238 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA 



banished from the ranges if men can be educated 

 to it, and have instilled within them a living con- 

 science that will lead them to do their plain duty 

 toward themselves, their flocks and their neighbors. 

 The obstacle to complete scab eradication is the 

 ignorance and criminal indifference of the lower 

 class of sheep owners, and the abettors of these 

 criminals are often the state inspectors, who very 

 often make of inspection a farce and give to their 

 friends, or to others for a consideration, clean bills 

 of health when scab is really widespread. To give 

 them the benefit of a doubt, however, these inspect- 

 ors very often would not be able to recognize a case 

 of scab were they to see it except in the last stages. 

 There is growing, however, a healthy sentiment, and 

 sooner or later the neighboring ranchmen will them- 

 selves take it upon 'them to see that scab is eradi- 

 cated from their district and compel the indifferent 

 to clean their flocks in self-defense. That done a 

 great and unnecessary expense will be saved, since 

 it will not be necessary to dip so often, only ticks 

 being to combat, and a heavy cloud of apprehension 

 will be removed from the sheep owner 's mind and 

 the shepherd's as well. 



There is in the minds of the public a deep-seated 

 prejudice against the range shepherd, the "sheep 

 herder, " and he is often regarded as being an ignor- 

 ant, -lazy, and generally degraded individual. There 

 is doubtless here and there a man of that sort en- 



