SHEEP TICK AND ITS ERADICATION BY DIPPING. 

 DIRECTIONS FOR DIPPING. 



15 



The quantity of dip in the bath should be sufficient to submerge 

 the sheep completely; that is, the depth of the dipping fluid in the 

 vat should be not less than 40 to 48 inches, depending on the size of 

 the sheep. The quantity of fluid necessary to fill the vat to the 

 required depth should be ascertained before it is prepared. Freshly 

 shorn sheep and short-Avool lambs will carry out on an average from 

 1 to 2 quarts of dip, depending on the size of the sheep and the 

 length and grade of wool, while full-fleeced, fine-wool sheep will carry 

 out and retain in the fleece as much as 2 gallons. At late fall dip- 

 ping the average medium-wool sheep will retain in the fleece about 

 1 gallon of dip. In estimating the quantity of dip required, these 

 facts should be taken into consideration. 

 After computing the quantity of dip required 

 to charge the vat, the average quantity which 

 each sheep will carry out should be estimated ; 

 this should be multiplied by the number of 

 sheep to be dipped, and the product so ob- 

 tained added to the quantity required to fill 

 the vat. If the vat and draining pens are 

 water-tight, so that no dip is lost through 

 them, the total as giA^en above should show 

 the approximate number of gallons of dip 

 required to complete the work. 



After the vat is filled to the required capa- 

 city the contents should be well mixed by 

 stirring, in order that the temperature may 

 be uniform throughout. A good method of 

 stirring the dip in large vats is to take a 

 5-gallon pail or dip container, punch holes 

 near the top, insert a wire for a bail, allow 

 the can to fill and partially sink, then drag it 

 with a dipping fork rapidly from one end of 

 the vat to the other, and repeat the process until the temperature is 

 uniform, as shown by taking it at several points in the vat. Stirring 

 ]dungers are useful implements, and, as they are easily made, one or 

 more should be provided at every vat. They are used in a manner 

 similar to the movement of the dasher of an old-fashioned hand churn. 

 The plunger is pushed to the bottom of the vat and raised rapidly, 

 the process being repeated as the operator moves slowly along the 

 vat. The style shown in figure 9 is the one most commonly used. 



The dip should be changed as soon as it becomes filthy, regardless 

 of the number of sheep that may have been dipped in it. In empty- 

 ing the vat the entire contents should be removed, including all sedi- 

 ment and foreign matter. After the liquid portion has been dipped 



Fig. 9. — Stirring plunger for 

 mixing liquids in the vat. 



