EXTERMINATING THE TEXAS-FEVER TICK. 27 
farmer who has a small herd which is handled every day should be 
constantly on the lookout for large ticks. A few minutes spent each 
day in removing and destroying these ticks will materially aid any 
treatment employed to eradicate the tick. Eradication will also be 
much facilitated if at the beginning of the work all litter and manure 
are removed from stables, sheds, and yards that have been occupied 
by the cattle, and deposited on land where cattle are not permitted 
to run. After this is done the buildings should be thoroughly disin- 
fected to destroy any eggs or ticks that may be there. For this pur- 
pose the following substances may be used: 
A mixture made with not more than 13 pounds of lime and one- 
fourth pound of pure carbolic acid to each gallon of water. 
2. Any coal-tar creosote dip permitted by the United States 
Department of Agriculture in the official dipping of sheep for scabies, 
diluted to one-fifth of the maximum dilution specified for dipping 
sheep. 
A spray pump should be used to apply the disinfectant, and the 
walls, floors, and various fixtures of the buildings should be thor- 
ughly sprayed. 
Specifications and materials for a dipping vat.—A vat constructed 
according to the accompanying plans will hold 2,088 gallons when 
filled to a depth of 5 feet. 
Excavation.—Excavate for the vat, as shown by the drawings (fig. 
15), to the proper depth. Level the bottom of the pit for the 
sills. After the vat is completed fill in around it, using the surplus 
earth to bring the grade at the sides of the vat a little above the 
natural grade and slope the surface away from the vat. Dig the 
holes required for all posts, ete. 
Carpenter work.—The drawings show the vat constructed according 
to two methods. One method is to make the sides of 4 by 4 inch 
posts spaced about 3 feet apart and lined with 2 by 8 inch dressed, 
sized, and bevel-edged plank, using 20-penny spikes to fasten chen 
to the posts and braces. All the joints are to be calked with oakum 
well driven in with a calking iron and pitched. The floor of the 
vat and the inclines are to be made of 2-inch plank with joints calked, 
the exit incline to have 2 by 4 inch cleats spiked to the plank flooring. 
The slide should have an angle of about 25° and should be covered 
with No. 16 galvanized iron. 
The other method is to build the sides of the vat of 2 by 4 inch posts 
and 2 by 4 inch braces spaced about 16 inches on centers. The 2 by 
4 inch posts and braces are to be lined with % by 8 inch tongued-and- 
grooved flooring, blind nailed at every bearing with 10-penny nails. 
All the joints are to be laid in white lead paste and the boards firmly 
driven up. 
378 
