6^ 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[Sept. 16, 



certainly do no /ihc/, except where it dries on 

 the hair it may create a kind of irritating scab, 

 the smell of it ja undoubtediy healthy — 1 be- 

 lieve quite harmless to the fly. If the above 

 hints are welt attended to, we shall never lose 

 a sheep by the worm in the head— I am led to 

 this conclusion, by the fact that when 1 had 

 around my barn 200 sheep, they were so much 

 huddled, as to their rack-room, that the weak- 

 est in the flock, by being crowded away by the 

 stronger, until toward the spring, they became 

 too weak to throw olf, or in olher word<, had 

 not sufficient moisture to mature the worm — 

 vou will say that the weak of the flock should 

 have been separated from the rest ; Ibis 1 very 

 readily grant, but merely mention the (act to 

 shew thai a lean slieep will die by the worm, 

 and that a fat one will not. Satisfied of this 

 (ruth, together with the great alteration in the 



NE^ ENG LAND FA RMER. 



FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1825. 



A pretty full account of Bets is given in Rees" 

 Cyclopedia, art. Bor. From this it seems that 

 there are several species of the insect, among 

 which are Oestrus eqni, or Horse bol, Oesirus 

 bovis, or cattle bot, Oestrus ovis, or sheep hot. 

 The following particulars respecting the sheep 

 bot are cxiiacled from (he article alludeil to. 



"The manner in which this species deposits 

 its ova [nits or eggs [which we have often seen, 

 has not, we believe, ever been described ; nor 

 is it easy to see, though standing close to the 

 animal a"t the time, exactly in what way this is 

 accomplished, owing to the obscure colour and 

 rapid motions of the fly, and the extreme agita- 

 but from the motions of the 



tion of ihc sheep , 

 ■- , , . -i ■ . I, • xi sheep afterwards, niid the mode of .l.-fence it 



price of wool (owing to the peace with Britain) | j.^,^^^ ,^ ^^,^.^1 -^^ ^^^^^^ j^ y^^^\^ ,,^„l3, ,i,at the 



1 began gradually to diminish the number ol j 

 my flock, which 1 was too soon enabled to do 

 by the help of dogs,* to ihf number of 40 of the 



annually with their rein deer, on account of 

 the bot which infests them." 



Our correspondent seems to have mistaken 

 the object for which tar is recommended in the 

 disorder of sheep. It is to prevent, not to cure 

 the complaint. The tat is applied to the noses 

 of the sheep, as an antidote agamst the fly, 

 which deposits its egg. or nit sometimes be- 

 tween the first of August and miildle of Septem- 

 ber. Insects of all kinds have an aversion to 

 all sorts of terebinthinale substances, such as tar, 

 turpentine, Xic. If the noses of sheep are kept 

 conliuiially smirched with somt thing of the sort 

 during the season in which ihe fly makes its de- 

 posit, it will be kept at a distance, and the nit 

 not being deposited, of course the insect unich 

 springs trom it cannot be produced, liul after 

 the fly has accomplished its object, the tar can 

 have no elTect on its progeny, ivhich will be 

 sfcurily lodged beyond the reach of external 

 applications. 



Our correspondent VV. intimates that he had 



egg is deposited in the inner margin of the nos- 

 tril. 



"The moment the flv touches thi' pait of the i used injections without success. This might 



finest of the flock : for several years past, 'jyLheep they shake their heads violently, and j he because the applications were not well 

 selecting the tinest ol the lambs it has advanced 1 j^^.^j'Jj^^ ground with their foot, holding their ,inied. After the worm is full grown it is very 



■' noses at the same time, close to the earth, and | icnacions of life ; and after it has " penetrated 



running away, earnestly looking at every side, 



to see If the' fly piirsnes : Ihev also may some- 



imes be seen smelling to the grass as they go. 



