southern and Pacific oceans; but they are also numerous throughout Europe, from its Southern coast to the Russian dominions within the Arctic.

As far back as the records of history extend, this animal appears to have been known, and his flesh made use of as food. Nearly fifteen hundred years before Christ, Moses gave those laws to the Israelites which have given rise to so much discussion; and it is evident that, had not pork been the prevailing food of that nation at the time, such stringent commandments and prohibitions would not have been necessary.

The various allusions to this kind of meat, which repeatedly occur in the writings of the old Greek authors, show the esteem in which it was held among that nation; and it appears that the Romans made the art of breeding, rearing, and fattening pigs a study. In fact, the hog was very highly prized among the early nations of Europe; and some of the ancients even paid it divine honors.

The Jews, the Egyptians, and the Mohammedans alone appear to have abstained from the flesh of swine. The former were expressly denied its use by the laws of Moses. "And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean unto you."

Lev. xi. 7. Upon this prohibition, Mohammed, probably, founded his own.

For the Mosaic prohibition, various reasons have been a.s.signed: the alleged extreme filthiness of the animal; it being afflicted with a leprosy; the great indigestibility of its flesh in hot climates; the intent to make the Jews "a peculiar people;" a preventive of gluttony; and an admonition of abstinence from sensual and disgusting habits.

At what period the animal was reclaimed from his wild State, and by what nation, cannot be stated. From the earliest times, in England, the hog has been regarded as a very important animal, and vast herds were tended by swineherds, who watched over their safety in the woods, and collected them under shelter at night. Its flesh was the staple article of consumption in every household, and much of the wealth of the rich and free portion of the community consisted in these animals. Hence bequests of swine, with land for their support, were often made; rights and privileges connected with their feeding, and the extent of woodland to be occupied by a given number, were granted according to established rules. Long after the end of the Saxon dynasty, the practice of feeding swine upon the mast and acorns of the forest was continued till the forests were cut down, and the land laid open for the plough.

Nature designed the hog to fulfil many important functions in a forest country. By his burrowing after roots and the like, he turns up and destroys the larvae of innumerable insects, which would otherwise injure the trees as well as their fruit. He destroys the slug-snail and adder, and thus not only rids the forests of these injurious and unpleasant inhabitants, but also makes them subservient to his own nourishment, and therefore to the benefit of mankind. The fruits which he eats are such as would otherwise rot on the ground and be wasted, or yield nutriment to vermin; and his diggings for earth-nuts and the like, loosens the soil, and benefits the roots of the trees. Hogs in forest land may, therefore, be regarded as eminently beneficial; and it is only the abuse which is to be feared.

The hog is popularly regarded as a stupid, brutal, rapacious, and filthy animal, grovelling and disgusting in all his habits, intractable and obstinate in temper. The most offensive epithets among men are borrowed from him, or his peculiarities. In their native state, however, swine seem by no means dest.i.tute of natural affections; they are gregarious, a.s.semble together in defence of each other, herd together for warmth, and appear to have feelings in common; no mother is more tender to her young than the sow, or more resolute in their defence. Neglected as this animal has ever been by authors, recorded instances are not wanting of their sagacity, tractability, and susceptibility of affection. Among the European peasantry, where the hog is, so to speak, one of the family, he may often be seen following his master from place to place, and grunting his recognition of his protectors.

The hog, in point of actual fact, is also a much more cleanly animal than he has the credit of being. He is fond of a good, cleanly bed; and when this is not provided for him, it is oftentimes interesting to note the degree of sagacity with which he will forage for himself. It is, however, so much the vogue to believe that he may be kept in any state of neglect, that the terms "pig," and "pig-sty" are usually regarded as synonymous with all that is dirty and disgusting. His rolling in the mud is cited as a proof of his filthy habits. This practice, which he shares in common with all the pachydermatous animals, is undoubtedly the teaching of instinct, and for the purpose of cooling himself and keeping off flies.

Pigs are exceedingly fond of comfort and warmth, and will nestle together in order to obtain the latter, and often struggle vehemently to secure the warmest berth. They are likewise peculiarly sensitive of approaching changes in the weather, and may often be observed suddenly leaving the places in which they had been quietly feeding, and running off to their styes at full speed, making loud outcries. When storms are overhanging, they collect straw in their mouths, and run about as if inviting their companions to do the same; and if there is a shed or shelter near at hand, they will carry it there and deposit it, as if for the purpose of preparing a bed.

In their domesticated state, they are, undeniably, very greedy animals; eating is the business of their lives; nor do they appear to be very delicate as to the kind or quality of food which is placed before them.

Although naturally herbivorous animals, they have been known to devour carrion with all the voracity of beasts of prey, to eat and mangle infants, and even gorge their appet.i.tes with their own young. It is not, however, unreasonable to believe that the last revolting act--rarely if ever happening in a state of nature--arises more from the pain and irritation produced by the state of confinement, and often filth, in which the animal is kept, and the disturbances to which it is subjected, than from any actual ferocity; for it is well known that a sow is always unusually irritable at this period, snapping at all animals that approach her. If she is gently treated, properly supplied with sustenance, and sequestered from all annoyance, there is little danger of this practice ever happening.

All the offences which swine commit are attributed to a disposition innately bad; whereas they too often arise from bad management, or total neglect. They are legitimate objects for the sport of idle boys, hunted with curs, pelted with stones, often neglected and obliged to find a meal for themselves, or wander about half-starved. Made thus the Ishmaelites of our domestic animals, is it a matter of wonder that they should, under such circ.u.mstances, incline to display Ishmaelitish traits? In any well-regulated farm-yard, the swine are as tractable and as little disposed to wander or trespa.s.s as any of the animals that it contains.