518 VETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



constituted as an offence the turning out of affected sheep 

 to graze on common lands. From that time to the present 

 many Acts have been issued by the legislature, but none 

 have aimed at anything more than the control of the 

 disease, and for this purpose powers are delegated to the 

 local authorities. This is insufficient, the entire eradi- 

 cation of scabies in sheep should be determined upon, 

 and for this purpose the working of the Act must be 

 centralized. 



In the hands of local authorities no scheme however 

 well considered can succeed, for whereas some will take full 

 advantage of the powers conferred upon them, others main- 

 tain an attitude of indifference. There are 117 county 

 divisions in the United Kingdom, so that the difficulty of 

 obtaining concerted action under permissive legislation is 

 easily understood. 



Nor have we to look only to the United Kingdom for an 

 example of the weakness of such a system ; the same exists 

 in Cape Colony, and in spite of the fact that as far back as 

 1884 it was officially stated the annual loss in the Colony 

 exceeded ^822,000, yet local arrangements still exist, and 

 the disease remains as prevalent as ever. 



It has been urged that eradication in the United 

 Kingdom is impossible, as the collection of sheep and 

 their dipping in the mountainous districts of Scotland and 

 Wales would be defeated by the fact that large areas of 

 the country are unfenced, and a few stragglers left un- 

 dipped would only act as centres of fresh infection. 

 Against this it must not be forgotten that New Zealand 

 had far greater natural difficulties to contend against, and 

 yet overcame them. Fencing is all-important, and must be 

 regarded as an essential factor in the matter, when the day 

 arrives— as it must — for clearing the United Kingdom of 

 mange. The fencing offers no difficulties ; let it be borne 

 in mind that Cape Colony stretched a fence across a conti- 

 nent to keep out Cattle Plague.* What, therefore, can be 

 the difficulty, where tracts of counties are concerned no 

 * The actual length of fencing employed was 2,082 miles ! 



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