328 DISEASES OF SHEEP. 



the attacks of minute insects, or mites (acari) burrowing 

 in the skin, producing great irritation and itching, and 

 manifesting itself in small pimples, with dryness, scurfiness 

 and baldness of the skin. This disease is contagious; 

 therefore, to prevent the spread of the infection, the healthy 

 must be separated from the diseased sheep. Keeping sheep 

 clean, and occasionally washing in the summer season, in 

 a great measure prevents a suitable nidus for the acai^ij 

 and diminishes the prevalence of scab. Before putting 

 healthy sheep on the same pasture, it Avill be necessary to 

 Avash all the rubbing posts with the solution of the chloride, 

 or common lime, which will literally burn up the virus. 

 To make the impossibility of infection doubly sure, (neat 

 cattle and cows are as liable to take it as sheep) the best 

 plan is to take a crop of hay and turn it over for a crop of 

 corn, or any other purpose. 



Treatment. The object to be attained in curing this 

 disease is the destruction of the acari, which is necessarily 

 the same in all animals ; but in sheep the material used 

 must be in a fluid form, so as to penetrate the wool. 



The following is both an excellent cure and preventative 

 of scab in sheep : R. Acid Arseniosi, Ibi j ; SuIjyJi. Ferri, 

 lb. ccv; Aquce, cong. Ixv. Translation. — Powdered arseni- 

 ous acid, two pounds ; sulphate of iron, two hundred and 

 five pounds ; water, sixty-five gallons ; mix. Boil until 

 the fluid is reduced to one-third, and then add as much 

 water as has been lost by evaporation. This preparation 

 is the celebrated ^' Bain de Tessier," so highly prized in 

 France. The following will answer the same purpose, 

 which will not stain the wool, as it contains no sulphate 

 of iron, and will, no doubt, be preferred by many to the 

 preceding one on that account: Arsenious acid, two pounds; 

 sulphate of zinc, ten pounds ; water, sixty gallons ; mix. 



