60 



disinfected by carting away the soil to some safe spot, by washing all 

 the wood-work as high as a man's head with a solution of boiling lye,* 

 and afterwards covering it with a coat of whitewash, AH old pelts 

 which could harbor the insects should be burned. Every possible se- 

 creting place for the insects should be overhauled. After a thorough 

 cleansing the yards should be left vacant for three weeks. 



After the dipping the sheep should be driven into fresh, clean yards, 

 and not into such as have not been sufficiently cleansed. If possible 

 they should be kept from infected pasture ranges for three weeks, by 

 which time all parasites which may have dropped from them may be 

 considered as dead. Sheep which have been dipped in any of the 

 tobacco preparations can be, so it is stated, driven on the ranges im- 

 mediately after dipping with impunity, as the tobacco odor keeps the 

 insects away. An;f sheep which may have died on the range should 

 either be buried deeply or burned. In dipping extreme care should be 

 taken by all who handle sheep not to transfer the pests from animal to 

 animal. 



Medicinal.— There are two methods of treating sheep for scaib. The 

 one of rubbing poisonous ointments and oils into the fleece by the hand 

 is the oldest and least used. It is slow, tedious, and unreliable, and 

 has been superseded by better methods. 



The other consists in immersing sheep in watery mixtures which will 

 kill the parasites. This method being cheaper, quicker, and more 

 effective, is the one in general use in this country. The formulae used 

 and the methods of applying them vary in different portions of the conn- 

 try according to the needs of the sheep-owner. 



In the East, tubs large enough to hold sufficient of the dip to com- 

 pletely immerse the sheep, and kettles or cauldrons of a capacity to 

 heat the required amount are used, but in the range country of the 

 West, where thousands of sheep are to be treated, especially made dip- 

 piiig pens and tanks through which the sheep may be driven, and large 

 boilers made for the purpose, are used. Each method is adapted to the 

 needs of the respective localities. Although some dips are fairly effect- 

 ive when applied to sheep with their fleeces on, the dipping should, as 

 a rule, be preceded by shearing. This rule should be violated only on 

 account of season. If any of the flock are infected all should be sub- 

 jected to treatment, otherwise the disease will be carried along and 

 break out from time to time. The shearing should take place in a shed 

 where all the wool can be cared for, and either poisoned or destroyed, 

 or so safely stored that it could by no possibility scatter the insects. 

 Any treatment undertaken without being preceded by shearing can at 

 best be considered as ]iailiative. 



The object of the treatment is to kill the parasites and their eggs. 

 The parasitefi are killed by the direct application of a poisonous dip. 

 The eggs have a thick shell which often resists the effect of the poison, 



* Use 1 part of potash to 200 of water. 



