DISEASES OF SHEEP 535 



I 



sheep have been housed in buildings prior to the dipping, these 

 buildings should be disinfected before the sheep are returned to 

 them. 



Preliminary Questions in Choosing a Dip. The homemade 

 dips which are most commonly used have either tobacco or sulphur 

 as their basis, while the prepared dips contain tobacco, sulphur, 

 arsenic, carbolic acid, etc., as curative agents. 



In selecting a dip several points should be considered: First 

 of all, the question of expense will naturally arise; next, the ques- 

 tion as to whether or not scab actually exists in the flock to be 

 dipped, or whether or not the dipping is more of a precautionary 

 matter, or for the sake of cleansing the animal's skin. The facili- 

 ties at hand, the setback to the sheep, and the length of the wool 

 are also matters for consideration, as well as the pastures into 

 which the dipped sheep are to be placed. Notwithstanding state- 

 ments to the effect that a given dip can be used under all condi- 

 tions, the above questions are evidently important. 



If fuel is very scarce, so that it is impracticable to boil the 

 mixture for at least two hours, the lime-and-sulphur dips should 

 not be selected. A tobacco-and-sulphur dip, as well as many of the 

 better proprietary dips, can be made without the necessity of 

 lengthy boiling, and should be given preference whenever facilities 

 for boiling are not at hand. 



In case it is necessary to place the dipped sheep on the same 

 pastures they occupied before being dipped, it is always best to use 

 a dip containing sulphur. If a proprietary dip is selected under 

 those circumstances, it is suggested that sulphur be added, about 1 

 pound of flowers of sulphur to every 6 gallons of dip. In case it is 

 possible to utilize fresh pastures after dipping, the use of sulphur 

 is not so necessary, but is always advisable. The object in using 

 sulphur is to place in the wool a material which will not evaporate 

 quickly, but will remain there for a longer period of time than the 

 scab parasites ordinarily remain alive away from their hosts. By 

 doing this the sheep are protected against reinfection. 



Kinds of Dips. Sulphur is one of the oldest known remedies 

 for scab. As a scab eradicator it must be placed among the best 

 substances at our disposal. It is one of the constituents of certain 

 proprietary dips, but its use to the farmer is best known in the 

 tobacco-and-sulphur dip and in the lime-and-sulphur dip. These 

 homemade mixtures, as already shown, are the two dips which 

 have played the most important roles in the eradication of scab 

 from certain English colonies, and their use, especially the use, as 

 well as the abuse, of lime and sulphur, is quite extensive in this 

 country. 



The Tobacco-and-Sulphur Dip. The formula, as given here 

 and as adopted by the New South Wales sanitary authorities, ap- 

 pears to have been first proposed in 1854 by Mr. John Rutherford. 



The proportions adopted by Rutherford, and afterwards made 

 official by the scab sanitary authorities, are: 



