CONTENTS.

SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES.
PAGE
HISTORY AND VARIETIES[15]
American Sheep[21]
Native Sheep[22]
The Spanish Merino[25]
The Saxon Merino[36]
The New Leicester[41]
The South-Down[47]
The Cotswold[52]
The Cheviot[54]
The Lincoln[56]
Natural History of the Sheep[57]
Formation of the Teeth[59]
Structure of the Skin[63]
Anatomy of the Wool[64]
Long Wool[76]
Middle Wool[78]
Short Wool[80]
CROSSING AND BREEDING[81]
Breeding[81]
Points of the Merino[93]
Breeding Merinos[97]
General Principles of Breeding[106]
Use of Rams[112]
Lambing[117]
Management of Lambs[121]
Castration and Docking[127]
FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT[129]
Feeding[129]
Shade[133]
Fences[133]
Hoppling[133]
Dangerous Rams[134]
Prairie Feeding[135]
Fall Feeding[137]
Winter Feeding[137]
Feeding with other Stock[142]
Division of Flocks[142]
Regularity in Feeding[143]
Effect of Food[144]
Yards[146]
Feeding-Racks[147]
Troughs[150]
Barns and Sheds[151]
Sheds[155]
Hay-Holder[156]
Tagging[157]
Washing[160]
Cutting the Hoofs[165]
Shearing[166]
Cold Storms[171]
Sun-Scald[171]
Ticks[171]
Marking or Branding[172]
Maggots[173]
Shortening the Horns[174]
Selection and Division[174]
The Crook[176]
Driving and Slaughtering[177]
Driving[177]
Points of Fat Sheep[181]
Slaughtering[184]
Cutting Up[186]
Relative qualities[187]
Contributions to Manufactures[191]
DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES[195]
Administering Medicine[197]
Bleeding[197]
Feeling the Pulse[199]
Apoplexy[200]
Braxy[201]
Bronchitis[201]
Catarrh[202]
Malignant Epizoötic Catarrh[203]
Colic[205]
Costiveness[206]
Diarrhœa[206]
Disease of the Biflex Canal[207]
Dysentery[208]
Flies[209]
Fouls[209]
Fractures[210]
Garget[211]
Goitre[211]
Grub in the Head[212]
Hoof-Ail[214]
Hoove[225]
Hydatid on the Brain[226]
Obstruction of the Gullet[228]
Ophthalmia[229]
Palsy[229]
Pelt-Rot[230]
Pneumonia[230]
Poison[233]
Rot[233]
Scab[236]
Small-Pox[239]
Sore Face[242]
Sore Mouth[243]
Ticks[243]
ILLUSTRATIONS.
A Leicester Ram[15]
Rocky Mountain Sheep[19]
A Merino Ram[25]
A Spanish Sheep-Dog[28]
Out at Pasture[35]
A Country Scene[41]
A South-Down Ram[47]
The Cotswold[52]
A Cheviot Ewe[54]
Skeleton of the Sheep as Covered by the Muscles[57]
The Wallachian Sheep[64]
The Happy Trio[81]
The Scotch Sheep-Dog or Colley[100]
Ewe and Lambs[117]
Feeding and Management[129]
A Covered Salting-Box[130]
A Convenient Box-Rack[147]
A Hole-Rack[148]
The Hopper-Rack[150]
An Economical Sheep-Trough[151]
Sheep-Barn with Sheds[152]
A Shed of Rails[155]
Washing Apparatus[162]
Toe-nippers[166]
Fleece[167]
Shepherd’s Crook[176]
The Shepherd and his Flock[179]
Drover’s or Butcher’s Dog[185]
Quiet Enjoyment[195]
An English Rack for Feeding Sheep[203]
A Barrack for Storing Sheep Fodder[228]
The Broad-tailed Sheep[236]
CONTENTS.
SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES.
HISTORY AND BREEDS[245](7)
American Swine[254](16)
The Byefield[256](18)
The Bedford[256](18)
The Leicester[257](19)
The Yorkshire[257](19)
The Chinese[258](20)
The Suffolk[260](22)
The Berkshire[261](23)
Natural History of the Hog[263](25)
Formation of the Teeth[265](27)
BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT[267](29)
Breeding[267](29)
Points of a Good Hog[274](36)
Treatment during Pregnancy[276](38)
Abortion[277](39)
Parturition[279](41)
Treatment while Suckling[282](44)
Treatment of Young Pigs[283](45)
Castration[284](46)
Spaying[286](48)
Weaning[287](49)
Ringing[289](51)
Feeding and Fattening[290](52)
Piggeries[295](57)
Slaughtering[298](60)
Pickling and Curing[300](62)
Value of the Carcass[304](66)
DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES[307](69)
Catching the Pig[308](70)
Bleeding[309](71)
Drenching[310](72)
Catarrh[310](72)
Cholera[311](73)
Crackings[314](76)
Diarrhœa[314](76)
Fever[315](77)
Foul Skin[317](79)
Inflammation of the Lungs[317](79)
Jaundice[318](80)
Leprosy[319](81)
Lethargy[319](81)
Mange[320](82)
Measles[322](84)
Murrain[323](85)
Quinsy[323](85)
