Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-01-16

six legs each terminating in strong nail
that folds back into groove, thus forming
a pincer that enables the louise to cling tC
the hair with great tenacity.
Their reproduction from nits is well
known. The female Clues its egg to The
hair at the time Of its deposit by auid
that almost instantly hardens, fixing the egg
or nit 50 firmly that the strength of the
hair will hardly admit Of its removal
From four to ten days are required for the
Matching, according to the warmth Of the
weather, and ten days more for them to
come to full maturity; aud yet their fecuu.
dity is so great that it has been estima.
ted that single pair in sixty days will
literally cover young creature with those
vermin. When stock is found to be so in
tested, at once comes up the question Of a
remedy. Soap suds, oil, tobacco, kerosene,
ashes, mercurial ointment, benziue, turpen-
tine, brine and even alcohol are recommen.
ded, and many times the creature has suf.
fered much more from the remedy than
the louise. Every one can see that oil
whale or lard oily would be the most harm.
less remedy, and at the same time it is the
most effectual. The louise, like the animal
on which it dwells, must breathe, but it
breathes in a very different manner, draw
ing its breath through spiracles on its sides
The air penetrates small tubes, called trachea
The oil at once stops those tubes, and as
the louise cannot breathe it dies of suffoca
ton. This is a sure but perfectly harmless
remedy. 1t need not be applied in great
abundance, but if whale oil is used, little
applied the whole length Of the back will
be effectual and at the same time il helps
allay the inaammatOry action produced by the
constant biting of the lice. Lard rubbed in
the hair is equally effectual, and | would
here state as my opinion that the use Of
the other remedies named is even more dan.
gerous to the health and growth of the an
ima than the lice themselves. Though
there are several varieties Of lice, oil il
equally effectual in all cases, the larger va.
rieties requiring more of it perhaps than
smaller species.
We will next look after the diptera or fly
tribe, so called, yet the first specimen we
will consider infesting sheep as n tick, Melo-
phdgus oois, is not fly at all, but is assign
ed to that class from a similar conformation,
as the bed bug is to the tribe of winged bugs
though neither ever have wings. There
are, however, ticks infesting birds which
have small wings that enable them to fly
short distances. The fore part of the body
of the sheep tick is small, the thick, round.
ish abdomen, however, is proportionally very
large, generally in circumference about the
size of middling sized pea. Its color, in
its younger days, is pale red, the abdomen
lighter, with an irregular white line on each
side and red spot upon its back; with age
comes darker hue. They are extremely
common in pasture grounds in early summer,
and it is in such pastures that sheep become
infected.
The sheep tick lays but one egg, and that
is not in reality an egg, but full grown
pupa, which is fastened to the wool of the
sheep, being at first white, then brown, from
which the perfect tick escapes. The pupa is
nearly as large as the whole insect at the
time it is deposited, and does not grow until
the perfect tick comes forth. 1t is furnished
with sucker of considerable length, yet it
is so greedy in sucking blood that it will al.
most bury its head in the skin of the sheep
or lamb on which it lives. They are q great
pest, as they not only suck blood, but their
bite is poisonous to a certain extent, as
punches can be felt around their bites. This
Inflammation and pain aids in the discomft.
ure, and sheep infested never do WELL
Various methods are recommended for
their determination, but it seems that de.
coction Of tobacco is the most practical and
successful method. After the sheep are shear,
ed in the spring, most Of the ticks left will
take refuge on the lambs, as their wool ID
then longer than that of their parents 1t il
at this time that their destruction should be
brought about by dipping the lambs. Two
pounds of tobacco stepped in ten gallons Of
water is, perhaps, the best proportion
The farmer should not buy the poor, cheap
tobacco, which is worthless preparation
made to satisfy some ones appetite for cop
peras, but good tobacco leaf. If be wishes
other leaves and dirt with it, he can add il
afterwards. When this wash is properly pre-.
pared the lambs can be taken by their feet
and dipped without trouble or danger. 1t
is, however, necessary that some enc should
keep their head out of the liquid, as it FIRE.
quently Injuries them if allowed to run into
their ears.
In England, and in fine throughout Flu
rope, they mostly dip in the following prep
aratiOn A pound Of arsenic is boiled with q
pound of soft soap and pound of purified
potash in four gallons of water The arsenic
will be perfectly dissolved with the other in
gradients. To this is added 40 gallons o.
water, and the sheep dipped therein, The
same as in the tobacco decoction spoken Of
1t is said that the arsenic has no injurious
effect, and that it also protects from the bot
fly. have never known it tried in this
section.
Bots.
The next of the dipterous insects to which
call your attention are the flies whose
| larvae are known by the name of bots, and a