SUMMER MANAGEMENT, 189 



There are some flock-masters who immerse all their 

 sheep, but if the Iambs are faithfully attended to every year, 

 at the period recommended, few, if any, of the remainder of 

 the flock will ever be infested. Good condition is one of 

 the best preventives for this nuisance. 



The tobacco decoction will also be found excellent for slight 

 wounds of the skin, and cutaneous irritations from johns- 

 wort. 



MAGGOT-FLY. 



Sheep during the summer months are subjected to extreme 

 annoyance from flies — principally the Estris Ovis, or gad- 

 fly, and the several varieties of worm, or maggot flies. 

 Fine-wooled sheep, from the close texture of their coats, do 

 not suffer from the attacks of the latter, unless dirty from 

 scours or wounds ; but the English long-wooled varieties 

 are especially exposed. The following observations are 

 copied from Blacklock : 



" The insects passing under the name of " Fly," though 

 most troublesome in August, attack the sheep from May to 

 September, inclusive, depositing their eggs among the wool, 

 in general about the tail, the roots of the horns, or any part 

 which aflbrds, from its filthy appearance, a prospect of suita- 

 ble provision for the maggot. When these eggs are hatched, 

 a process which is, in sultry weather, almost instantaneous, 

 the maggot erodes the skin, and speedily brings the adjacent 

 parts into a fit condition for the reception of succeeding mem- 

 bers of its species. 



The backs of long-wooled sheep are, from their exposure, 

 more liable to be selected by the flies, as a receptacle for 

 their eggs, than the corresponding parts in such as are cov- 

 ered by a short, thick fleece. 



No sooner has the maggot begun its operations, than the 

 sheep becomes uneasy and restless, rubbing itself on stones 

 and trees, and endeavoring, by every means in its power, to 

 free itself from the annoyance. Teased by the constant ir- 

 ritation, fever soon sets in, and, if the sheep be unrelieved 

 by the shepherd's aid, death will inevitably follow. 



It is only lately that attention has been paid to the history 

 of the insect pests which originate the mischief, so little 

 damage do they appear to have occasioned in former periods. 

 In a valuable paper, containing the result of observations 

 made on this subject in the Highlands, and published in the 



