^340 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  1,  ItM. 
A  PREVENTIBLE  DISEASE— ITS  TREATMENT. 
Assuming  that  the  flock  master  is  fully  awa^e  to  the  danger  that 
on  every  side  surround  his  sheep,  he  will  also  be  awake  to  the 
necessity  of  averting,  or,  if  not  averting,  minimising  these  dangers- 
When  stock  is  seldom  bought  at  market  or  fairs  the  risk  is 
not  great,  but  even  then  there  are  still  opportunities  for  con¬ 
tracting  scab.  Not  a  week  ago  a  farmer  was  fined  heavily— not 
-a  bit  too  heavily— for  allowing  a  large  flock  of  infected  sheep  to 
graze  on  the  high  road  for  some  miles.  It  is  a  great  chance  if 
there  were  not  sheep  in  the  adjacent  fields,  sheep  that  also 
would  have  to  be  driven  on  the  same  road.  We  have  heard,  too, 
-  of  unscrupulous  drovers  who  at  night  turned  their  flocljs  into 
the  nearest  pasture  without  your  leave,  or  by  your  leave,  and 
paying  you  in  return  for  your  keep  with  a  legacy  of  disease 
'  Thus  is  the  farmer  at  the  mercy  of  unseen  foes  ;  his  open  foes 
are  easier  to  rout. 
There  is  a  time,  perhaps,  when  he  must  go  into  the  open 
market  to  replenish  his  stock  by  fresh  blood.  He  will  doubtless 
use  the  greatest  care  in  making  his  selection,  and  if  he  buys 
from  a  well  known  breeder,  will  buy  animals  which,  at  any  rate> 
left  home  in  perfect  health.  But  in  the  hurry  and  bustle  of 
"the  market  there  is  no  knowing  as  to  what  animals  they  may 
have  been  in  contact  with;  there  is  no  outward  sign  to  show, 
at  any  rate,  for  the  disease  could  only  be  in  an  early  s  age  to 
'  escape  the  scrutiny  of  the  inspector. 
Prevention  being  better  than  cure,  the  newly  imported  sheep 
-will,  for  a  time,  be  isolated  in  their  new  home,  and  to  make 
.assurance  doubly  sure,  a  wise  owner  will  have  recourse  to  the 
dipping  tub.  It  is  wonderful  what  dipping  does  for  a  sheep  at 
any  time.  We  suppose  it  must  act  as  a  tonic  to  the  system,  and 
killing  all  parasites,  noxious  and  otherwise,  must  be  a  great 
nerve  soothei’.  These  measures  taken,  the  owner  may  feel  fairly 
.gafe — that  is,  provided  the  dipping  has  been  done  thoroughly 
and  well.  We  do  not  specify  any  special  dip  ;  it  is  so  often  not 
■the  fault  of  the  dip  when  a  cure  is  not  affected,  but  the  fault  lies 
in  the  manner  of  the  application  of  that  dip  So  many  sheep 
to  do  in  a  day,  “Hurry  up  and  let’s  be  done,”  is  the  motto  of 
many  men.  Each  sheep  should  be  in  the  bath  at  least  three 
minutes  (four  is  better),  and  care  should  be  taken  by  the  dipper 
that  each  and  every  part  of  the  skin  must  sensibly  feel  the  pre¬ 
paration.  The  wool  is  thick  and  greasy,  and  resists  the  action 
of  the  water,  therefore  this  extra  care  is  an  absolute  necessity. 
The  case  of  an  outbreak,  the  real  nature  of  the  disease,  is 
manifested  by  the  appearance  of  the  itching  scab,  which  causes 
the  sheep  to  rub  and  bite  itself.  The  parasite  must  be  destroyed 
at  once,  the  flock  should  be  carefully  examined,  and  the  worst 
cases  put  by  themselves,  as  calling  for  severer  remedies. 
