254 How THE FARM PAYS. 



soil and so cover them with dry, adherent dust, which cripples or kills 

 the grubs. That these pests may be recognized when seen the 

 accompanying engravings of them are given. 



LICE, FLEAS AND OTHER PARASITES. 



It is a well ascertained fact that all the parasitical vermin, both 

 external and internal, which infest our farm animals, are greatly 

 encouraged by that poor, low condition of health which results from 

 ivant of care, poor shelter and exposure, insufficient feeding, filth, and 

 other injurious circumstances which depress the vital force and 

 ^weaken the animals. It may be, and undoubtedly is, quite true, that 

 these pests spread from such unhealthful animals, and infest and 

 annoy those who are stronger and more robust, but the starting point 

 is far more often such as we have said, rather than even by contact, 

 because these parasites do not find the necessary subsistence in the 

 healthy secretions of robust animals, or are soon driven off by im- 

 mediate precautions, while the diseased matter from the skin or 

 membranes of unhealthy animals furnishes precisely the needed pabu- 

 lum for the growth and increase of the parasites. 



Without unnecessarily describing these parasites, then, we will 

 merely mention the following as types, viz., lice, fleas, tape worms, 

 intestinal worms, liver flukes of sheep; lung and bronchial worms of 

 young animals, as lambs, calves, and chickens (the last are known as 

 gapes), and the dreaded scab of sheep, and mange of horses, cattle 

 and dogs. And the first remark that may be made is that these are 

 all easily preventible by strict sanitary precautions; thorough cleanli- 

 ness of skin, stable, pasture, soil, water, food and atmosphere ; and, 

 of course, by the careful avoidance of contagion. "When it is necessary 

 to apply remedies, any kind of oil and sulphur mixed and applied to 

 the skin will be found effective for external vermin, while linseed oil 

 and turpentine are effective against all internal parasites. 



Some of these pests, however, are so destructive, that some further 

 notice of them would be useful. Sheep are especially tormented by 

 parasites, which spread from one animal to another until the whole 

 flock is infested, and the pastures even may be so infected as to be 

 wholly useless. The first of these pests to be noticed, although not 

 the worst, is the Tick. This is a reddish brown, leathery skinned 

 insect, about a quarter of an inch in length. It adheres to the skin 

 by its sharp claws and lives by sucking the blood. Sheep are some - 

 times, and lambs frequently, destroyed by these insects when they 

 are numerous, and when but few in number, they greatly annoy and 

 impoverish the animals by the pain of their punctures and the loss of 



