540 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



A. Take 8 to 11 pounds of unslaked lime, place it in a mortar 

 box or a kettle or pail of some kind, and add enough water to slako 

 the lime and form a lime paste or lime putty. 



Many persons prefer to slake the lime to a powder, which is to 

 be sifted and mixed with sifted sulphur. One pint of water will 

 slake 3 pounds of lime, if the slaking is performed slowly and care- 

 fully. As a rule, however, it is necessary to use more water. This 

 method takes more time and requires more work than the one given 

 above, and does not give any better results. If the boiled solution 

 is allowed to settle the ooze will be equally as safe. 



B. Sift into this lime paste three times as many pounds of 

 flowers of sulphur as used of lime, and stir the mixture well. 



Be sure to weigh both the lime and the sulphur. Do not trust 

 to measuring them in a bucket or to guessing at the weight. 



C. Place the sulphur-lime paste in a kettle or boiler with about 

 25 to 30 gallons of boiling water, and boil the mixture for two hours 

 at least, stirring the liquid and sediment. The boiling should be 

 continued until the sulphur disappears, or almost disappears, from 

 the surface; the solution is then of a chocolate or liver color. The 

 longer the solution boils the more the sulphur is dissolved, and the 

 less caustic the ooze becomes. Most writers advise boiling from 

 thirty to forty minutes, but the Bureau obtains a much better ooze 

 by boiling from two to three hours, adding water when necessary. 



D. Pour the mixture and sediment into a tub or barrel placed 

 near the dipping vat and provided with a bunghole about 4 inches 

 from the bottom and allow ample time (two to three hours, or more 

 if necessary) to settle. 



The use of some sort of settling tank provided with a bunghole 

 is an absolute necessity, unless the boiler is so arranged that it may 

 be used both for boiling and settling. An ordinary kerosene oil 

 barrel will answer very well as a small settling tank. To insert a 

 spigot about 3 to 4 inches from the bottom is an easy matter. Drain- 

 ing off the liquid through a spigot has the great advantage over dip- 

 ping it out, in that less commotion occurs in the liquid, which 

 therefore remains freer from sediment. 



E. When fully settled, draw off the clear liquid into the dip- 

 ping vat and add enough warm water to make 100 gallons. The 

 sediment in the barrel may then be mixed with water and used as 

 a disinfectant, but under no circumstances should it be used for dip- 

 ping purposes. 



A double precaution against allowing the sediment to enter the 

 vat is to strain the liquid through ordinary bagging as it is drawn 

 from the barrel. 



Position of the Bureau on Lime-and-Sulphur Dips. To sum- 

 marize, the position of the Bureau of Animal Industry on the lime- 

 and-sulphur dips is as follows: When properly made and properly 

 used, these dips are second to none and equalled by few as scab 

 eradicators. There is always some injury to the wool resulting from 

 the use of these dips, but when properly made and properly used 

 upon shorn sheep it is believed that this injury is so slight that it 