If  the  work  were  done  when  the  acari  were  killed  the  operation 
would  be  easy  and  simple  in  the  extreme  ;  but,  alas  !  the  insect 
has  been  industrious,  and  has  laid  those  myriads  of  eggs  which 
no  dressing  can  touch.  These  take  a  fortnight  or  more  to  hatch, 
and  therefore  the  process  has  to  be  repeated 
In  slight  cases  the  dipping  will  suffice,  but  to  really  get  at 
the  root  of  the  matter  there  is  nothing  like  salve.  In  many 
districts  there  are  men  who  make  it  a  business  to  salve  sheep, 
and  the  dexterity  with  which  they  hold  a  sheep,  part  its  fleece, 
and  rub  in  a  thin  layer  of  ointment  is  most  interesting.  There 
is  a  thoroughness  and  finish  about  their  work  which  makes  it 
so  efficacious ;  the  salve,  too,  tends  materially  to  improve  the 
quality  of  the  wool 
We  have  ^een  cases  where  repeated  dressings  even  of  salve 
failed  to  subdue  the  scab  ;  evidently  the  carcase  was  so  impreg¬ 
nated  with  disease  that  nothing  short  of  the  knife  would  work  a 
cure.  Let  the  body  be  buried  where  killed,  and  see  that  the 
grave  is  filled  with  quicklime. 
Supposing  the  disease  fairly  got  under,  the  next  question  is 
the  prevention  of  its  recurrence  An  ordinary  shepherd  neither 
knows  nor  cares  about  disinfection,  he  loo  s  upon  precautions  as 
“  fads  ”  to  be  evaded  if  possible ;  and  he  will,  if  left  to  himself, 
shirk  all  work  of  this  kind.  , 
As  far  as  possible  all  gates,  posts,  and  rails,  and  woodworf 
generally,  should  receive  a  coat  of  limewash,  and  boys  should  be 
employed  to  gather  up  and  carefully  burn  any  fragments  of 
wool  found  on  hedges,  fences,  or  gateways.  When  we  know 
that  these  minute  insects  will  live  as  long  as  seventeen  days  on 
a  lock  of  wool  shut  up  in  a  drawer,  these  precautions  do  not  seem 
unnecessary. 
We  hear  much  of  poisonous  and  non-poisonous  dips,  bat  we 
are  old-fashioned  enough  to  think  yet  there  is  nothing  like 
mercury.  We  remember  an  anecdote  of  two  old  Indians  dis¬ 
cussing  that  ever  interesting  topic— their  livers— which  is  rather 
to  the  point.  Said  the  first,  “What  is  your  opinion  of  podo- 
phyllin  as  a  liver  medicine?  "  “Well,”  said  the  other  on 
reflection,  ‘  it  is  a  useful  drug,  and  may  do  for  women,  but  stick 
to  calomel,  my  boy.” 
WOBK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM 
Finer  weather,  v?lth  high  winds,  have  enabled  farmers  to  clear  many 
of  the  outstanding  fields  ot  corn,  and  there  are  few  districts  where  much 
remains  out.  Alas  1  the  grain  which  has  been  got  since  the  wet  weather 
can  be  of  little  value,  except  for  feeding  purposes,  and  we  hear  of  some 
being  absolutely  worthless.  Sach  as  it  is,  however,  it  is  in  the  stack- 
vard,  and  will  have  to  remain  there  until  spring  if  the  best  is  to  be 
made  of  it. 
The  stacks  should  be  thatched  at  once,  nothing  will  be  gained  by 
delay  ;  the  tops  may  be  wet,  perhaps,  but  they  will  soon  dry  under  the 
thatch.  We  have  seen  many  stacks,  too  many,  without  covering,  all 
ihrough  the  bad  weather.  The  grain  was  well  got,  but  many  quarters 
from  the  top  of  each  stack  will  be  almost  worse  than  that  which  was 
still  out  in  the  fields  ;  in  some  cases  it  may  have  been  for  want  of 
tbatching  material  now  so  little  Wheat  is  grown,  but  in  most  it  was 
because  the  farmer  would  not  or  could  not  pay  the  hands  to  do  the  work 
quickly.  No  doubt  good  thatchers  are  becoming  scarcer  every  day,  but 
they  can  still  be  got  for  money. 
