SEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X. 513 



All things considered, where it is a choice between sacrificing the 

 weight of sheep and to some extent the color of the wool, by using to- 

 bacco and sulphur, and sacrificing the staple of the wool by using lime 

 and sulphur, the farmer should not hesitate an instant in selecting to- 

 bacco in preference to lime. The loss in weight by using tobacco and 

 sulphur is not much greater than the loss in using lime and sulphur, while 

 the loss in staple is of more importance than a slight discoloration. 



Preparation of lime and sulphur mixture — Almost as many different 

 methods of preparing the liquid exist as there are different formulas, 

 some of the methods laying great stress upon sifting both the lime and 

 the sulphur, others laying great stress upon allowing the liquid to settle, 

 others leaving out of consideration both of these points. The method 

 which has been found in the department to be the easiest and most 

 satisfactory is as follows: 



A. Take a to 11 pounds of unslaked lime, place it in a mortar box 

 or a kettle or pail of some kind and add enough water to slake the 

 lime and form a "lime paste" or "lime putty." 



Many persons prefer to slake the lime to a powder, which is to be 

 sifted and mixed with sifted sulphur. One pint of water will slake three 

 pounds of lime, if the slaking is performed slowly and carefully. As a 

 rule, however, it is necessary to use more water. This method takes 

 more time and requires more work than the one given above and does 

 not give any better results. If the boiled solution is allowed to settle 

 the ooze will be equally as safe. 



B. Sift into this lime paste three times as many pounds of flowers 

 of sulphur as used of lime and stir the mixture well. Be sure to weigh 

 both the lime and the sulphur. Do not trust to measuring them in a 

 bucket or to guessing the weight. 



C. Place the sulphur lime paste in a kettle or boiler with about 25 

 to 30 gallons of boiling water and boil the mixture for two hours at least, 

 stirring the liquid and sediment. The boiling should be continued until 

 the sulphur disappears, or almost disappears from the surface; the solu- 

 tion is then of a chocolate or liver color. The longer the solution boils 

 the more the sulphur is dissolved, and the less caustic the ooze becomes. 

 Most writers advise boiling from thirty to forty minutes, but the bureau 

 obtains a much better ooze by boiling from two to three hours, adding 

 water when necessary. 



D. Pour the mixture and sediment into a tub or barrel placed near 

 the dipping vat and provided with a bunghole about 4 inches from the 

 bottom and allow ample time (.two or tljree hours, or more if necessary), 

 to settle. 



The use of some sort of settling tank provided with a bunghole Is an 

 absolute necessity, unless the boiler is so arranged that it may be used 

 both for boiling and settling. An ordinary kerosene oil barrel will answer 

 very well as a small settling tank. To insert a spigot about 3 or 4 inches 

 from the bottom is an easy matter. Draining off the liquid through a 

 spigot has the great advantage over dipping it out, in that less commo- 

 tion occurs in the liquid, which therefore remains freer from sediment. 

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