CATTLE TICKS: MANIPULATION 643 



if they are dropped indiscriminately on the dog ; even if they are 

 brushed off they fall on to the straw and very soon come again in contact 

 with the animal. This method of using straw is applicable in the 

 manipulation of many other ticks. 



After the ticks have been liberated in the cage the latter should be placed 

 on a table. In the cage as elsewhere R. sanguineits always crawls up- 

 wards when it leaves the host. It is always best to take the dog out of 

 the cage in order to feed it, and not to place the food in a tray in the 

 cage ; the straw is apt to become unnecessarily soiled, and some of the 

 ticks may fall into the food. The cage should be cleaned once a day, and 

 all faeces and soiled straw removed. Any ticks which have dropped off 

 and crawled into crevices between the bars of the cage may be obtained by 

 placing the cage on a white cloth on the floor and bumping it, when 

 they fall on the cloth. The cloth bags should be changed every other 

 day, as they become soiled with urine. 



In the case of wild animals, which are difficult to handle, as for instance 

 the jackal, young individuals should be obtained whenever possible; if this 

 cannot be done the following method of handling the adults is successful 

 and gives the minimum of trouble. The animal is placed in a cage 

 specially devised for the purpose, and depicted on Plate LXXXII, fig. 6. 

 The cage measures 2\ ft. x \\ ft. x 22 in. and has iron bars f in. thick 

 and \\ in. apart fixed into holes in the wooden framework ; it has a foot- 

 board made of wood with holes at the sides through which the iron bars 

 pass, so that with the assistance of handles at each end it can be raised 

 or lowered to any position. Iron bars similar to those at the sides are 

 fixed horizontally into the top of the frame ; these can be removed, as 

 they are only kept in position by f in. nuts. The animal stands on the 

 foot-board which, when raised, presses it against the iron bars on the 

 top of the frame and renders it powerless ; any of the bars can now be 

 removed to give access to any part of the animal. The ticks are dropped 

 on to straw placed on the foot-board, and the food is introduced from the 

 top by taking out some of the bars ; mongooses, civet cats and other fierce 

 animals, which cannot be handled in the ordinary cage, may be kept in 

 this one. 



Those ticks of the genera Rhipicephalus and Margaropus which are 

 parasitic on the larger farm animals demand a different form of technique. 



The larvae of R. appendiciilatus, R. siinus and R. 



11 r i i ^i .L- 1 c it. Cattle ticks. R. 



capensis, all of which are common cattle ticks m boutn 



Africa, drop off their host when full-fed. According 



to Lounsbury the larvae and nymphs of R. append iculatus attach 