Staggers[323](85)
Swelling of the Spleen[323](85)
Surfeit[325](87)
Tumors[325](87)
ILLUSTRATIONS.
The Wild Boar[245](7)
The Wild Boar at Bay[252](14)
The Chinese Hog[259](21)
The Suffolk[260](22)
A Berkshire Boar[261](23)
Skeleton of the Hog as Covered by the Muscles[263](25)
The Old Country Well[267](29)
Wild Hogs[279](41)
The Old English Hog[299](61)
A Wicked-Looking Specimen[307](69)
Hunting The Wild Boar[315](77)
CONTENTS.
POULTRY AND THEIR DISEASES.
HISTORY AND VARIETIES[327](7)
The Domestic Fowl[327](7)
The Bantam[330](10)
The African Bantam[331](11)
The Bolton Gray[333](13)
The Blue Dun[334](14)
The Chittagong[335](15)
The Cochin China[336](16)
The Cuckoo[339](19)
The Dominique[340](20)
The Dorking[340](20)
The Fawn-colored Dorking[343](23)
The Black Dorking[343](23)
The Dunghill Fowl[344](24)
The Frizzled Fowl[344](24)
The Game Fowl[345](25)
The Mexican Hen-Cock[347](27)
The Wild Indian Game[348](28)
The Spanish Game[348](28)
The Guelderland[349](29)
The Spangled Hamburgh[350](30)
The Golden Spangled[350](30)
The Silver Spangled[351](31)
The Java[352](32)
The Jersey-Blue[352](32)
The Lark-Crested Fowl[352](32)
The Malay[354](34)
The Pheasant-Malay[356](36)
The Plymouth Rock[357](37)
The Poland[358](38)
The Black Polish[360](40)
The Golden Polands[361](41)
The Silver Polands[363](43)
The Black-topped White[364](44)
The Shanghae[364](44)
The White Shanghae[367](47)
The Silver Pheasant[368](48)
The Spanish[369](49)
Natural History of Domestic Fowls[372](52)
The Guinea Fowl[378](58)
The Pea Fowl[381](61)
The Turkey[386](66)
The Wild Turkey[386](66)
The Domestic Turkey[391](71)
The Duck[394](74)
The Wild Duck[396](76)
The Domestic Duck[398](78)
The Goose[402](82)
The Wild Goose[402](82)
The Domestic Goose[404](84)
The Bernacle Goose[407](87)
The Bremen Goose[409](89)
The Brent Goose[410](90)
The China Goose[411](91)
The White China[413](93)
The Egyptian Goose[414](94)
The Java Goose[415](95)
The Toulouse Goose[415](95)
The White-fronted Goose[416](96)
The Anatomy of the Egg[417](97)
BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT[421](101)
Breeding[421](101)
High Breeding[422](102)
Selection of Stock[429](109)
Feeding[432](112)
Bran[435](115)
Millet[436](116)
Rice[436](116)
Potatoes[436](116)
Green Food[437](117)
Earth-Worms[437](117)
Animal Food[438](118)
Insects[439](119)
Laying[439](119)
Preservation of Eggs[443](123)
Choice of Eggs for Setting[446](126)
Incubation[449](129)
Incubation of Turkeys[453](133)
Incubation of Geese[454](134)
Rearing of the Young[455](135)
Rearing of Guinea Fowls[458](138)
Rearing of Turkeys[459](139)
Rearing of Ducklings[461](141)
Rearing of Goslings[463](143)
Caponizing[464](144)
Fattening and Slaughtering[468](148)
Slaughtering and Dressing[472](152)
Poultry-Houses[474](154)
DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES[478](158)
Asthma[479](159)
Costiveness[480](160)
Diarrhœa[481](161)
Fever[482](162)
Indigestion[482](162)
Lice[483](163)
Loss of Feathers[485](165)
Pip[485](165)
Roup[488](168)
Wounds and Sores[490](170)
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Varieties of Fowl[327](7)
The Bantam[331](11)
Bantam[332](12)
Bolton Grays or Creole Fowl[333](13)
Cochin Chinas[337](17)
White Dorkings[341](21)
Gray Game Fowls[346](26)
Guelderlands[349](29)
Hamburgh Fowls[350](30)
Malays[354](34)
Poland Fowls[359](39)
Shanghaes[365](45)
White Shanghaes[367](47)
Spanish Fowls[369](49)
The Guinea Fowl[379](59)
The Pea Fowl[382](62)
The Wild Turkey[386](66)
The Domestic Turkey[392](72)
The Eider Duck[395](75)
Wild Duck[397](77)
Rouen Duck[399](79)
Wild or Canada Goose[403](83)
A Bremen Goose[409](89)
China or Hong Kong Goose[411](91)
Barnyard Scene[421](101)
Fighting Cocks[429](109)
On the Watch[439](119)
Marquee Or Tent-shaped Coops[456](136)
Duck-Pond and Houses[461](141)
A Bad Style of Slaughtering[468](148)
Rustic Poultry-House[475](155)
A Fancy Coop in Chinese or Gothic Style[476](156)
Among the Straw[478](158)
Prairie Hens[483](163)
Swans[488](168)

