12 The Sheep-Scab. 



Contagion. 



There is an old British adage that, " One 

 scabby sheep v/ill infect a whole flock," which 

 is a truism that cannot be gainsaid, provided the 

 proper means are not taken for the eradication of 

 the parasites. If a single scabby sheep be herded 

 with the flock, it is a question of but a short 

 time when the tuhole flock will become infected. 

 If a neighbor's sheep be scabby, running in a 

 contiguous pasture, there is danger of contagion. 

 So is there in putting sheep onto a range from 

 which a scabby flock has lately been removed; 

 the posts, stones, fences, etc. against which the 

 diseased animals liave rubbed themselves, in the 

 endeavor to find some relief from their torture, 

 being a fruitful source of infection; for on such 

 objects the acari have been deposited with the 

 bunches of loose wool, and are communicated 

 to the next comer. 



One noticeable feature in connection with the 

 contagious nature of this disease, is the fact that 

 the old and unhealthy sheep are the first at- 



