DISEASES OF SHEEP 533 



in a nonmetallic vessel, as a porcelain mortar, 4 ounces of iodine 

 with 1 ounce of sublimed sulphur, gently heating the mixture until 

 it liquefies"; the red-brown liquid upon cooling becomes a gray-black 

 crystalline mass, insoluble in water, but soluble in glycerine and 

 fats, with 8 or 10 parts of which it is mixed for ointments or lini- 

 ments. An ointment of flowers of sulphur and carbolated vaseline 

 would also probably give good results. One author advises for head 

 scab and foot scab a mixture consisting of 1 part of mercurial oint' 

 ment and 11 parts of sulphur ointment. Foot scab and head scab 

 would also probably respond to treatment with the various dips used 

 for common scab. 



Hand dressing is not recommended for common scab ; in fact, it 

 must be looked upon as directly responsible for a considerable 

 amount of the disease, since it is too often relied upon to cure the 

 disease, while in reality it is only a palliative. The only condition 

 under which hand dressings can be advised is in case scab is discov- 

 ered in one or two sheep of a flock during severe winter weather, 

 when dipping would be impracticable. In that event, the infected 

 sheep should be immediately isolated from the flock; and they 

 might be hand dressed, if desired, in order to hold the disease in 

 check. It can not be too strongly insisted upon that pouring, spot- 

 ting, etc., are only expensive and temporizing methods of dealing 

 with scab. 



Pouring is done as follows : Part the wool on the back by mak- 

 ing a furrow with the finger from the head to the tail; furrows are 

 also made along the shoulders and thighs to the legs, and on the 

 sides; pour the ointment or dip in these furrows. A still better 

 plan is to pour the warm dip from a coffeepot or teapot directly on 

 the affected parts, rubbing it well in with the hand, a brush, or a 

 corncob. It must be repeated for emphasis, however, that such 

 treatment can not be relied upon, and should be used only in 

 emergency cases when dipping is impracticable. 



A mercurial ointment may be made as follows: (A) Dissolve 1 

 pound of resin in one-half pint of oil of turpentine; (B) mix 1 

 pound of mercurial ointment with 6 pounds of lard, with gentle 

 heat; and (C) when cool, mix the two compounds, A and B. It 

 should be remembered that mercurial ointments are not unattended 

 with danger, and on this account it is better to prepare a small 

 amount of dip and pour it on the affected part as described above. 



Dipping. By far the most rational and satisfactory and the 

 cheapest method of curing scab is by dipping the sheep in some 

 liquid which will kill the parasites. The dipping process is as 

 follows : 



Shear all the sheep at one time, and immediately after shear- 

 ing confine them to one-half the farm for two to four weeks. Many 

 persons prefer to dip immediately after shearing. 



At the end of this time dip every sheep (and every goat also, if 

 there are any on the farm). 



Ten days later dip the entire flock a second time. 



