POWER-SPRAY SHEEP DIP

Te Puke Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 21, 18 March 1947, Page 5

POWER-SPRAY SHEEP DIP

INSTALLED AT SHANNON

One of the first of the Australian power-spray sheep dips to be installed on a farm in New Zealand was seen in operation at a public demonstration near Shannon. Nearly lf)0 farmers attended to see put through a dO-sheep model about 100 sheep and an e-|iml number of lambs on the farm ow iVed by Mr W. N. Nofwood and managed by Mr A. 11. Mills. Points which impressed themselves on the gathering were the ease with which the sheep could be worked, the apparent thorough wetting of the skin and the economy in the use of the dipping mixture.

The din is in a form similar to a corrugated iron tank, evlindri-eal-shnped and open at the top. A tractor was used to supply power for pumping dip through spray nozzles set in the concrete floor of t he t o>k. for wetting tin underpaid of the 30 sheep penned in there at a time. Then side and overhead snravs went into action in place of those from the floor the whole operation taking twe to four minutes, according to the growth of the wool. Both sets ol nozzles were not turned on at tin same time owing to the difficulty the sheep would have had in breathing-. The dip fluid draining from the wool passed through a filter before returning to tbe-400-gallon sump from which it was originally pumped. Points concerning spray dips werefoutlined by Mr E. A. Clarke, of Massey Agricultural College, which, arranged for the demonstration. Mr Clarke spoke of their increasing popularity in Australia over recent years, and stated that two obvious advantages over the swim-through type of dip were the ease of handling- of sheep and the fact that they were not knocked about in the nroeess. Other virtues claimed by users of the spray tyne were that the mixture did not become fouled so quickly and much lost gallonage was needed before dinning could be commenced. Australian users bad proved that the sheep were thoroughly wetted. but it could not be said that in this respect the spray type was •my more efficient that- in which the sheep were totally imiiLCi’sed.