LICE, ETC. 229 



chest and head, which he buries deep into the skin, and by means of 

 which he holds so fast as to be with difficulty torn off. Tlie lice are 

 propagated by means of eggs or nits : the origin of the tick is not so 

 well understood. 



They are both injurious to the wool, and also to the health of the 

 animal, from the constant irritation which they produce. The louse 

 is more injurious than the tick. The tick only buries his head in 

 the skin ; the lice burrow, and form their nest in or under it. They 

 collect together, and a scab soon rises, whence a glutinous matter 

 proceeds. The scab continues to increase until it is of the size of a 

 sixpence, and undermines and destroys the roots of the wool, and the 

 fleece, comes off in patches. The itching then becomes intolerable, 

 and the sheep rub themselves eagerly against every thing within their 

 reach, and tear off the wool by mouthfuls. The lice are thickest 

 about the throat and under part of the neck, and when this is the case, 

 it has sometimes happened that the sheep has been seriously injured, 

 or even destroyed in a very curious way. He bends his head down 

 as closely as he can to get at the vermin, and then some of the wool 

 entangling itself about the teeth, the head becomes fixed, and the 

 animal is said to be bridled. If he is not observed and relieved, the 

 head will be held until the muscles are seriously injured, so that he 

 can no longer comfortably bend his neck to graze, or until he is abso- 

 lutely destroyed. 



Many washes have been invented to destroy these insects, but few 

 of them have perfectly succeeded. That which seems to have the 

 best effect is thus composed : — 



EECIPE(No. 17). 

 Jlrsenical Wash for Sheep Lice. — Take arsenic, two pounds ; soft soap, four pounds : 

 dissolve in thirty gallons of water. 



The infected sheep should be immersed in this, the head only being 

 kept out; and while he is in the liquid, the fleece should be well 

 rubbed and moulded, so that the wash shall penetrate fairly to the 

 skin. When taken out of the tub, the fluid should be pressed a3 

 thoroughly as possible out of the fleece, which will then do for another 

 of the flock; and the sheep should be kept from cold and wet for a 

 few days. 



Other persons prefer the following lotion : — 



RECIPE (No. 18), 

 Mercurial Wash for Sheep Lice.— Take corrosive sublimate, one ounce; spirits of 

 wine, two ounces ; rub the corrosive sublimate in the spirit until it is dissolved, and 

 then add— cream of tartar, one ounce ; bay salt, four ounces : dissolve the whole in 

 two quarts of v/ater, and apply a little of it with a small piece of sponge wherever 

 the lice appear. 



These washes, however, are not always safe, and they are very 

 troublesome in their application. The ointment which I have re- 

 commended for the scab is more easily applied, and more effectual. 

 It may be rendered more fluid, and consequently more easily rubbed 

 in, by being mixed with an equal weight of neat's-foot oil ; and it 

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