POINTS IS MANAGEMENT. 109 



The serious ravages of the scab are notorious, and are 

 spreading to such an extent as to give just cause for 

 alarm ; but there is no law, and no remedy. 



It is absolutely necessary that something should be 

 done to check the spread of this disease, and protect the 

 flock-masters who expend money in the care of, and 

 when necessary, in curing, their sheep. I may cite the 

 example of Australia in this matter. 



With the view of checking and keeping down the 

 scab, the most stringent laws were enacted, compelling 

 the flock-masters to cure, i.e. to dip their sheep, under 

 penalty of heavy fines ; and even, at the requisition of 

 neighbours, I believe the killing and burning of incurable 

 flocks. The travelling of infected flocks was and is pro- 

 hibited ; and I am informed that any party attempting to 

 cross the lands of a sheep-farmer with a drove of in- 

 fected sheep, such sheep-farmer can compel the halt of 

 the drove, and even exact the slaughter and burning of 

 the same. Such is the paternal and wise protection 

 accorded by law to a great national industry, rescuing 

 it from inevitable ruin. 



To numbers of flock-masters I have put the question 

 (well knowing the answer that would be given, but wish- 

 ing to strengthen my representation of the evils accruing 

 by the testimony of numbers), ' Why do you not dip 

 your sheep when you experience so serious a loss, year 

 by year ? ' The invariable answer is, ' Of what use would 

 it be ? All my neighbours have scab ; and if they had 

 it not, any drover can cross my " camps " with infected 

 sheep, as is almost weekly the case, strewing my lands 

 with the falling scabbed wool, and, in some instances, 

 with the carcases of the sheep which, eaten up by the 

 disease, become too weak to travel, and die on the road.' 

 As an instance of this, I may quote an occurrence as 



