Chemical Papers. 53 



A CHEMICAL STUDY OF THE LIME AND SULFUR DIP. 



By RoscoE H. Shaw, Manhattan. 



T IME and sulfur dips were brought to the writer's attention 

 -*-^ some two years ago by Dr. N. S. Mayo, at that time state vet- 

 erinarian. The problem to be solved then was the remedying of a 

 turbidity which ensued when the concentrated ooze was diluted 

 with the ordinary hard wa^er of the Western plains. One thing 

 led to another, until the work extended intermittently over a period 

 of about one year. Among the phases of the subject taken up was 

 one concerning the chemical changes taking place in the dip when 

 exposed in open vats. Such exposure is the usual occurrence in 

 practice when two immersions are made with a ten- day period 

 between them. During this interval the vats are sometimes partly 

 covered with boards, but more often are left entirely exposed. 



The purpose of this paper is to present some of the results ob- 

 tained in this phase of the investigation. 



The dip used was made according to the Fort Collins formula, 

 as given in Bulletin No. 21 of the Bureau of Animal Industry, De- 

 partment of Agriculture. According to this formula, lime and sul- 

 fur, in the proportion of one to three, are boiled with water. 

 Commercial lime and ordinary flowers of sulfur were employed and 

 distilled water used in diluting. 



In order that laboratory conditions should conform as closely as 

 might be with those obtaining on the ranch, miniature vats were 

 constructed of wood, with all cracks and seams made tight with 

 paraflBn. The vat containing the dip which is discussed in this 

 paper was of the style known as the swimming vat, a type in com- 

 mon use in western Kansas. It was eight feet long, six inches 

 deep, and five inches wide. 



The vat was filled with dip made as before stated, but diluted 

 somewhat more than is called for by the formula. Each morning, 

 at a definite hour, the contents of the vat were mixed and sampled. 

 During the day a crust formed, which was broken up each morn- 

 ing in order to secure something of the effect of the wind on the 

 vats in practical use. Under ordinary conditions the wind also ac- 

 celerates the evaporation, but in this experiment no attempt was 

 made artificially to produce the result. Another difference was 

 that the vat, being indoors, was not exposed to sudden changes of 

 temperature, such as would occur in practice. 