With a single exception—that of the dog—there is no member of the beast family which presents so great a diversity of size, color, form, covering, and general appearance, as characterizes the sheep; and none occupy a wider range of climate, or subsist on a greater variety of food. This animal is found in every latitude between the Equator and the Arctic circle, ranging over barren mountains and through fertile valleys, feeding upon almost every species of edible forage—the cultivated grasses, clovers, cereals, and roots—browsing on aromatic and bitter herbs alike, cropping the leaves and barks from stunted forest shrubs and the pungent, resinous evergreens. In some parts of Norway and Sweden, when other resources fail, he subsists on fish or flesh during the long, rigorous winter, and, if reduced to necessity, even devours his own wool.

In size, he is diminutive or massive; he has many horns, or but two large or small spiral horns, or is polled or hornless. His tail may be broad, or long, or a mere button, discoverable only by the touch. His covering is long and coarse, or short and hairy, or soft and furry, or fine and spiral. His color varies from white or black to every shade of brown, dun, buff, blue, and gray. This wide diversity results from long domestication under almost every conceivable variety of condition.

Among the antediluvians, sheep were used for sacrificial offerings, and their fleeces, in all probability, furnished them with clothing. Since the deluge their flesh has been a favorite food among many nations. Many of the rude, wandering tribes of the East employ them as beasts of burden. The uncivilized—and, to some extent, the refined—inhabitants of Europe use their milk, not only as a beverage, but for making into cheese, butter, and curds—an appropriation of it which is also noticed by Job, Isaiah, and other Old Testament writers, as well as most of the Greek and Roman authors. The ewe’s milk scarcely differs in appearance from that of the cow, though it is generally thicker, and yields a pale, yellowish butter, which is always soft and soon becomes rancid. In dairy regions the animal is likewise frequently employed at the tread-mill or horizontal wheel, to pump water, churn milk, or perform other light domestic work.

The calling of the shepherd has, from time immemorial, been conspicuous, and not wanting in dignity and importance. Abel was a keeper of sheep; as were Abraham and his descendants, as well as most of the ancient patriarchs. Job possessed fourteen thousand sheep. Rachel, the favored mother of the Jewish race, “came with her father’s sheep, for she kept them.” The seven daughters of the priest of Midian “came and drew water for their father’s flocks.” Moses, the statesman and lawgiver, “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,” busied himself in tending “the flocks of Jethro, his father-in-law.” David, too, that sweet singer of Israel and its destined monarch—the Jewish hero, poet, and divine—was a keeper of sheep. To shepherds, “abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night,” came the glad tidings of a Saviour’s birth. The Hebrew term for sheep signifies, in its etymology, fruitfulness, abundance, plenty—indicative of the blessings which they were destined to confer upon the human family. In the Holy Scriptures, this animal is the chosen symbol of purity and the gentler virtues, the victim of propitiatory sacrifices, and the type of redemption to fallen man.

