180 THE ITINERANT HORSE PHYSICIAN 



and received an appointment in the tick eradica- 

 tion division in Mississippi. This made my 

 fourth appointment to service in the Bureau, 

 and I must say it was about the worst. 



My orders on this appointment were to report 

 to the inspector in charge at Nashville, Tenn. 

 When I got to Nashville I was given a few hours 

 to myself and then I was told to proceed at once 

 to Crystal Springs, Miss. There I reported to 

 the inspector in charge, and was then at once sent 

 to Hazelhurst, Miss., which was to be my official 

 station. 



My conception of tick eradication was as yet 

 somewhat vague ; I knew what the principle was 

 but I had absolutely no knowledge of how it was 

 reached. Imagine my surprise, then, when my 

 superior informed me that my duty for the pres- 

 ent would be to supervise the construction of 

 dipping vats. These vats consist of trenches dug 

 in the ground and plastered with concrete. I 

 began to suspect that some mistake had been 

 made in my commission, or that my name and 

 appointment had been confused with that of 

 some brick layer or hod carrier, and I told the 

 inspector-in-charge so. 



"No," he said, "your commission is all right 

 and regular. This work is part of the veterinary 

 inspector's duty." I had a notion to tell him 

 that the college I graduated from did not 

 include concrete construction work in its 

 curriculum. 



Anyhow, it is one of the pieces of "judgment" 

 that is seen quite regularly in the government 



