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Vol. III.
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167
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OF SCOTLAND.

167

XVI. Erysipelas, or Wildfire. This is also a cutaneousdisease, and if not attended to spreads very quickly amongthe flock. It commonly appears in the months of Augustand September, and does not continue above eight days at atime. It differs from the red-water in being attended withjnore inflammation, and but seldom with blisters. Salts, ni-tre, and a composition of sulphur, honey, treacle or syrupmay be given with good effect in both of these diseases,which are but little known in Scotland .

XVII. Foot-kot. This disorder attacks sheep that feedon wet and soft land, and such as are folded on foul ground ;and it spreads so rapidly, that there is reason to believe ithighly contagious. It is also at times occasioned by the sheepfeeding alternately on wet and dry ground, in warm wea-ther, which at first causes a few small cracks about the rootsof the hoofs, which, by being wetted and dried several timesevery day, soon enlarge and suppurate; a sharp fetid humourexudes, which corrodes the flesh, and even the bone. Ineither case it degenerates into a foul and tedious ulcer, ren-ders the sheep extremely lame, forces them often to walk orrather creep on their knees ; the hoofs drop off, and in someinstances the foot rots and falls off altogether.

When a sheep is first observed to be affected by this dis-ease, the sore foot should be washed with soap and urine,then well bathed with turpentine, or caustic ley of potash orsoda. The ulcer may be afterwards filled with scraped linendipped in Goulard cerate; or, after the washing, the diseasedparts may be rubbed all over with tar. The foot must thenbe preserved from foulness by a bandage, or a small bootwith a leathern sole. Powdered quicklime has been long ap-plied as a caustic, with good effect, when the disease has notmade great progress. After the hoof is pared as far as ne-cessary, and carefully washed, the sheep are made to standupon the lime, and are often cured without any further ap-plication. It has also been of advantage to plunge the foot