lo Aug.. 19 io.] BiiUdiug Hints for Settlers. 543 



Sheep can be dipped just as effectively in a bath with a swim of 18 

 or 20 ft., as in one 50 ft., but they must be held in longer, if necessary. 

 \^'hen sheep are once clean it takes very little to keep them in that con- 

 dition, but judgment must be exercised in dipping mixed sheep, for close 

 woolled Merinoes, especially if hand .shorn, need to be held much longer 

 in the bath than crossbreds. On the other hand, crossbreds must have 

 more length of wool to retain the wash. 



Dipping immediately off shears is not to be recommended. Sheep are 

 " banged " into the shed, kept without food over night, (and often longer 

 in showery weather), shorn and cut about, thrown out and bruised, 

 crammed into the branding race and branded, from there into the dip 

 forcing-yards where, with aged sheep particularly, they undergo a lot of 

 jostling before they can be forced into the bath. If the slide is a high 

 steep one and the bath is getting low it is here that they get the worst of 

 the bruising. Sheep with horns suffer greatly, for they often fall on each 

 other, no matter how careful the crutcher may be. They are prodded 

 under two or three times, and struggle up the out-slope to drain. At the 

 best, there are many lame and sore sheep the next day, with a percentage of 

 broken legs, and all are dejected and miserable looking. If wet and cold 

 weather follows some die, while the remainder take weeks to recover 

 thoroughly. 



This is why most dealers, and many owners who ha\e experienced dip- 

 ping in large dips, prefer not to dip sheep or lambs intended for sale off 

 shears as stores or fats. Off shears dipping is, however, often good manage- 

 ment on large stations — it saves mustering large paddocks and driving 

 sheep long distances in the dust the second time. Where flocks are small 

 and have not far to travel, it is better to let them have a few weeks' rest 

 and recover the effects of shearing, and get hardened to the weather. 



The experience of farmers has conclusively proved that four main 

 faults to avoid are: — 



1 . High steep sliding boards. 



2. Excessively long swims. 



3. Making the width in bottom too wide. 



4. Making the bath narrow where the sheep fall in. 



{To be continued .) 



