Proceedings of the Farmers' Club. 301 



as upward ventilation is to be avoided in the breeding season, and 

 at all seasons, unless the hives become damp and frosty. In this 

 hive as in the old fashioned straw hive, no dampness or frost 

 occurs, and no upward ventilation is ever required." 



Adjourned. 



October 29, 1867. 



Mr. Nathan C. Ely in the chair; Mr. John W. Chambers, Secretary. 



A CHECK TO THE INSECTS INJURIOUS TO ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE LIFE. 



Mr. Thomas Affleck, Brenham, Texas. — A citizen of the great 

 pastoral State of Texas begs leave to call the attention of the 

 Farmers' Club to experience and results gained by the writer during 

 investigations in Europe and experiments at home, in search of a 

 means to cure scab in sheep. 



The pest was introduced a few years ago by some one who brought 

 bucks or tups into the State for sale. And it has since, and during 

 the war, spread with a rapidity, and to an extent that has become 

 alarming. 



I made it my business when in Europe, during the two several 

 periods of the past two years, to look into the means used for the 

 cure of this pest, foot rot, lice, &c.; and into the why and because 

 of sheep farming proving, in Great Britain, the most profitable 

 of all agricultural pursuits, whilst here, -north, south, east and west, 

 the general success was at least extremely doubtful. 



I was met by the same reply everywhere — "You do not, per- 

 sistently and systematically, not only clean your sheep from vermin, 

 but protect them from their renewed attacks." 



This used to be done there by smearing with a mixture of pine 

 tar and palm oil, or butter; or by pouring with certain mixtures 

 of spirit of (pine) tar, with oil, &c.; and more lately by dipping 

 in decoctions of tobacco, &c., or compounds of sulphm-, arsenic, 

 mercury, &c. 



To all of these modes and mixtures there were continued and 

 serious objections. 



Smearing was costly, troublesome to apply, and stained the wool 

 badly. Pouring did tolerably well, but was open to the same 

 objections. Dipping served the purpose; but decoctions of tobacco 

 were excessively sickening to the animals, and especially to lambs, 



