This is often mistaken for the scab, but it is, in fact, a different and
less dangerous disease. The wool falls off, and leaves the sheep nearly
naked; but it is attended with no soreness, though a reddish crust will
cover the skin, from the wool which has dropped. It generally arises
from hard keeping and much exposure to cold and wet; and, in fact, the
animal often dies in severe weather from the cold it suffers on account
of the loss of its coat.
The _remedy_ is full feeding, a warm stall, and anointing the hard part
of the skin with tar, oil, and butter. Some, however, do nothing for it,
scarcely considering it a disease. Such say that if the condition of a
poor sheep is raised as suddenly as practicable, by generous keep in the
winter, the wool is very apt to drop off; and, if yet cold, the sheep
will require warm shelter.