115 



country by the daily distribution of farm manure on the fields where 

 it quickly dries and becomes distasteful to flies, at the same time 

 having its fertilising value increased. The use of the maggot trap has 

 also proved very successful on farms. This consists of a wooden 

 platform, with quarter-inch spaces left between the planks, built 

 about a foot above a cement tank containing water with a little 

 kerosene on the surface. The manure is piled on the platform and 

 the surface is kept moist ; the maggots to avoid the wet manure 

 attempt to escape and are drowned in the tank. The screening of 

 dairies, where the dairy utensils should be kept in fly-proof enclosures, 

 and above all, the careful screening of hospitals and houses in which 

 there is any infectious disease, are control measures of the utmost 

 importance. 



MooEE (A. E.). Sheep Scab.— ^^rnc. Gnz. Canada, Ottawa, iv, no. 4, 

 April 1917, pp. 262-265. [Received 6th June 1917.] 



Sheep scab or scabies in sheep is an extremely contagious disease 

 caused by a parasitic mite, Psoroptes cotmnunis, which lives on the 

 surface of the skin, causing the formation of scabs, followed by loss of 

 wool, general loss of health and finally death. The remedy consists 

 in the outward application of a suitable insecticide, the one officially 

 adopted consisting of 10 lb. of unslaked lime and 24 lb. flowers of 

 sulphur. It is prepared by first slaking the lime in enough water to 

 make a paste, to which the sulphur is then added and thoroughly 

 mixed to the consistency of mortar. This is then put into 30 gals, of 

 boiling water and boiled for three hours, water being added to maintain 

 the same proportion while it is stirred till all the sulphur is dissolved. 

 The dark chocolate-coloured fluid is then poured oft' and measured, 

 and warm water added to make 100 gals. The sheep may be dipped 

 in this, either by swimming them through vats, or by holding them m 

 small tanks, care being taken that the dip does not enter the nostrils, 

 and that they remain in it for, at least, two minutes. The animals 

 should have "been previously clipped, and the dip should be warm, 

 from 100° to 105° F., it being safest to do the work on a warm sunny 

 day. Two dippings are necessary and, as a rule, sufficient, an interval 

 of 10 to 14 days being allowed to elapse between them, to permit the 

 eggs, which are not affected, to hatch out. Thorough cleaning and 

 disinfection of all fences, pens and yards, and the destruction of all 

 tags of wool, straw and litter, are absolutely necessary to prevent 

 re-infection. 



Sergent (E.). Service antipaludique. [Antimalarial Organisation.] 

 ^Rapport Inst. Pasteur (V Alger ie en 1916, Algiers, 1917, pp. 8-10. 

 [Received 6th June 1917.] 



The annual appearance of endemic malaria is inseparably connected 

 with meteorological phenomena and is especially influenced by the 

 spring rainfall. In 1916 in Algeria abnormally heavy rains occurred 

 at the beginning of summer, causing widespread floods that enormously 

 increased the area of mosquito breeding places, and the flood area 

 coincided with that of a serious outbreak of malaria. The disease 

 was worst among Europeans, and the mortality was high among the 



