330 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



of the Southwest, where this method of eradicating ticks becomes not 

 only plausible and practicable, but also economical. When cattle 

 have been properly dipped in Beaumont crude petroleum or any 

 other approved petroleum under the supervision of a veterinary in- 

 spector and by him found free of infection, they may be shipped to 

 any point above the quarantine line, subject only to such restrictions 

 as may be imposed at the point of destination. Such cattle must be 

 shipped in clean, disinfected cars, and must not be driven through 

 the quarantined area or be unloaded therein, except at those points 

 designated by the Secretary of Agriculture. It is earnestly recom- 

 mended that such shipments shall not occur earlier than four to 

 eight days after the dipping is performed. 



By the Soiling Method. This method of freeing cattle of ticks 

 was suggested by Curtice. It is based upon a knowledge of the life 

 history of these parasites. The time required for the female tick to 

 lay eggs and the latter to hatch in other words, the time spent on 

 the ground is rarely less than three weeks, and the period required 

 by the seed ticks to molt and mature or the time spent on the cattle 

 is usually from twenty to forty-five days. When cattle infested 

 with ticks are to be cleaned for any reason as, for instance, before 

 being placed on noninfested pastures it is recommended that the 

 cattle be kept in a small tick-free inclosure for three weeks, when 

 many of the ticks will have fallen off. They should then be removed 

 and placed in a similar paddock for another three weeks. At this 

 time the cattle should be examined, and if found free from ticks 

 they may be placed in the noninfested pasture at once. On the other 

 hand if any ticks are observed the cattle should be placed in a third 

 pen for two weeks more. By this time even the youngest ticks that 

 were on the cattle at the start will have matured and dropped off; 

 and as the animals are removed from each pen before they could 

 possibly become reinfested with the seed ticks that hatch from the 

 eggs of the females that fell off, they are now tick free. The same 

 pens can not be used repeatedly for this purpose without thorough 

 disinfection, as they become infested with young ticks, which will 

 at once attack cattle if given an opportunity to do so. Care should 

 be taken that'hay fed the animals in these pens is from noninfested 

 fields. 



How to Free Pastures of Ticks. How to rid pastures of ticks 

 without destroying the vegetation on them was for a long time a 

 problem. While this may be impossible on large ranches, it has 

 been successfully accomplished on small farms by systematic efforts 

 based upon a knowledge of the life history and the habits of the cat- 

 tle ticks. The most satisfactory as well as the most practicable meth. 

 ods have been found to be as follows : 



By Excluding Cattle for a Definite Period. The removal of 

 animals from an infested pasture for a stated period will cause all 

 ticks present therein to starve, and the pasture will thus become 

 tick-free. One method of accomplishing this result is to divide the 

 into two parts by a double line of fence. This fence should 



