Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-06-13
Australian Sheep Husbandry.
\. NJ. Garland in BreederD' Gazette

\. M. Garland IN l'reederD Gazette
When counted from the little pens
into which they are turned by the
shearers the sheep are at once driven
into the branding pens, where, after
being carefully examined for in-grow-
! ing horns and other defects, they re-
ceiye the station brand. These brands,
as well as armarks, are recorded, and
are not allowed to be duplicated In the
same neighborhood. When any stock
is sold it Ii branded with u r before
leaving the station, and the party NOV
! ing IL is required 10 notify every flock
owner along the line he proposes TO
travel of the intention 10 move sheep
past his paddock on a given day, This
and other similar stringent regula-
tions have come down from the day
when scab was prevalent In Australian
tiocks. Its eradication was so evident
a necessity to rescue the chief element
of tho country's wealth from annihilia-
tion that exceedingly stringent laws
were enacted, coupled with such heavy
pepalties for violation that men found
IL cheaper to comply than to assume
any risk by evasion.
! The preparation In most common
use for branding was a black paint.
This was reduced by the addition OF
oil. so as to avoid waste and facilitate
its application, the implement used be-
inc made sometimes of wood and some
times of iron, The absence of dust
from most of the runs, and the cohse-
nuept whiteness of ileeces, renders IL
unnecessary TO perform this operation
more than once year.
No disease was found in any OF the
tiocks visited, though heard that foot
rot existed In certain localities where
conditions OF soil and climate were H.
yorable to its presence. II seemed
however. to have no terroTs for the mn
! iority of fiock-owpers, the absence ol
Continued moisture and the peculiar
soil OF their runs atfording the disease
no opportunity for spreading. =,
Not so with scab, however, whici
Mt one time 30 seriously menaced th'
success of Australian sheep husbandrA
"a mere reference to which will ever
vet make the ''old-timer" shrug hi
, shoulders aud shake his head. Law
for Graduating scab were secured with
ont difficulty, a. the predominant IN
terests OF the citizens laid in the sani
direction, The prevailing = aimos
/. interchangeable sentiment that oe
handed and secured the passage o
J these stringent laws, stood behind I'd
! officers charged with their enforce
mant and compelled them to perform
!, their full duty. Infected hocks nc
I properly isolated aud treated ny ihe'
! owners were taken possession OF p
! colonial fiicials. sppraised and slangh
r cred. and their carcasses piled up an
q burned. together with this building
and fences In which they had been
7 contact In such instances tnre'
!. fourths OF the estimated value OF u
: stock was made good to the own'
. from the public treasury. TO meet IN
: arnense 4 tax was laid against enc
= f,ock -owner according TO the numb'
of sheen In his possession.
This vigorous policy had the desire
effect. In few years scab disA
10 nearad from the colonies, and the ~
csss Of sheep husbandry was assured.
These measures were suppienent.
a. nv stringent laws against the tntrodn
e ton OF sheep from foreign conntri'
n Even those Transferred from one Colo
=. ~ another were subjected TO quara
70 tine and were dipped before being
leased. Recently this restriction