(173.) _Wood Evil_ is nothing more than a cramp of the hind legs, owing to water dripping upon them from trees after a shower of rain, and is best treated by enveloping them in flannel, wrung out of hot water; but if the sheep is at the time very chill, gentle friction must first be used, else dangerous consequences will ensue. Rubbing with warm turpentine has been recommended, and is apparently worthy of a trial.
(174.) _Inflamed Eyes._ The pollen of flowers getting into the eyes while feeding, is a common cause of this annoyance, which need not be described, as, from being visible, it is known to all. Examine the eyes, and remove any irritating body. Then, if the disease be of recent date, bleed the animal largely from the jugular vein, and give it several doses of Epsom, or Glauber's salt. After the inflammation is subdued, or should it be in the suppurating stage when first noticed, hold the lids asunder, and drop upon the eye, three or four times a day, a solution of white vitriol, five grains to the ounce of water. Where this cannot be had, pure _cold_ water dashed against the eyes and head several times a day will serve as a substitute.
Though sheep are not so much incommoded by blindness as other animals, from the instinctive care usually taken of the sufferer by the rest of the flock, still such a mishap should always be prevented by energetic treatment at the commencement of the symptoms.
(175.) _Soft Cancer of the Eye_, or, as it is also called by medical men, _Fungus Hematodes_, is of very rare occurrence among sheep, and indeed would not have deserved a notice here, were it not that, from being a malignant disease, it might be looked upon as quite incurable. I can only describe it as a soft, spongy tumour, rising from the bottom of the eye, involving all the textures of that organ, so as to render them scarcely recognizable, and bleeding on the slightest touch. It is readily removed by passing a stout thread through the front of the eye with a needle, so as to afford the operator a hold by which to pull it outwards with the left hand, while, with the right, he cuts round it with a narrow-bladed knife. The operation is attended only with slight pain, but must not be considered the sole curative means; the sheep must have, at the same time, a frequent change of pasture, to prevent a recurrence of the tumour.