DISEASES OF ANIMALS 171 



Warbles. 



I have a young heifer whose back is full of swellings containing 

 grubs of the botfly. There is not a single one on the cows. 



Your heifer is troubled by the grubs of the Hypoderma Lincata, 

 or ox warble fly. This fly lays its eggs on the heels, shoulders and 

 belly of cattle, where they hatch in twelve days. The larvae irritate 

 the skin, causing itching, which spots the animal licks, picking up the 

 larvae on the tongue and swallowing same. The larvae then burrow 

 through the walls of the oesophagus and up into the muscles of 

 the back under the skin, where they hibernate, develop and pass out 

 in June, July and August. The grub falls to the ground and in thirty 

 and forty days becomes a mature fly. Crude pine tar, smeared over 

 the heels, belly and shoulders every twelve days, will kill the larvae 

 and expel the flies. Grubs already lodged in the back should be 

 squeezed out or killed by the injection of a few drops of turpentine 

 into the abscess. Young animals are more susceptible than the 

 older ones for the reason that their skin is more sensitive to the 

 itching caused by the larvae and is, therefore, more often licked. 



Cleaning Up Cattle Ticks. 



My son in Guatemala has a good deal of trouble with ticks on the 

 cattle and wishes some formula for dipping and washing cattle to make 

 them free of the pest, and also which would be the best way to destroy 

 them in the pasturages. 



The variety of tick infesting the cattle would determine the 

 exact method of eradication, as its life history is the all-important 

 factor in prescribing special treatment. The following is an out- 

 line for Texas Fever tick eradication and the same dips will kill 

 all kinds of ticks: Arsenious acid 10 pounds, carbonate of soda 

 24 pounds, soap 24 pounds, oil of pine tar \ l / 2 gallons, and water 

 enough to make 500 gallons. Boil the arsenious acid and carbonate 

 of soda in 50 gallons of water for two hours and add the remaining 

 ingredients. An ordinary dipping vat should contain 2,000 to 5,000 

 gallons. Have your cattle well watered and rested before dipping. 

 Drain the cattle where there is no vegetation and rest an hour after 

 dipping. By dipping all the cattle every twenty to thirty days, all ticks 

 on the property will become exterminated in one year. Or divide 

 the property with fences and keep all animals off a subdivision for 

 eight months, which will clean that piece of land by starving the 

 ticks. Dip all cattle before returning to rested land twice in ten 

 days. In this way all land on a property can be cleaned up. 



Ear Ticks in Cattle. 



Most of the cattle in this vicinity are infested with car ticks. It 

 breeds and develops only inside of the animals' ears, and it seems they 

 are on the increase. While no loss of cattle has occurred so far, this 



