THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



The Inefficiency of 



Carbolic Fluids as 

 Tick Destroyers 



CATTLK TICK 



Ai CaiMk or Cm! Tar Fluid Preparation* are largely used in the West Indies and Central America for treating tick-infested caltia, 



it is deorable that it should be known that such preparations possess only a very low degree of tick-killing power. 

 Wk«n ProfoMOr Newttead paid a special visit to Jamaica to investigate the Tick Problem, the efficiency of a number of tb« mora 



popular of these Carbolic Fluids was carefully tested, with the result that 

 the number of ticks killed was never more than 65 - and in sonne cases as low as 5% 



Tlte followiag refereoce to the Jamaica tests referred to above is taken 

 from 1 Paper by the Hon. H. H. Cousins. M.A., F.C.S., Director of 

 Amcaknre in Jamaica, entitled " Practical Measures for the Prevention 

 of Ticks in Jamaica ": — 



" Professor Newstead, and the Jamaica Dcpariment o( Agri- 

 " culture, carefully tested the efficacy of all the dip w ,i~lics offered 

 "lor sale in Jamaica, and it was found that the bulk ol these 

 " remedies were Carbolic or Coal-Tar Emulsions. 



" We found, however, that these preparations had not a high 

 •■ standard of 'Welling Power,' and tended to 'bead off' the 

 " ticks on the skin of the animal, much as plain water be^ds off 

 " a duck's back. 



" Again, we found tliat none of these preparations v/ould 

 " kill ticks unless used at a strength that was very liable 

 " to strip the skin of the cows under treatment, and in 

 " no case did we obtain a high efficiency of tick 

 "destruction." 



These statements have been confirmed by many investigators in 

 different Countries, as will be seen, for example, from the following 

 extract from United Stales Department of Agriculiure Bulletin 144, in 

 which arc given full parliiulars of a large number of tests, the result of 

 which was lo show that arsenical preparations alone are really 

 efficient and satisfactory tick-destroyers : — 



" Ever since the fact that the tick is the agent of transmission 

 " of Texas Fever was established, investigations have been carried 

 " on for the purpose of discovering some substance whicli. \\hen 

 "applied externrl'y to the bodies of tick-infested cittle. v.(.uld free 

 " them from licks v\iihoul injur)' to ihe animals themselves. Several 

 " remedies which give good results in the case of such external 

 " par.^si'es ds mange mites and lice arc of little or no use i:i ilic ca?c 

 "of ticks. Fcr example. Lime ^: Sulphur, tobacco, and carbolic 

 "or coal-tar dips have been found to have no practical 

 " value in the destruction of ticks,** 



The s.tme conclusion v/as arrived at' as the result of similar tests 

 carried out at il.t Central Agricultural Station in Cuba. The following 

 is a quotation from Bulletin 8, entitled " Texas Fever and I'hc Cattle 

 Tick:"- 



" Cattle Ticks upon animals are very dilTicull to de'troy, bul 

 . "we have been making a careful search for soine cLc.ip and 

 "cftcicnt remedy for ihcm. 



" Creoline and other carbolic and coal-tar products 

 "were tried, mixed with water, and also with alcohol, in 2, 3, 4. 

 " and 5 per cent, solutions. 



" The stronger applications will kill some ticks, bat 

 "not enough to warrant their use, as the skin of the 

 " animals is irritated by them." 



The continued use in the West Indies of ineffective Carbolic Prepar- 

 ations for the destruction of licks is no doubt due to the fact that most 

 Owners of Cattle look upon licks as a pest that will always exist whatever 

 is done, and regard the struggle against them as a hopeless, ne^er-ending 

 one. They are consequently more or less satisfied so long as the number 

 of ticks on their cattle is kept within reasonable bounds, and are reconciled 

 lo the belief that, so long as ihey have caltle, so long will they have to 

 keep on treating them at intervals for ticks. They do not realize iha' it is 

 perfectly possible to eradicate ticks completely from a property 

 within a period of two or three years. 



To get rid of ticks completely, once for all, it is only necessary to 

 treat the cattle regularly with some properly prepared arsenical prepar- 

 ation, for it is now generally recognised that arsenical fluids alone csui 

 be relied on to kill every tick with which they come into contact. 



To employ a Carbolic preparation which will not kill more than 

 60°^ of the Ticks is merely trifling with the Tick Problem, for the 

 multiplication of ticks takes place with amazing rapidity. One single 

 adult female lick has been known to lay 3,000 eggs. But if we take 

 2.500 as the average number, and assuming that all these 2.500 eggt 

 matured, and that one half were females, the following figures show the 

 number of ticks that might be produced in one year by a single tick: — 



1st Generation •■■ -■■ ... ... 2,500 



2Dd Generation 3,125.000 



3rd Generation, 3.906.250.000 



4th Generation 4.882,812,500,000 



5th Generation ... 6,103,5 15.625,000.000 



ToUl progeny from 1 tick in 1 year .. 6,1 08,402,346,87 7,5»0 



Tbesc ficurd shew the itnportssce of uiinf PrcparatiODS wkidl will kill every liBsle lick. 



Even ihe most elective Carbolic IVeparations never kill more 'ban 

 65% of the ticks, and the use of such inellicient fluids can only roful . at 

 the most, in keeping the licks in check ; whereas if an arsenical prepar- 

 ation, such as Ci.oper's C&llle Tick Dip. be regularly and carefully med, 

 coinnlete erndication is possible within a few years. " 



COOPER'S CATTLE TICK DIF 



Ifmt rwrtivd tkm •ffidml approval of th* foUotm i nf CaanMM* 

 Itaina of South Africa, Northern Rho4etia, Brazil, BaMUIuA. 



Nysftilsod. Swaxlliad. Sonlhero Rbo4«*la, Madatu<ar, 



•rllitb taM Africa, (ierman East Africa, Porti{BC«< Eaal Alrk^ 



ParlufLiFc West Africa, Efypt, Arienllae Repiblic, QneMaUM, 



lolled Slalei of America, New South Wale*, 



Northerp Terrllory of Aaalralla. 



W^nufacturers : WILLIAM COOPER & 



iiKANCIiliS Tsrai't. Ckiccgc. Sydney, Melksina, Aacklaa^ 



WEST INDIAN AGENTS i 



► i *. I- Horslord & Co. ANTIGUA . Bennett, Br >"" * ^a. 



JAMAICA: D. Hentfer.«on ft Co.. KInR.oton. 



QkliNADA: Thomson. Ilankev & Co. 



•AKMAIK)^: BarbadoA Co>operatlve Cotton Co.. Ltd. 



BAt1AMA3: W. N. Twynam, ISassau. 



TRINIDAD: T. Qeddes Urant. Port of Spain. 



BRITISH ai;iANA: 5an4bach, Parker A Co. 



Cr. VINCENT: Cnrea & Co., KIntstown. NeVI5: 5. D. Malons. 



DANI5H weST INDIB5: A. .'^chmleaelew, St. Cruix. 



IMNT5ERRAT: W. LleweUyn Wall. DUMINICA: Hon. H. A. Framptoo. 



AT. LUCIA: Barnard 5ons A C«.. Castries. ^ 



NEPHEWS, Berkhamsted, England. 



Bataoi Aim, Hoste Video, Pasta Artou, East London, Od u i i . 



