11
camped, and on sand if possible. If once the disease has started, however slight-
ly in a number of camels which are working together, the best means of arrest-
ing its spread is to camp the mangey ones at least fifteen or twenty yards away
from the healthy and to change the sitting place of all the camels every two
days.
In December and January this has been found to be the only means
by which, once introduced, the spread of the disease can be stopped. To
detect the first signs of mange, camelmen keep a sharp look out on the flanks,
groin, axilla and rump of their camels throughout the cold weather, and
particularly after any rain has fallen.
22. Treatment.—Keep the mangey camels apart from the healthy,
and change the sitting place of all the camels every two days. Green fodder
should be given, if obtainable, in preference to bhusa.
The cure of mange is difficult in the cold weather and easy in the spring.
I have found the complete cure in the Punjab cold weather generally un-
attainable without clipping the whole body, a procedure which has obvious
drawbacks. The use of a jhool becomes necessary which has to be constantly
kept disinfected; and the camel is generally thrown out of hard work.
It often pays a camelman best to apply dressings of oil to the diseased
patches only, and to carry on at work until clipping-time at the end of March,
when the camel is rested and when the cure is comparatively easy.
This oiling of the irritable patches delays the progress of the disease,
but does not cure it; some of the animals become very thin and some get such
a thickening of the skin as to make cure difficult or impossible even in the
spring.
The disease is controlled better if the body is clipped, but the seat of
the palan left unclipped, so that the camel can work ; but even then complete
cure is difficult until the cold weather is over and the clipping can be com-
pleted.
The use of a jhool is necessary, and a clipped working camel is liable
to catch a chill with this incomplete protection in the cold weather.
Neither of these plans is generally admissible in Camel Corps, where
camels are required to be efficient at all times in case of mobilisation.
The best treatment to obtain complete cure in the cold weather is as
follows:—
Choose a warm sunny day and clip the camel all over. Burn the
hair. Provide a jhool, which should be disinfected every few
days and spread out in the sun every day. Resting camels do
not easily take chills if carefully looked after.
Then apply oil all over the body. The oil in use is that of Brassica
eruca (called " taramira " in Punjab, and " jambu " in Sind) ;
it is a " bitter-bland " oil; the whole body can be dressed with
1½ or 2 lbs of it, and it is applied on a rag with slight friction.
Its application causes some little fever, and the camel must
not be exposed to the midday sun whilst the oil is on him or
he may become blistered.
The same result follows a too vigorous rubbing in of the oil, especially
into the thin skin of the groin. The legs can only be dressed
thoroughly in the standing position. Great care is necessary
to prevent the oil from going into the eyes ; it is best to use
sulphur ointment around the eyes instead of the oil.
Two days afterwards, or on the next warm day, mud is applied all
over the body and left to dry on.
After a day or two, the mud is washed off, and the first dressing is
completed.