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THE DIPPING OF SHEEP IN AUSTRALIA FOR 
THE PREVENTION OF SCAB, 
By J. Annand, Veterinary Student, London. 
Willi an Illustration. 
I have much pleasure in communicating to you the fol¬ 
lowing very simple and effective means employed in the 
western district of Victoria, Australia, for the prevention of 
seal in sheep, a disease which has caused immense losses in 
that country. 
A bath is made which contains one pound of tobacco and 
one pound of sulphur to every five gallons of water, and into 
this the animals are plunged. The mixture is always kept 
as warm as the animals can bear it, avoiding, of course, ex¬ 
tremes. Coppers are erected to boil the tobacco, after which 
the decoction is placed in a large dip or receptacle, and 
the sulphur is then added. These dips are constructed of 
various sizes, and sunk in the ground. 
The heat of the mixture is kept up by the addition of hot 
liquor, and partly by the bodies of the sheep themselves. 
The dips should not be too large, as there is then a greater 
difficulty in keeping up the temperature of the fluid. If too 
small, however, there is a danger of the sheep striking on the 
bottom, when precipitated into the receptacle from the pen 
above. A good size is that which will hold ten or a dozen 
sheep comfortably at one time. Its depth should be about 
five feet. I enclose a sketch of the dip, yards, &c., which 
will assist your readers in understanding the method of 
using the bath. 
Having filled the dip, the sheep are either thrown in one by 
one until it is full or they are precipitated from the floor-trap 
situated above it. Men are placed in the bath, who keep the 
sheep moving about. Occasionally they push their heads 
under the water by means of crutches with which they are 
furnished. The sheep are thoroughly soaked in three or four 
minutes. The door communicating with “the race” is then 
lifted up, and the sheep pushed through it into this passage. 
On the d oor being again let down the dip is ready for another 
lot. The sheep find their way from “ the run ” into the 
draining yards, which are paved and slightly inclined. The 
yards being two, the furthest one is first filled and the gate then 
shut. The lower one is next filled, and when this is done 
the sheep in the upper yard are allowed to go away, those in 
the lower one taking their place. By this plan we ensure 
