186 - EXPERIMENTAL FABMS. 



that frequent rains have kept the pastures in unusually good condition for the sea- 

 son. The milk delivered at a local creamery has diminished in eight days or so from 

 21,000 to 15,000 lbs. This you will see is a serious matter." — C. H. Parmelee, 

 Waterloo, Que. 



" August 10. — Please send me a horn-fly Bulletin. The flies are very bad and 

 ihe cows are shrinking and other cattle losing flesh in a frightful way. I have been 

 spraying my cows, etc., for a fortnight with Kerosene emulsion as recommended; 

 but it seems to do but little good. Have you found anything better at Ottawa?" — 

 Sydney A. Fisher, Knowlton, Que. 



So great was the demand for information on this subject from the Province of 

 Quebec that the French edition of Bulletin 14 on the Hgrn-fly was soon exhausted, 

 and by instruction of the Honourable Minister of Agriculture, I prepared a revised 

 edition which was printed and distributed widely. At the same time I also prepared 

 a single-sheet illustrated circular for publication in newspapers. Copies of this 

 circular were sent to the leading French and English newspapers, together with 

 stereotypes of the above figure, and by that means many who would not otherwise 

 have been reached, obtained the information required to enable them to protect 

 their cattle. The following are the remedies which I have suggested: — 



Remedies. — Almost any greasy substance rubbed on the animals will keep the 

 flies away for several days. A number of experiments were tried in the field, with 

 the result that train-oil alone, and train-oil or lard with a little sulphur, oil of tar or 

 carbolic acid, added, will keep the flies away for from five to six days, while with a 

 small proportion of carbolic acid it will have a healing effect upon any sores which 

 may have formed. Axle-grease, tallow, and any such greasy substance can be used 

 to advantage, but train-oil or fish-oil seem to be more lasting in their effects than 

 any others experimented with. 



The safest and most convenient way of using carbolic acid is in the shape of 

 carbolized oil which can be prepared by dissolving one ounce of crystallized or 

 liquefied carbolic acid in 1 quart of oil. Train oil, fish oil, tanner's oil, olive oil or 

 any other fixed oil will answer; but not coal oil, as carbolic acid is not soluble in 

 this liquid. The crude carbolic acid does not dissolve easily in fixed oils, and there- 

 fore must not be used. Instances have been reported to me of injury to animals, and 

 the hands of operators, when the crude has been substituted for the purer form of 

 carbolic acid. 



An effective and undoubtedly the easiest remedy to apply, if a small spray pump 

 be used, is the Kerosene emulsion ; which consists of the following : — Kerosene (coal 

 oil), 2 quarts ; rain water, 1 quart; common hard soap, 2 oz. Boil the soap in the 

 water till all is dissolved ; then while boiling hot, turn it into the coal oil, and churn 

 it constantly and forcibly with a syringe or force pump for five minutes, when it 

 will be of a smooth creamy nature. If the emulsion be perfect, it will adhere to the 

 surface of glass without oiliness. As it cools it thickens into a jelly-like mass. This 

 gives the stock emulsion, which roust be diluted before using with nine times its 

 measure (that is, twenty-seven quarts) of water. It will be found to mix much more 

 easily if done at once, before it cools. The above proportions give three quarts of 

 the stock emulsion, which with twenty-seven quarts of water added make up thirty 

 quarts of the mixture ready for use. This may be applied to the animals by means 

 of a sponge, brush, rag, or, what will certainly be found most convenient where there 

 are many animals to treat, by means of a force pump and spray nozzle. The emul- 

 sion thus made and sprayed over the cattle kills all the flies it reaches, and if repeated 

 twice a week will almost entirely relieve cattle from annoyance. Another method 

 of diluting the coal oil is to make the emulsion with milk instead of soap and water. 

 Take sour milk, one part ; coal oil, two parts. Mix the two thoroughly, as described 

 above for the soap emulsion. Then dilute with water, so that one part in ten will 

 be coal oil. 



Prof. H. A. Morgan, of the Louisiana Experiment Station, has tried some 

 experiments during the past year with various materials, the results of which he 

 summarizes as follows : — " It was soon found that none of the solutions were of 

 much value except Kerosene and Fish-oil emulsions, and after a third trial, all were 

 discarded except these. At this time the Fish-oil emulsions had shown superiority 



