230 BRITISH SHEEP AND SHEPHERDING. 



preventing its spread, and tracing the lines of communication so to 

 speak. A flock may be properly dipped, and yet fresh cases occur. 

 Every possible rubbing post should be dressed, and any sheep 

 showing irritation caught up and a little scurf taken from the 

 outside border of the rub and examined under a magnifier, for broken 

 bodies of the mites. There are many good dips on the market, 

 and it generally pays better to buy them than to make preparations, 

 unless one farms in a tobacco-growing country. 



LICE, KEDS, TICKS, ETC. 



All the parasites which bother sheep can be equally well disposed 

 of by dipping, but there are occasions when only limited areas 

 are affected, and the weather may be unsuitable for dipping, and 

 then we may resort to mercurial or " sheep " ointment for rubs 

 over the parts infested. 



LEG OR FOOT MANGE. 



This is a much more difficult disease to cure than that affecting 

 the woolly parts, and so well known as scab. It is due to a bacillus, 

 the Necrosis bacillus, and may be communicated from the rubbing 

 of the face on the leg, or by the leg to the lips. It is considered 

 under the heading of pustular dermatitis or lip and leg mange, which 



FLY OB MAGGOT. 



A cause of frequent annoyance, and in some seasons, serious 

 injury, is " the fly." The kind which most afflict sheep are most 

 found under trees, as they seek shelter from rain and are seldom 

 found at any distance from such retreats. They are attracted to 

 milking ewes and to such sheep as have scour and the hind parts 

 soiled. Any sores such as rams get about the head as the result of 

 fighting, or cuts incurred in shearing, offer invitations to the 

 Sarcophagus carnaria. The injuries done to the feet by foot-rot 

 or that necrobacillosis referred to in other parts of this section 

 are made worse by the fly, which deposits its eggs, and these quickly 

 form squirming masses of maggots, which live upon the yolk, and 

 cause great wounds as well as small. 



Symptoms. The commonest sign of fly is shaking of the tail 

 and rapid movements, as if stung by pain. Any irritation displayed 

 in this manner or by rubbing (see Scab) should cause the shepherd 

 to examine the animal without delay. 



Treatment. Many sheepmen carry a lump of fly stone in the 

 season when these pests are about, and apply it with excellent 

 effect so far as killing the maggots instantly are concerned, but 

 this perchloride of mercury or fly stone, or corrosive sublimate, 



