The History, Structure, Economy, and Diseases of the Sheep

Abstract

THROUGHOUT the whole historic period the sheep has been a source of wealth to man. Mutton has been a staple article of human food, and wool one of the staple materials out of which fabrics have been made for human use. At no period in the history of the United Kingdom has the sheep been so much the object of the farmer's solicitude and care as at the present day. A new edition, purporting to be carefully revised and considerably enlarged, of a work exclusively devoted to the animal, from the pen of Mr. W. C. Spooner, V.S., is, therefore, manifestly entitled to attention. Mr. Spooner has written much. To Blackie's “Cyclopædia of Agriculture” he contributed several valuable papers on veterinary subjects. He has written several other thoughtful essays. He is best known as the editor of an edition of White's “Veterinary Art.” The work now before us is the one by which he can best be judged as an author. The title of the volume is pretentious. It would lead the reader to expect an exhaustive treatise; but the most superficial examination corrects this impression.

The History, Structure, Economy, and Diseases of the Sheep.

By W. C. Spooner Third Edition. (London: Lockwood and Co., 1874.)