302 Journal op the Department op Agriculture. 



any trouble. Mr. Linton, of Mount Abundance, bad a similar experience with 12,000 full- 

 wooUed hoggets. He despaired of getting bis sheep shorn without serious losses. He wrote 

 Dalmally, and Mr. Russell gave him the formula as above. He had only three sheep struck 

 in isix weeks. Other cases are known to this Committee quite as convincing, so we say 

 positively — the use of the above method will save serious losses if applied in time, and it 

 may be repeated at intervals of, say, two and a half months without injury to fleece or health 

 of sheep. The cost, labour included, runs to about one farthing per head. One gallon will 

 jet about eight sheep if carefully used. We believe that the cleansing effect of a strong jet 

 is a big factor in the protection given. 



"This method of jetting at the above strength only protects the breech of the sheep. 

 The Committee knows from experience that dipping in a poisonous solution will give a 

 certain amount of piotection. It was found in the Gindie experiments that three dippings 

 at intervals of three months minimized fly attack. The Committee is experimenting with 

 dips, with the object of protecting the whole body of the animal as has been accomplished 

 by jetting for the breech. To that end Mr. W. A. Russell, of Dalmally, has erected a shower 

 dip and 50-ft. swim dip to try and discover some method which will protect the animal from 

 the fly without injuring the health or the fleece. 



"Many dressings for flyblown sheep have been tried out and found in the great majority 

 of cases useless. None of the naphthalene or carbolic preparations has been found of any 

 use. The Committee regrets that at present it is prohibited from publishing the results and 

 names of the dressings tried. Very few have been found effective, and it is hoped that in the 

 near future permission will be obtained for publishing the names of these di-essings, as the 

 Committee realizes that much money and time are being wasted by sheep-owners in using 

 dressings already known to this Committee to be useless. This is the worst season for fly 

 this Committee has known. 



"A cheap and effective dressing for lambs' tails has come under our notice. We have 

 not tried it out yet, but many practical men are using it successfully. It is as follows : — 

 15 lb. of fat, beef or mutton ; 

 IJ pints of paraffin oil. Mixed together. 

 To be warmed before using on the purse and tail of marked lambs." 



Tipwilters. — These large, long-legged dark brown plant-bugs 

 {Holopternu valga) have, as usual, been much in evidence this summer, 

 and many garden-flowers have suffered from their attack. They are 

 very familiar creatures, and the name " Tipwilter " well describes 

 them. In the veld they have been noticed on small yellow flowering 

 composites, and in the garden they have been numerous on dahlias 

 and sunflowers, the latter seeming to be a preferred food-plant. 



There is no other way of dealing with this evil-smelling creature 

 than that of collecting and destroying as many as possible. It may 

 be a bit discouraging at first, but a good deal of annoyance can be 

 avoided if the insects are regularly destroyed. The simplest means 

 to this end is a tin can with water and paraffin oil in it or some 

 carbolic disinfectant. The bugs can be knocked into the can from 

 the plant, and this is of easy accomplishment if done early in the 

 morning whilst the creatures are sluggish. 



Fruit-fiy. — Upon the whole, the summer fruits in the Pretoria 

 District have escaped destruction by fruit-fly, but early in February 

 the inroads of the pest on yellow peaches became very marked in 

 some gardens. In one, where all the stone fruits were destroyed last 

 summer only the yellow peaches have been attacked this year, the 

 damage running to very nearly 100 per cent, of the fruits. This 

 instance seems to show how enormously this insect may breed up in 

 a few months, even after it has had a decided set-back. It will be 

 remembered that in Pretoria the damage was very great last summer; 

 it started early and continued to be severe all through. This is 

 attributed to the mildness of the preceding winter (1919), whilst the 

 relative freedom of attack during the earlier part of this summer 

 seems due to the frosts of the 1920 winter. 



