60 THE HEAD-SCAB OF SHEEP. 
numerous open sores and scabs make the presence of the 
itch-mite very certain and plain. 
REMEDIES.—‘‘Remove scabs by soapsuds and brush, and 
apply a tea made by boiling 11% ounces of tobacco in two 
pints of water. This application should be repeated after 
fifteen days to kill the new brood that may have hatched in 
the interval. Cleanliness in the stable is another important 
factor, and if a case of this disease has been found in a stable, 
all blankets and rubbers should be boiled, and the walls. 
should be whitewashed with quicklime containing one-fourth 
pound of chloride of lime to the gallon.”’ 
THE HEAD-SCAB OF SHEEP. 
(Sarcoptes scabiet var. ovis). 
This variety of thecommonitch-miteis very small, almost. 
invisible to the naked eye. It presents some characters not 
found in the other varieties, but they are of very little im- 
portance to the flockmaster. 
Dr. Cooper Curtice describes this disease in ‘‘The Animal 
Parasites of Sheep’ as follows: ‘‘Head scab begins on the 
upper lip and about the nostrils; more rarely it may show 
itself for the first time about the eyelids and ear. In these 
places there is less hair and grease, affording the pests better 
opportunities of getting at the skin. From these starting 
points the scabs spread over the forehead, cheeks, eyelids, 
and occasionally over the space under the jaws. In badly 
infested sheep the disease may sometimes spread over the 
fore limbs, under the belly, around the joints, and especially 
between the folds of the knees, hocks and pasterns. Sheep 
with coarse dry wool are more likely to suffer than those 
with fine, oily, and soft wool. Long wool seems to offer a 
barrier to its progress, for the invasion of parts covered 
with short wool is much more rapid. The demarkation be- 
tween the invaded parts of the head and the healthy wool- 
bearing portions is quite abrupt.”’ 
REMEDIES.—As these parasites thrive chiefly upon the 
parts of the sheep and goat that are only covered with short 
wool or hair a cure is easy. When found no time should be 
