sriEEP AND WOOL. 207 



Parry recommends the following ointment to be 

 well rubbed in around the horns and the tail, as if 

 will compel the flies to change their place of attack 

 or leave the animal. 



Strong mercurial ointment . . ... 1 part. 



Rosin 1 part. 



Hog's lard 2 parts. 



Melt the hog's lard in a convenient vessel, and add 

 the rosin. When these ingredients are well incor- 

 porated, add the ointment (the common unguentum of 

 the shops), and stir the whole till it becomes cold, to 

 prevent the mercury from sinking. The proportion 

 of mercury is too small to have any eft"ect on the 

 animal, but the least particle of it is fatal to any in- 

 sect. Rubbing the head and tail with a composition 

 of tar and train oil has been found to keep off the fly 

 well, but it is not as fatal to eggs already deposited 

 as the above ointment. 



One word as to washing sheep. In England the 

 common practice is to make them swim some two 

 or three times across a river or pond ; but, where 

 regard is had to the marketable qualities of wool, it 

 is evident that this process must be very insufficient. 

 Here we see them sometimes driven for miles 

 through dusty roads, and over hill and valley, to the 

 washing ; and, if well washed, as may by some pos- 

 sibility happen, by the time they arrive at their pas- 

 tures again the colour of the wool can scarcely be 

 discerned for dirt and dust. Almost every farm fur- 

 nishes means of washing far better than either of 

 these ; a little brook and a large tub or vat are all 

 that is required, and the whole may be placed in or- 

 der in a few hours. In such a tub or vat the sheep 

 may be washed cleaner, and without the danger and 

 fatigue of cariying a wet fleece some two or three 

 miles. A little soap, v/here there are large quanti- 

 ties of oil or yolk in the wool, will greatly assist in 

 cleansing the fleece. After washing, the sheep 

 should have a clean pasture, and the operation of 



