133 



Since development is, in general, more rapid in the 

 warmest weather, it may safely be assumed that the life 

 cycle of such a closely related species or variety would not 

 be longer in the West Indies than in the case of M. 

 annulatus in the United States. 



Control. In the United States, a system of control has 

 been demonstrated, which consists of enclosing cattle in one 

 place while the ticks are dropping, and removing them to 

 another before hatching commences. They are removed 

 from the second enclosure before the eggs from the dropped 

 females begin to hatch. If the cattle are by that time tick- 

 free they may be allowed to range over any pasture on 

 which there has been no cattle or other tick hosts for 

 a period of some six months. 



Newly hatched ticks are able to exist for about two 

 weeks without food, after which time they die of starvation. 



Where a few cattle are to be dealt with, they may be 

 sprayed or washed with a good contact insecticide. In 

 treating larger numbers they may be dipped, in large vats 

 built for the purpose. 



There are on the market several cattle dips and washes, 

 especially adapted for treating ticks. These generally con- 

 tain some oil or soap, and may include also arsenic. 



The following mixture has been tried on a small scale, 

 on a cow, and found satisfactory. One gallon of kerosine, 

 1 gallon of cotton seed oil, and 1 Bb. flowers of sulphur were 

 thoroughly mixed, and applied with a coarse cloth. The 

 cow was washed, care being taken to ensure that the 

 mixture came into contact with every part of the animal's 

 skin. After an interval of a week or ten daj^s, the applica- 

 tion was repeated. These two applications were successful 

 in removing all the ticks, and although the hair came off in 

 a few places, the animal seemed to suffer no inconvenience. 

 In adopting this method the animals should be kept on 

 a tick-free pasture after the first application, in order to 

 prevent re-infestation. 



Cattle ticks also attack horses, goats, and dogs; but not 

 often in sufficient numbers to be considered pests. Dogs 

 also are attacked by the dog tick which is probably a species 

 of Rhipicephalus. 



The gold tick {Amblyomma variegatum) which occurs 

 in Antigua is remarkable on account of its larger size. It is 



