10 FAEMEES' BULLETIN 857. 



If it is absolutely impossible to burn or properly bury a carcass, 

 many maggots can be destroyed, especially during the hot, dry 

 weather of midsummer, by exposing the carcass in the sun. Dragging 

 an animal into a creek bottom and leaving it in the shade of brush 

 and trees is most conducive to screw-worm propagation. Some have 

 suggested the cutting up of a carcass and scattering it about so as 

 to hasten its drying.- This would cause the destruction of some flies 

 by the heat and would enable birds and other natural enemies to 

 destroy some of the maggots, but it is really not a commendable 

 practice. 



Animals found dead in water holes should be removed at once 

 and destroyed. ScreAv-worm breeding will go on unless the body is 

 submerged completely, and there is great danger of contaminating 

 the water with disease Avhich may kill many healthy stock. 



AVOIDING SCREW-WORM ATTACK. 



Some slight modifications in the range or farm methods of hand- 

 ling live stock will tend to reduce the number of screw-worm cases. 



CONTROL OF TIME OF CALVING. 



Even in the most heavily infested districts, losses from screw- 

 worms at calving tim? can be largely avoided by having the calves 

 drop between December 1 and the middle of April. In the northern 

 portions of the screw-worm district this time can be extended from 

 about November 1 to June 1. Of course this changes the present 

 common range practice of allowing bulls to remain with the herd 

 continuously, and its successful prosecution would depend to a large 

 extent upon having some feed at hand for use during the calving 

 period. 



TIME FOR BRANDING, MARKETING, CASTRATING, AND DEHORNING. 



Under present conditions most cattlemen avoid branding and cas- 

 trating during the period when screw-worms are most abundant. If 

 all of these operations could be carried out between December 1 and 

 May 1 very little trouble from screw-worms would follow, but the 

 period for dehorning should be shortened to avoid maggot infesta- 

 tion as explained on page 4. 



By rubbing a small quantit^^ of cottonseed oil containing 4 per 

 cent of carbolic acid over the burn immediately after branding, heal- 

 ing is hastened and the scab peels off smoothly. 



AVOIDANCE OF INJURY To STOCK. 



It is important that all forms of injury which induce screw-worm 

 infestation be avoided during the summer months. Greater care 