How  it  may  be  in  the  next  generation  is  another  matter.  The  yoang 
labourers  generally  will  not  trouble  to  learn  technical  work,  even  when 
the  County  Councils  will  teach  them  for  nothing.  We  think  the  most 
likely  way  to  improve  things  would  be  to  give  annual  prizes  in  each 
parish  for  the  best  pieces  of  thatching  and  hedgin?  done  by  farm 
servants  or  labonrers  under  a  certain  age,  say  twenty- five.  Under  the  present 
rules,  County  Councils  do  not  allow  anything  of  the  kind  to  be  done  ; 
but  good  would  come  of  it,  if  it  could  be  managed. 
Dragging  fallows  has  been  so  hopeless  that  we  have  given  np  all  idea 
of  an  autumn  dressing  and  ploughed  them  down  ;  fortunately  they  are 
not  very  foul.  ,  . 
Land  ploughed  for  Wheat  only  requires  rolling  to  be  ready  for  the 
harrows  and  drill  ^  where  it  has  been  ploughed  a  length  of  time,  the 
heavy  rains  have  almost  given  it  the  necessary  solidity,  otherwise  the 
first  opportunity  must  be  taken  to  get  the  work  done. 
Potato  lifting  is  now  becoming  general.  Fine  weather  is  very 
necessary  for  this  work.  Many  kinds  are  so  largely  affected  by  disease 
that  they  are  quite  unfit  for  marketing  direct  from  the  land,  and  will 
have  to  be  stored  and  carefully  turned  over  at  the  end  of  three  or  four 
weeks  ;  but  they  must  be  taken  up  dry  or  the  storing  may  be  disastrous. 
Carrots  are  growing  well  and  may  be  left  in  the  ground  a  while  longer. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
OAMDBX  SQU1.BU,  LOXDOM. 
Lat.  61“  ja'40"  N. ;  Loni?.  0“  8'  0»  W.:  Altitude  111  feet 
Date. 
1896 
September. 
Sunday  ..  20 
6fonday  ..  21 
Tuesday  ..  22 
Wednesday  23 
Thursday . .  21 
Friday  . .  25 
Saturday  . .  26 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Bain. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In  1 
Sun. ! 
On 
Graaa. 
Inohs. 
leg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inohs. 
29-ii96 
52'2 
49-2 
K. 
56-8 
62-6 
44-6 
107-0 
36-6 
0161 
29-828 
47-7 
4‘)’4 
N. 
55-1 
61-1 
39-6 
99-3 
35  3 
0-340 
29-394 
58-3 
64-2 
S.W. 
55-0 
66-9 
46-9 
98-4 
48 -2 
0-173 
29-427 
66-4 
61-3 
w. 
65-6 
62-8 
52-2 
108-9 
49-1 
— 
29-914 
82-1 
48-2 
w. 
54-6 
62-3 
43-3 
102-1 
se-6 
0-7  iO 
'28-731 
56-8 
55-4 
s.w. 
84-2 
60-2 
81-1 
91-3 
45-9 
0-192 
29-873 
81-9 
49-2 
N. 
54-2 
68-3 
18’9 
70-2 
46-4 
0-033 
29-662 
j  63-3 
60-8 
55  1 
62-0 
46  7 
96-7 
42*3 
j  J-609 
REMARKS. 
20th.— Bright  sun  in  morning  and  frequently  in  afternoon,  but  heavy  rain  with 
thunder  at  3.16  P.M.  ,  ■  ,  ,  . 
aist.— Cool,  with  slight  fog  early  ;  faint  sun  in  morning ;  steady  ram  from  4  I’.M.  to 
9  P.M.,  and  in  night.  ^  , 
22nd. — Overcast  early  ;  oontinuous  rain  from  10  A.M.  to  2  P.M.,  followed  by  gleams  ol 
sunshine ;  strong  gale  all  afternoon  and  night. 
23rd.— Overcast  early  ;  bright  sunny  day  with  west  gale  continuing. 
24th.— Bright  sun  all  morning  and  frequently  in  afternoon ;  heavy  shower  at  6  p.M. 
25th.— Gale  and  heavy  rain  from  0  A.M.  torA.M.;  oocasioaal  sun  in  morning,  but 
squally  and  rainy  after  11  A.M.  . 
28th, — Overcast,  with  frequent  spots  of  rain  in  morning  ;  drizzle  and  fine  ram  after. 
A  wet  and  stormy  week,  with  a  good  deal  of  sunshine.  Temperature  very  near  the 
average. — G,  J.  SYMON8. 
