SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT 105 



and easy. Dipping for cure is not so much harder. 

 The main thing is to dip, and dip thoroughly. 



THE DIPPING VAT. 



This should be a simple trough of wood or metal 

 or concrete, 16 inches wide, 4 feet deep and as long 

 as one wishes to build. The shorter the vat the 

 slower the process of dipping, as the sheep when 

 scabby must soak for two minutes. For a farm vat 

 a length of 10 to 12 feet will be ample, as time can 

 be allowed them thoroughly to soak. The vat must 

 be narrow so that the sheep cannot turn around in 

 it. It must be deep so that each sheep can be 

 plunged clear in all over so that no spot will remain 

 untreated. It is not necessary to lower the sheep 

 into the vat or to raise them out again ; they may as 

 well be thrown in or made to jump in at one end, 

 and that end of the vat should go down perpendicu- 

 larly; at the other end there must be a gradual in- 

 cline up which they can walk. For a small flock the, 

 bottom level of the vat need not be more than four 

 feet long, with an incline beginning there and run- 

 ning gradually to the level and to a draining plat- 

 form from which the drip should be collected and 

 discharged into a vat again. A width at the bottom 

 of 6 inches is ample, as only the feet go clear down 

 and the less width the less liquor is required to 

 charge the vat. In case there is genuine and seri- 

 ous affection of scab, the sheep should be held 

 rigidly in for two minutes, and in that time the head 

 should be immersed briefly twice. If there is only 



