18 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 
The Sheep-tick (Melophagus ovinus Linneus). Figure 21. 
This insect never acquires wings. It has a broad head, 
wider than the thorax. The abdomen is roundish and hairy, 
not showing distinct rings, and in the gravid female becomes 
much enlarged. The legs are short and stout, and the claws 
very strong. The proboscis is as long as the head. Like the 
horse-tick, it is viviparous, producing a full-grown larva, en- 
closed in an oval case, as shown in Figure 21. 
It is often very troublesome to sheep, especially lambs. 
There have been numerous remedies proposed. In general, 
when there are but few, they can easily Figure 21. 
be removed by hand when the sheep are 
sheared; but when numerous on lambs, 
they may be destroyed by various washes 
or baths. Snuff, or sulphur in powder, 
rubbed thoroughly into the wool, is some- 
times used with good results. A bath 
made by steeping tobacco in water, about 
2 pounds to 10 gallons of water, in which the lambs are 
entirely immersed, with the exception of the face, is said to 
be effectual, but in some cases, has proved injurious to the 
health of the lambs. Probably the same solutions recom- 
mended for fleas would be equally effectual for these; but 
the strength of petroleum water, or naphtha water, or car- 
bolic acid water, ought to be adapted to the age and strength 
of the animals to which it is applied, young lambs having a 
much more tender skin than dogs or old sheep. 
The Bot-flies of Horses, Cattle, and Sheep. 
(istripz. 
The insects belonging to this family are much less degraded 
than the other parasitic Diptera. But in reality these are not 
parasites, except in the larval state. They pass the pupa state 
in the soil, and in the winged state are powerful fliers, seek- 
ing the quadrupeds only for the purpose of depositing their 
Figure 21.—Sheep-tick (Melophagus ovinus Linnwus), enlarged. The figure on 
the left represents the puparium when first born. From Packard’s Guide. 
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