est one should be Iving in wail f^r them ; which 



in number to five and an half score ; since 

 number was 40 the flock have fared as above 

 recommended — 1 know of no sickness in any of 

 the sheep since that period ; this is far from 1 ' 

 being the whole advantage of high keeping ; 



for instead of 5 lbs. ot wool from the lean sheep, , .,. ,^^,^ ^|^^^^.^,^ j,^^^ - j,^^,^.^ „^ „,,g ,„„, 



the same sheep wnen in high fle^h will give ; i o,,,er'direrlion. as ihev cannot hke horses take 

 at my last shearing there were 13 pounds taken ^^,. ,„ ,|,e water: to defend themselves against 

 from a lull blood Merino lat wether, besides: j,^ ^^,,^^^,^ „^^^, ,^^^^,^ recourse to a rut, or dry 

 what was sheared Irom his legs, part_ ol lh« ,,„,,y ^oad, or gravel-pits, where they crowd to- 



belly, &c. It will be proper to state that the 

 fleece was not washed on the sheep's back.- 



gclher during the heat of Ihe day, with their 



. , , . . , ,,'^''''.,,'' .' , no«('s held close to the ground: «birh ren.iers 



when pe.leclly cleansed, it probably will weigh ,, ^,.„;^,,|, ,.^^ ,^p ,^ ^^.^^ ^^^^^ j^j, ^H.,^,,^ „„ 



over 8 lbs. 



The woim abovementioned in appearance; 

 resembles Ihe grub in Ihe backs of neat cattle, 

 with this very remarkalile dilTerence, the for- 

 mer has two very sharp crooked hooks at his 

 head, given by the God of nature to sustain its 

 Weight while maturing, or to advance (as in the 

 cases of emaciated sheep) till it reaches the 

 brain. Tiie fly deposits its eggs from Ihe first 

 of August to Ihe rniildle of Sept. I am led to 

 this belief rather from Ihe action of the sheep, 

 than by any positive fact, as 1 hive never seen 

 the fly to knoiv it, and <lare not even guess at 

 its appearance or liabiN. If your correspon- 

 dent will have the goodness to enlighten me 

 on this point, and likewise whether at the lime 

 of a(>plylng the syringe, the worm was ihiuvvn 

 oat ? and in a stale of milurilv or not ? and il 



the wing, to gel at the noslril 



'• I imagine the nostril, from repealed attacks 

 of Ihe fly, and Ihe consequent rubbing against 

 the ground, becomes highly irritated and sore, 

 whirh occasioi s their touch to be so much dread- 

 ed by Ihe sheep. 



" From the difTicuIt and precarious mode 

 Ihe-e flies pursue in depositing their egg=, they 

 cannot succeed in depositing but a lew in each 

 sheep, whereas, on Ihe contrary, if Ihey arlually 

 entered those cavities of Ihe face to eflect it. 

 they niiisl deposit them all, and in one subject 



the brain" it would, perhaps, be out of the 

 reach of injections, or its destruction, in that 

 silnalion, might not save the sheep. 



W. solicits information on this subject from 

 our " correspondent." We do not at present 

 recollect to have ever received any written 

 communication from any correspondent relative 

 to ibis complaint in sheep. The article to 

 which W. alludes was published in the New 

 England Farmer, vol. IV. page 2C, and written, 

 (as it purports to be) by the editor. In this we 

 alluded to some verbal information, which we 

 had nblnined from a gentleman, who owns a 

 large flock of sheep. This geulleman told us 

 ihiit he I. ad been In the habit ol injecting a de- 

 coction of tobacco into the nostrils of his sheep 

 to kill worms, with success, if we recollect 

 rightly, this was performed in autumn, soon 

 alter tiie iiit was dep'isiled. Probably, it it was 

 omitted till the nil was full grown, it would 

 prove of little service. 