Among profane writers, Homer and Hesiod, Virgil and Theocritus, introduce them in their pastoral themes; while their heroes and demi-gods—Hercules and Ulysses, Eneas and Numa—carefully perpetuate them in their domains.

In modern times, they have engaged the attention of the most enlightened nations, whose prosperity has been intimately linked with them, wherever wool and its manufactures have been regarded as essential staples. Spain and Portugal, during the two centuries in which they figured as the most enterprising European countries, excelled in the production and manufacture of wool. Flanders, for a time, took precedence of England in the perfection of the arts and the enjoyments of life; and the latter country then sent what little wool she raised to the former to be manufactured. This being soon found highly impolitic, large bounties were offered by England for the importation of artists and machinery; and by a systematic and thorough course of legislation, which looked to the utmost protection and increase of wool and woollens, she gradually carried their production beyond any thing the world had ever seen.

Of the original breed of this invaluable animal, nothing certain is known; four varieties having been deemed by naturalists entitled to that distinction.

These are, 1. The Musimon, inhabiting Corsica, Sardinia, and other islands of the Mediterranean, the mountainous parts of Spain and Greece, and some other regions bordering upon that inland sea. These have been frequently domesticated and mixed with the long-cultivated breeds.

2. The Argali ranges over the steppes, or inland plains of Central Asia, northward and eastward to the ocean. They are larger and hardier than the Musimon and not so easily tamed.

3. The Rocky Mountain Sheep—frequently called the Bighorn by our western hunters—is found on the prairies west of the Mississippi, and throughout the wild, mountainous regions extending through California and Oregon to the Pacific. They are larger than the Argali—which in other respects they resemble—and are probably descended from them, since they could easily cross upon the ice at Behring’s Straits, from the north-eastern coast of Asia. Like the Argali, when caught young they are readily tamed; but it is not known that they have ever been bred with the domestic sheep. Before the country was overrun by the white ram, they probably inhabited the region bordering on the Mississippi. Father Hennepin—a French Jesuit, who wrote some two hundred years ago—often speaks of meeting with goats in his travels through the territory which is now embraced by Illinois, Wisconsin, and a portion of Minnesota. The wild, clambering propensities of these animals—occupying, as they do, the giddy heights far beyond the reach of the traveller—and their outer coating of hair—supplied underneath, however, with a thick coating of soft wool—give them much the appearance of goats. In summer they are generally found single; but when they descend from their isolated, rocky heights in winter, they are gregarious, marching in flocks under the guidance of leaders.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP.

4. The Bearded Sheep of Africa inhabit the mountains of Barbary and Egypt. They are covered with a soft, reddish hair, and have a mane hanging below the neck, and large, locks of hair at the ankle.

Many varieties of the domesticated sheep—that is, all the subjugated species—apparently differ less from their wild namesakes than from each other.

The fat-rumped and the broad-tailed sheep are much more extensively diffused than any other, and occupy nearly all the south-eastern part of Europe, Western and Central Asia, and Northern Africa. They are supposed, from various passages in the Pentateuch in which “the fat and the rump” are spoken of in connection with offerings, to be the varieties which were propagated by the patriarchs and their descendants, the Jewish race. They certainly give indisputable evidence of remote and continued subjugation. Their long, pendent, drowsy ears, and the highly artificial posterior developments, are characteristic of no wild or recently domesticated race.

This breed consists of numerous sub-varieties, differing in all their characteristics of size, fleece, color, etc., with quite as many and marked shades of distinction as the modern European varieties. In Madagascar, they are covered with hair; in the south of Africa, with coarse wool; in the Levant, and along the Mediterranean, the wool is comparatively fine; and from that of the fat-rumped sheep of Thibet the exquisite Cashmere shawls of commerce are manufactured. Both rams and ewes are sometimes bred with horns, and sometimes without, and they exhibit a great diversity of color. Some yield a carcass of scarcely thirty pounds, while others have weighed two hundred pounds dressed. The tail or rump varies greatly, according to the purity and style of breeding; some are less than one-eighth, while others exceed one-third of the entire dressed weight. The fat of the rump or tail is esteemed a great delicacy; in hot climates resembling oil, and in colder, suet.

It is doubtful whether sheep are indigenous to Great Britain; but they are mentioned as existing there at very early periods.