32 The Sheep-Scab. 



should be taken to destroy the germ-mites which 

 lie in a dormant state in the yards, fences, rubbing 

 places, sheds, etc., all of which, including the 

 feeding-troughs, ought to be washed with a 

 strong solution of chloride of lime or with some 

 of the dip, before the cured sheep, or any others, 

 be brought in contact with them. 



Enough has been said to impress all who are 

 engaged in sheep husbandry with the fact that 

 the disease known as " Scab " is the most formi- 

 dable foe that farmers, enlisted in wool-growing 

 in the United States, have to contend with, and 

 that the prosperity of this industry consists in 

 expelling it from their flocks. 



In Australia tens of thousands of pounds ster- 

 ling have been spent in the eradication of this 

 ruinous disease, which deteriorates the quality 

 and quantity of the wool and ultimately causes 

 the death of the parasitically infested animals. A 

 history of the rise, decline and almost complete 

 extermination of the scab in Australia would be 

 exceedingly instructive and interesting to the 

 owners of sheep ranches in our western States, 