Mr. Alexander Reed, of Washington, Pa. 

 iiiblished an article on this subject, in the 



the only remedy for b,.,s in sheep biggest ed i -n'*"';":"'' ^ ^r""-";- "h.ch was repuhlivhed ,„ 

 by Ihe writerof,hisarlxle,isas |„||ows, ■' Per- 1 '''« ^^/^^ ^.ngb.nd Fa. mer, Vo . 111. page 60 

 haps Ihe removal of the sheep to a distant pas-|Mr. Reed observed •' that daubing ihe sheep's 



, ' J • .u .1 .• T I 1..1., ..i.iio ' nose wilh tar is considered as a proleclion 



lure, during the monlbs ol .Tune and .Inly, Willie '" ^ •* ^" " 



,1 ^ „ , Z . 1- .u 1, . „ ,,,.( ,.n ilii, asainst Ibis unknown enemy. What experi- 



Ihe wrea'esi part n( Ihe hols are yet on the s , , ,- , , ', 



I ■ 1 I- , . 4 ", !,,.;„„;„„ eiice 1 nave liad, is ralher calcn aled to 



. , .1 1- .,•.•• k I gronni), in a chrysalis stale, and not hnngin? 1 '^' '''= ,. ,,. . . , , , «< lu 

 he ever waj knowing 10 the fact ol a tat stieepl;, , - , ' ... , „„,,■,.,„ :„ i .strengthen Ibis opinion. I have a ways mm e 



r .. ■'. , .-,, t ilbem on such ground jigain. till the SPttiug in i . '^ .. , '^ , , r , 



<:i<-l.-.iiiinar frnm 111,. :.:i irlj nitho wnrrii f ' r ■ , ij ■ .u f 1 „i„„.,;„^ I Toe usc of tar amoug mv shcep, sud I do not 



of wimer would ne Ihe means ot destroying '^ i .? i ,k - • L 



sickening from the a'.lick ofthe worm ? 



By answering Ihe above (jueries he will tO'i- 

 fer a favour on, al least, one ol your subscribers, 



W. 



• In one season I liarl .'!'! shfcp killer!, without Itic 

 least chance of a re'ii. rly. DiiiiiT? the time of the 

 siltitig of th>- leoisl;iture last wiiili-r, I helieve triiy 

 frieod ofthe fleecy tribe must iiavt hail no olhn- ft; 



lliem most pITectually ; and this process re- 



! know that I ever lost one by the worms in Ihe 



.state, that nineteen in twenty of the 7ni,u.rahles who 

 ings htit those of regret at the colli .Tpat'ay wilh w'ruch I ca]iiiot, or will not Keep a \ng, will generally have 

 the hill lo regulate and reslraiu the canine uiaruuder, | their rioois ornaniented with 5 or 3 tf those pesls of 



the connlry, Ihe evr-doix- 



Ynn in the city, hy Ihe asf!?t.inre of yotir excellent 



Mayor and ('nnncii do heller ; ht'l as vonr exertions 



,11. .1 ■ „„„-o,...,i„ :„ ! head.'- .\ gentleman in Norihamplon, iMass. 



ealeil It two or three years successively in ' = , _. , ,. , r i 



-' ■• ' who owns a large Hock ol sheep preserves 



them by the same mean*. 



Wilh regard lo [ireserving sheep from this 



coinplaiiil by good keeping, we think highly 



of llial aniidole, which has olher uses besi(te^ 



places where they are particularly troublesome, 

 might prove eventually useful to Ihe tanner: 

 Ihe Laplanders, we learn from Linnaeus, migi ale 



has fastened on | 

 slide ie?i«lali:re ' 



v\as viewed. 



This qneylion I "^m free to confi 

 my mind — do the .viim'iiT" of e 

 meet at tli<^ bij- hi^itse tti Beacon hit) to enact laws lo > only ^c- lo protect the hiju d jininial man, it? bcnehls 

 foster and protect Ihe property of Ihe wool thrower ; are oiilv lor the City, as we are to s'lpnose yoar City 

 or do they mean to annihilate the same iVoni old .Mas- i do*s will he sent to a counliy ninrkct. 

 sactia.^M? .' I Let the servants of the pi-ople at their approachin,; 



It i" 'a well known fact, at least in thi" [ ait of Ihe winter sesiion Iool< to il. 



its virtues in this disorder. But this will not 

 prefeiil Ihe deposition and growth of the worm, 

 although it may prevent the consequences from 

 being fatal lo Ihe life ofthe animal. We should 

 advise the sheep-owners to try t>oih — the ap- 

 plicali-'ii of lar from the beginning of August 

 lo Ihe middle ot September, and good keeping 

 at all times. 



