STATE HYGIENE 619 



larger than many a South African farm, which a man 

 fences at his own expense ! 



There can be no doubt that for effectively dealing with 

 scabies in sheep, fencing must be practised in those 

 districts where the country is innocent of fences for many 

 miles ; without this all the difficulties foreseen by men who 

 are practically acquainted with these districts will arise — 

 viz., the impossibility of collecting all the sheep. 



Professor Wallace in a very able article* dealing with 

 the eradication of scabies in sheep, gives an example of the 

 local difficulties which would occur in a Welsh mountain 

 district, where 45,000 sheep, belonging to upwards of 300 

 different owners, are grazed. In the place mentioned the 

 land possesses no fences over an area of 8 miles by 12 miles, 

 and there is only a very limited time available for dipping 

 this number of sheep. In such a case the breaking up of 

 the country by fences is the only alternative. 



One good colonial bath, giving a swim of 60 feet, will 

 with sufficient labour put 4,000 sheep through in one day, 

 or the whole lot could be put through one bath in less 

 than twelve days. Bearing in mind that the consensus of 

 opinion in Great Britain points to the annual migration 

 of sheep from the mountains as being a serious source of 

 infection, and one which is the most difficult to control, 

 it is evident these districts must be fenced if the work is 

 to be properly and economically done. 



Even when sheep scabies is brought under central 

 administration it will take a few years to eradicate it, and it 

 is economy to start on a sound basis ; it is probable that it 

 may take at least four or five years to render the United 

 Kingdom free from disease. 



There are certain conditions associated with scabies, 

 which render it a contrast to other epizootic diseases, and 

 on which it is well the public should be well informed. 



In the first instance it is a curable disease, it is not a 

 question of taking over a disease which offers a reasonable 



* ' Scab in Sheep ': Transactions of the Highland and Agricul- 

 tural Society, vol. xii., 1900. 



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