488 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



treatment and reproduce, thus prolonging tlie time that otherwise 

 would be required for eradication. 



If ticks apparently disappear from the cattle after they have been 

 under treatment for some time, the dipping should not be discon- 

 tinued until a number of careful inspections show that the cattle are 

 free of ticks. If ticks continue on cattle until cold weather and then 

 finally disappear it should be borne in mind that in all probability 

 eradication has not been accomplished and that there may be en- 

 gorged females, unhatched eggs, and inactive seed ticks on the farm 

 or range, and that even if the cattle should remain free of ticks dur- 

 ing the winter they may become reinfested the following spring. In 

 any case in which ticks disappear from the cattle and treatment is 

 discontinued, the cattle should be watched very carefully for ticks 

 until ample time has elapsed to leave no doubt that eradication has 

 been accomplished. 



As a general rule it has been found that if dipping is begun in 

 March and systematically and thoroughly done, all cattle being 

 dipped every 14 days until November, complete eradication will be 

 secured. In dipping, each animal should be completely covered by 

 the dip. To prevent any animals from going through the vat with- 

 out becoming wet all over, a man, provided with a forked stick, 

 should be stationed at the middle of the vat to shove under those that 

 have not been completely submerged. 



Dipping is the only really satisfactory method of treating animals 

 for ticks. In cases of emergency, however, or where there are not 

 cattle enough within a radius of several miles to warrant the con- 

 struction of a vat in which all the cattle of the community may be 

 dipped, spraying may be advisable. In spraying animals the work 

 should be done with great thoroughness and every portion of the 

 body treated. An animal can not be sprayed properly unless it is 

 tied or otherwise held, nor can good results be obtained unless the 

 hair and skin are thoroughly wetted. 



Preparation and use of arsenical dips.^ — After experimenting for 

 many years to discover a practical method for dipping cattle to 

 destroy ticks without injury to the cattle, the Bureau of Animal In- 

 dustry has developed a very satisfactory arsenical dip. Two for- 

 mulas are given for homemade dips, one known as the " S-B " (self- 

 boiled) and the other as the boiled dip. The former is the one 

 usually employed. 



The S-B dip. — The formula calls for two stock solutions, arsenic 

 stock and tar stock, which must not be mixed except in the diluted 

 dipping bath. 



» For fullor information see Farmers' Bulletin 1057, from which the directions here 

 given arc mainly derived. 



