DIPPING SHEEP. 227 



precaution and to dispose of what few ticks are present, for 

 it is indeed a rare thing to find a flock wholly free from ticks. 

 Where the ticks are plentiful, two dippings per year are ad- 

 visable. Where scab is found the promptest measures must 

 be taken to stamp out the trouble. Two dippings should be 

 given ten days apart, and the dip should be applied warm 

 about 110 degrees F., unless a dip containing caustic, as 

 lime, is used. The dips that are recommended by the Bureau 

 of Animal Industry, Washington, D. C., are the lime and 

 sulphur dip, tobacco and sulphur dip, and nicotine and sul- 

 phur. These dips are all of such a nature that they may be 

 made up at home, and they are used very satisfactorily and 

 effectively on a large scale. The extreme care necessary 

 in making up these dips, however, and the injurious and 

 often dangerous results brought about by improper prepara- 

 tion of these dips, renders them somewhat impracticable for 

 the small farmer or flock owner. In addition to this is the 

 further disadvantage of the trouble of preparing them, and 

 the fact that the lime and sulphur dip always injures the 

 wool fiber to some extent, especially if it is used at any time 

 other than shortly after shearing. These dips, however, have 

 the advantage of being cheaper than any of the proprietary 

 dips, especially when used on a large scale. Inasmuch as 

 they are somewhat impracticable for Iowa conditions, full 

 directions for making them will not be given here. Those 

 who desire to use them should write to their congressman for 

 the Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Animal In- 

 dustry, which discusses these dips in full. 



There are numerous proprietary dips on the market, some 

 of which are quite effective when used according to direc- 

 tions, and many which are not. All have the disadvantage of 

 higher cost than the home-made dips, but the best injure the 

 wool much less than the lime and sulphur dip. In fact, some 

 are rathe,r beneficial than otherwise in effect on the wool. 

 Those which appear to give the best satisfaction to flock 

 masters, so far as can be learned, are Zenoleum, Chloro- 

 Naptholeum, Cooper's Sheep Dip, Little's Sheep Dip, and 

 Car-sul Dip. 



The first two are carbolized dips, based on coal tar by- 

 products. The third and fourth are arsenical dips, and the 

 last is a coal tar dip with sulphur. All appear to be reason- 

 ably effective, but must be used hot (110 degrees F.) in 

 order to soften the scab sufficiently to penetrate to the para- 



