The representative., 1901-05-23
Sheep Dipping.

"A merciful man is merciful to his
beast" is a bit of ancient lore that
every shepherd should especially bear
In mind at shearing time, for there is
no better opportunity to get rid of the
external parasites OF sheep. That a
good dipping in the fall will add to
the comfort of the flock and the profit OF
of the shepherd is now so we'll known
that 1t seems almost useless to mention
it. But while sheep dipping is good in
the fall, it Is even better and more
necessary in the spring. Dipping can
be done more thoroughly, and at less
cost Of labor and dip than in the fall.
But there is another reason for spring
dipping that is still more important.
The ticks left on sheep after shearing
will at once settle on the little lambs,
and they cannot grow and do we'll with
host of blood-sucking ticks depriving
them of large share OF the new blood
daily made from the mothers milk, to
say nothing about the perpetual dis
comfort from the biting of the ticks.
The necessity Of the operation being
thus evident, we have only to consider
the kind of dip to use and the way to
use it. We have tried homemade and
proprietary dips and have had good sue
cess with both, but on account of the
hardness and effectiveness of the lat
ter we have quit homemade dips and
now use the others altogether, prefer:
ring those for spring dipping which are
n-poisonous, as the lambs will get
more or less off the ewes udder after
the dipping. But always take care to
use and dip according to directions be-
fore condemning it as ineffective. The
method of dipping will depend on the
number one has to dip. For a small
flock vat of pine lumber can be used
and the animals be dipped, back down,
taking care that the Dip does not get
into mouth or nostrils. This vat should
be 4S inches long, 1B inches wide and
about three feet deep, and have rack
with tight bottom on one side on
which to lay the sheep when taken out,
so that the drainage can be saved as
much as possible. With the help of
three men we haveoslipped over $50 in
this way in a day and have done good
work, but it is Quitei laborfous. a~as-
A better device is a tank with one end
sloping SO that the sheep can nearly
walk out after being tumbled in at
the other end right side up. These
tanks may be made of wood, or iron
ones can be bought. Dimensions are
81 feet long on top. AN feet on bot
toms, and 8 to 10 inches wide at bot
tom, about feet wide at top and
feet deep. Steps are put in the sIoping
end so that the sheep can help them
selves out To use this tank, let it in
the ground ~ feet, then make narrow
shute at one end so that the sheep can
be driven in singly and dumped gently
into the dip. They should be kept in
the dip about two minutes so as to get
thoroughly soaked, then help them up
the sloping end of the tank and out on
the platform, which should be about
6x16 feet and tight, with a backward
slope to cause the drainage to run back
into the tank. In this way as many,
can be done in day by three men as
can get their two minutes soaking, and
it is not very hard work This method
of dipping will pretty well rid a flock
of both lice and ticks with one dipping,
but for scab the flock should have
second dipping about 10 days after the
first and then be put into fresh quarters
to prevent re-infection. We know it
pays both in purse and pleasure to keep
down all parasites in the flock by dip
ping, both spring and fall.-Farm,
Stock and Home.