THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Various Methods 





OF 



Tick -'Destruction 





^. 



/n the cf!rnpi}a'ion of th-sr noles, reference has been made to many Mourcea of information, but particularly to am 

 article which a^fpeat^J i.i the "Bulletin of the Jamaica Department of Agriculture " Vol. J, Number 3, from Cattle TI'.- 



which much of the following matter is quoted, almost textually. .»_, .m i 



HAND PICKING. This is a primilive method and absolutely ineffective, on a large properly, for keeping down ticks. Only the engortied lemales 

 offer themselves as objects lor removal by the hand of the operator. A certam proportion of engorged females drop off in the pastures, or the road- 

 side, or in the cattle pen. A certain number fail to be destroyed by the fingers or heel of the picker, and the result is that a great many more ticks 

 survive than are picked off the bodies of the cattle. This method is largely responsible for the tick pest retaining its most virulent form 



TARRING. This was the remedy recommended by Professor Williams as a result of his mission to Jamaica in 1896. One part of Tar to three parts 

 of boiltd linseed o.l was recommended. In many instances the result of its too thorough applica'ion was that the animaJs so trea'cj became 

 asphyxia!ed through a blocking of the pores of the skin. This tar remedy, however, or variations of it containing sour orange juice, caibohc acid, 

 l.irc?epc oil and other fearsome remedies, are still widely used in Jamaica. A boy with the paint pot daubs a sm.'-.ir of the tick-d."c'sing only 

 on su.h portions of an infected animal as appear to him to be in pressing need of treatment; but to cope properly wi h the tick ppsi, e\ery spot 

 on th_- suiface of every animal must be reached by the tick destroying agent. While a few score of engorged licks are lustily brushed o.er on n 

 cow's flank or thighs, there may be hundreds of larval licks all along the spinal region, on the poll, and in fact on all parts of the body, undergoing 

 devfl -^'ment. Unless all these licks are killed, and not merely 60 or 70 per cent., the complete eradication oi the licks is out of the qut.-'.tiu.). 

 So long as Catile breeders keep to the tar brush, so long will the tick plague wax fierce and flourish. 



BRUSHING. Brushing with a tick-destroying wash represents a fairly efficient means of treating tick-infested cattle, but is attended wi'h some 



risk. T he bu'k of the remedies used for " brushing " are coal-tar emulsions of the tvpe of Jeyes' Fluid. None of the'c preparatiuns .,i!l kill ticds 



unle!s used al a strength that is very liable to strip the skin of the cows under treatment ; in no case do they gi\e a high e ficicncy of tic's-dcsiruciinn. 



It IS f-eilectly certain thai brushing is not a good method, and will not solve the lick problem so as completely to abolish ticks oo a proper y, 



, because it is not capable of complete or perfect results, nor is it free from risk of injury to the animals treaed. Many pen-kcepcrs are en.ircl' 



: sali-fied wi;h iheir results from brushing, because they have not really made accurate observatior.s of ihe tick m.irialily re.iulling from their operaiioi:«. 



S'^ARVAXION rV'Iii'i'HOD. This is a sure and inexpensive method, but can only be applied by the owner of a lari'e herd \\ht>hisvi 



permanent pasture and two or three other fenced fields which have not been pastured by catile tor a year or so. It consists in leeping ihe cjiilc 



; off the infested pasture for a pen. .J of twelve months or more, until the young licks are starved out. The cattle are taken from the tick-infesied pasiuie 



1 ar.d placed on lick-free land ; before young ficks hatch from the eggs laid in this first tick-free field by the female ticks on ihe cattle >vhcn mo.eJ 



; lioiii the lick-iiilested pasture, the cattle are moved a second time on to another tick-free field. 



GfiAS"^ BURNING. If burning is done at the right time, it cannot fail to kill immense numbers of the young " seed " ticks ; but it is the comm.n 



j experience that " burnt " pastures very quickly again become heavily tick-infested. 1 his is due to the fact that the lick-eggs on the ground a'e not drs- 



' irnyed. and no doubt many female ticks escape the effects of the fire by hiding in cracks and crevices, or under stones, or logs of wood. etc. Gra>s- 



burniny. even when carried out at the proper lime, will not completely eradicate ticks, it will only reduce their numbers, and that only teni_ orariiy. 



