SHEEP DIPPING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9040, 5 March 1908, Page 6

SHEEP DIPPING.

(Specially Contributed.)'

The fiat hath gone forth from the Stock Department to sheep farmers — Dip your sheep before the 31st of March, or suffer for your neglect! It would have been kinder if the powers that rule had added —"If you have water!"-for, unless Providence is beneficent and kind, many will be in a bad plight, and unable to comply with the edict. But there is one consolation for them, the Act allows an extension of time if proper application is made. The dipping of sheep, and the eradication of the parasites that infect them, is an important operation, and, if properly executed, most beneficial to the condition of the animals, while giving enhanced value to the wool clip. Why then is it so often carried out in a lax manner? In the report of the Argicultural Department Stock Division, 1907, page 331, some pertinent remarks are made about it. It opens by saying: "From every North Island district, and from Nelson, it is reported that the dipping of sheep continues unsatisfactory. Many owners endeavour,- sometimes successfully, to evade the Act and escape the expense of dipping by selling their sheep just before the expiry of the statutory period of dipping. There have been cases in which the condition of travelling sheep has been so bad that the Inspectors have felt compelled to take the drastic step of stopping them on their journey until they were dipped'' Plain language this, but only too true. Now for the cause of this state of affairs. Ineffective dipping, the dipping trough too short to allow the animals to be thoroughly immersed in the liquid; want of care on the part of men in not submerging the necks and N heads of the sheep, which are the principal places were vermin are found; neglect in not following out emphatically the instructions given by manufacturers of dips; tho mixture often being made too weak to be effective; laxity on the part of musterers in not seeing that every sheep is got in from the paddocks; the use of dip that may not be up to a proper standard of quality. These are the principal points which require attention at the hands of the sheep farmer. Turning again to the report of the Department, it is stated that "Many public sheep dips, both co-operative and proprietary, have been established in Canterbury, and are of great service to sheep-owners, especially of the smaller flocks, dealers, and others. These dips are generally constructed with a swim of GGffc, and a dipping material of proved efficacy is used." Inspector Budge,' West Coast District, says:—"The Wangamona farmers have put in an up-to-date sheep dip as a company concern, and their adventure in this direction is much appreciated. If farmers in other parts of the district would only copy the example it would be much to their advantage." These are words pregnant with sound advice, and should be taken to heart by the small sheep farmers in this district.