270 IHE SHEPHERD'S MANUAL. 



opened, the yards are filled in succession, the central one and 

 the first one being last filled. At V are boilers and store vats 

 filled with hot liquid to supply the vat D. All being in readi- 

 ness, four sheep are put in the decoy pens p, p, which have wire 

 fences, so that these sheep are plainly seen by the others. The 

 first pen is then opened and the sheep run toward the decoys, 

 where they stand on a drop or tilting stage made between the 

 decoy pens. This stage holds ten or twelve sheep, and they 

 are thus plunged into the dip and completely immersed. They 

 are guided to the sloping floor at the other end of the vat, from 

 which they are turned into the draining yards, each of which 

 is filled alternately, thus giving ample time for the sheep to dry 

 before they are turned out. This is necessary, as the sheep 

 have lambs at this time, and the dip is not very agreeable to 

 the lambs. When both yards are filled, the first one is emptied 

 and immediately filled again, while the sheep in the other are 

 draining. 



The dip consists of an infusion of tobacco mixed with sulphur. 



The following method is commonly used for preparing and 

 using the dipping preparation : Two boilers and two store vats 

 are used in this plan, which is a convenient one, as the supply 

 of hot liquor can be kept up continuously by means of this ar- 

 rangement. These boilers should not be less than one hundred 

 gallons for a flock of two thousand to four thousand sheep. 

 The store vats should hold each about four hundred gallons, 

 and there should be two of them. These are for holding the 

 infusion of tobacco as it is prepared for use. A water tank 

 should be provided near the stream, and a pipe from it 

 should run to each boiler and vat, and also to the dipping vat 

 to supply cold water that may be required at times. A trough 

 is made to carry the infusion into the vat, through the measure 

 marked S near the vat, by which the quantity used may be 

 known. If the quantity to be dipped in is two thousand gal- 

 lons, and the infusing boilers are of the size mentioned, it 

 will be necessary to begin to prepare the mixture two days at 

 least before the dipping is to commence. The infusion of the 

 tobacco is at the beginning of the process, to be carried out ex- 

 actly in the same manner as with tea boiling the tobacco in the 

 first water being carefully avoided. Thus five hundred pounds 

 of good leaf tobacco (that is, one pound to four gallons of wa- 

 ter, and it ought never to be less) is to be weighed out, and the 

 infusing boilers nearly filled with water, and brought to the 