HI\ND SPRAYING. Spraving by means of one or other of the many types of hand-pumps or syringes is. If very carefully and ihoroj^h'y done, 

 1 a very effective method of treating tick-infested cattle ; but it is slow, unpleasant work, and. moreover, very wasltful of the wash. 1 he effjci!-ni,y of 

 • hand spraying may be said to be in direct proportion to the care and thoroughness with which ihe operation is conducted ; for this reason, it sluiuli 

 1 never be entrusted to natives or negroes without effective supervision. ^ 



MlACHINE SPRAYING. The principle of machine spraying is the passing of the animals through a short tunnel, lined with piping, through holes 



or jets in which, a tick-destroying fluid is sprayed at them from the floor and from all possible angles by means of a pump. I here can he no dou t 

 that, next to dipping, machine spraying is by far the best method of treating tick-infested stock ; but it is not by ihis means absolutely certain that all 

 ticks will be destroyed, as, however ingenious the arrangement by which the wash is sprayed from "all points of the compass." ticks deep down in 

 the ears, or under the tail, or in the " brush " of the tail may not be reached. But where expense, or some other obstacle, precludes the emuloj'- 

 mcnt of a dipping bath, a spraying machine is by a long way the most efficient substitute. The machine manufactured by William Cooper & N' |)he" » 

 is the latest and cheapest form of Spraying Machine. f 



DIPPING. The only really completely effective method of treating ticky catile, horses, &c., is to pass them through aswim dipping bath ; the piocrss is 

 • absolutely automatic ; it is quick ; it is economical ; it is absolutely efficient, as. at the first plunge at the entrance, or during the process of swinimiii(c 

 through the tank, every single tick is brought into contact with the tick-destroying fluid, even il deep down in the ears, or under the eyes, or bcne.iiU 

 the root of the tail. Dipping is very economical of wash. a*, with a proper draining floor or pen. <-very drop ul sur, lu- w.idi flo \s hack into the t.u.k 

 and is used again. The first-cost of a tank is comparati\ely high, but its lo*v cost ol opcr.iiion, its simplicity, its efficiency, and us peiiii.inencv, more ihan 

 corapejisa|e.for the extra initial expenditure. The great advantage of dipping over spraying or hand-dressing lies in the fact that the throroughncss u( 

 the treatment under all conditions it practically assured, as il is not dependent, to any degree, on the care exercised by those in chirgeol ihe work ; 

 the cattle dip themselves. No other method can approach dipping in efficiency, and in this connection il should be remembered that, even il. by 

 some other method, you kill 75% of the ticks, great and small, on your animals, you are only "suppressing" the licks, and are still far from solving 

 the problem of complete eradication. A method thai will kill 100% of the lirks is ^^orlh to a Cattle owner ten times a> muih as a mehod ihal 

 will kill only 90%. The truth of this will be apparent after two years of faithful and systematic operations. With dipping, the efficienl trcaliiirni 

 el lick-infested Gallic becomes a verv limnU m.iii^r »n/J mmrJ*** t'tr'V ■<a^:....i:.^.. t...^^......- ^ ttti:... 



I 



COOPERS CATTLE TICK DIP 

 ftat ncfiveJ the official approval of the following Coantrit*: 



UaioD of South Africa. Northern Rhodesia. Braxil. Basutoland. ■ 



k);a.<<aland. Swaziland. Southern Rhodesia. Madajjascar. 



Britiah Eaat Afrie». German East Africa. Portufiuese East Afrtca. 



Portueue»l! Waal Africa. Ecypt. Argentine Republic. Queensland. 



UniU-d "-.alw of America. New South Walen 



Ntirtliern 'I .Trit/orv of AilBlralia. 



WEST INDIAN AGENTS t 



ANTiaUA : Bennett, Bryaon & Co.. St. Jchaa. 



BAHAMAS: H. T. Brice. Na.«sau, N.P. 



BARBADOS: Barbado.i Co-operative Cotton Co.. BridceUwa. 



BKITISH aUIANA: T. Oedde.i flrant. Lt4. 



DOMINICA: Hon. H. A. Framptoo. OKENADA: Thomson. Hankesp « C*. 



OUADELOUPIZ : The Station Altronomlquc de la guadclavD*. 



Pelnt-A-Pltre. JAMAICA: D. Henderson * Co., Klnsataa. 



MARTINIQUE: L. Uuplan & Co.. Port-de-Praacc. 



MONTSERRAT: W. Llewellyn Wall. NKVIS: S. D. Malaaa. 



ST KITTS: S. I.. Hor.ilord ft Co. ST. LUCIA: B«rnard Soaa * C*.. 



Caitrles. ST. VINCENT: Corea ft Co.. KlBsatawa. 



TRINIDAD & TOBAQO: T. Qeddes Qrwit. LU. 



AMERICAN VIRGIN ISLANDS: O. H. Schmlacelew, St. C«*i>. 



Manufnrfurers : V/ILLIAM COOPER & NEPHEWS, Berkhamsted, England. 



kKAN«.'H >>■:., loxaia, Ckieaia. S«aaa>. «.lko.»».. Aael 



klaad. Ba«m.« Airm. Moalt Vidaa, PnU Anmt, 



