504- Transactions of the 



of large, irregular branching legs. The parasite I have observed is a 

 regular oval in form, in outline not unlike the body of a wood-tick, white 

 and semi-translucent like a particle of spermacetti or wax, and having 

 three or four (1 forget which, for it is some years since I have had any 

 Bcab) pairs of legs attached symmetrically to the anterior portion of the 

 body. The legs arc reddish brown in color. 



Almosl anything that is destructive to insect life will cure scab if 

 applied in liquid form and hot — say at about the temperature that the 

 hand can hear comfortably; but no mixture, however poisonous, can 

 effect a cure with a single application. It shoul ! be applied about three 

 times, and at intervals of say ten Ways. Having a scabby sheep on hand, 

 we must assume that the parasites infesting it are existing in every 

 stage of their brief career. There are those which have just emerged 

 from tiie skin with their young, those which have just burrowed into 

 the skin to bring forth their young ten or twelve days hence, those 

 which have been buried rive or six days, above whom the pustule has 

 formed, and yet others at every stage between the two extremes of their 

 career. Now, you can break the pustules (or most of them), and reach 

 with your poison the occupants of these, ami the tree acari that may 

 happen to be on the outside of the skin, but you will not reach all of those 

 that have just retired within it. You may poison the woo! so that were 

 these to emerge the next day it might he they would also perish. But 

 a \'e\v days" growth of wool must lie ample for the preservation of such 

 microscopic life. "Within a fortnight, then, from the first application 

 of your wash, a second generation of acari has matured and embarked 

 upon its mission of "increase and multiplication." These considera- 

 tions make it easy to understand why a second and third application of 

 the iHi! .it intervals of about ten days, are requisite to insure the 



cure'and eradication of the scab. 



Soon after shearing is the best time to perform any of the operations 

 hereafter described; the wool is then short, it takes less liquid to satu- 

 rate, and you have a better chance to ' ; take in the situation " generally. 



SPOTTING SHEEP. 



"Spotting" sheep consists in placing the sheep's head into some 

 stationary yoke and doctoring such spots on the sheep as can he dis- 

 covered to he affected by the scad. The yoke may he made of a forked 

 limb of a tree; or, take four-by-four scantling ami spike on two-by-four 

 p, ci - with holes bored through the same; have a peg or bolt that can 

 be inserted freely into these holes so as to keep the sheep from disen- 

 gaging hi-- neck or head from the yoke after he ins I. ecu placed in posi- 

 tion. The yoke is to be set firmly into the ground or into the floor of 

 the place where the work is to he done. Next, inspect the sheep for 

 scab thoroughly, and with a swab dipped into the '-wash," rub all 

 places that show trace of scab or even look suspicious — for it is easy to 

 overlook a patch the size of one's hand if the operator be not up to his 

 Work. A sheep whose ricece is yet entire may be quite scabby, and 

 Di ed only a few weeks to lose large patches of wool, yet to the casual 

 observer there may be nothing wrong. These places in the wool are 

 lighter colored than the balance of the fleece, and have a dried up, 

 while appearance, that one may soon learn to detect as readily as be 

 would were the wool id]' and an Ugly sore formed. Either in spotting or 

 dipping sheep I would see that all bad places that are sore or "scabby," 

 as the term would imply, should get an extra allowance of doctoring. 



