426 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 July, 1916. 



Dimensions of Bath. — Length at top, 16 feet; length on floor, to 

 foot of ramp or "walk-out," 9 feet; width, inside measurement, 

 3 ft. 9 in. at top, 1 ft. 3 in. at bottom; depth, 5 feet. 



No slide was made, the sheep being put in by hand from a small pen 

 alongside bath. 



There is a sliding door at the foot of ramp to keep the sheep in as 

 long as required. 



Draining Yards. — Two are provided, each 8 feet x 8 feet, with 

 swing-gate hung on end of dividing fence to enable yards to be used 

 alternately. 



Material. — Concrete mixed in proportion of seven parts gravel to 

 one of cement. Walls and floor of bath are 5 inches in thickness, faced 

 by \ inch of cement mortar, four of sand to one of cement. Floor 

 of ramp is faced with mortar, two to one sand and cement, and is 

 formed in slats or corrugations to give a good foothold. Floor of drain- 

 ing yards is 6 inclies in thickness, laid on good sand foundation, and 

 faced with 1 inch cement mortar two in one, and formed with a slope 

 of 3 inches in 8 feet towards dividing fence between yards, and also 

 from back of yards towards bath. 



Ten casks of cement and about 9 cubic yards of gravel were used in 

 construction, and total cost was about £20, including labour. 



Since this dip was constructed, however, the price of cement has 

 largely increased, and it would probably be better to substitute bricks 

 for concrete, and grout with cement mortar. 



No. 3. — Ballarat City Council Dip. — This is a circular bath dip, the 

 sheep passing down a slide from the end of the race leading from receiv- 

 ing yards, fixed at an angle of 45 degrees to the race, with a drop of 

 five in seven. There is a decoy pen at the end of race to hold two or 

 three sheep. I saw some 400 young sheep put through in an hour 

 under the direction of Mr. Cadden, the City Council's ofiicer. They 

 went well, and were thoroughly dipped. 



The bath holds eight average-sized sheep at a time, and the last 

 " block " of the race has the same capacity, so that whilst the sheep 

 are soaking the race is refilled, and the loss of time is slight. 



When a dip is required for comparatively small lots of sheep, a 

 round bath is, in my opinion, preferred to a short rectangular one. In 

 the former, the sheep may be kept swimming round as long as desired 

 without any check, whereas in the latter they must be checked in order 

 to give them the requisite time to soak, and they are either kept 

 floundering about or turned back ; in the latter case they meet sheep 

 swimming in the opposite direction, and a block occurs. 



A circular bath such as the one under notice (and one of smaller 

 dimensions might be made if desired) is also comparatively economical 

 to fill, and may, therefore, be bailed and recharged when used for 

 several lots of sheep, thus avoiding the use of foul wash. Its full 

 capacity is 1,160 gallons. It may be used down to the 3-ft. mark for 

 small sheep and lambs. This depth represents about 500 gallons of 

 wash. It will be seen that, when refilled, the liquor is very much 

 freshened, and the necessity of very frequent cleaning out is much 

 reduced, hence cheaper work can be done for small lots. 



