ANIMAL PAEASITES OF CATTLE. 515 



give the animals a foothold. A draining pen with floor sloping back 

 toward the vat is generally provided. The dip should be used warm, 

 100° to 105° F., and the cattle should be held in the vat for two 

 minutes to insure thorough action of the dip. The head of each 

 animal should be ducked at least once. Care should be taken that 

 the vat contains a sufficient depth of fluid to swim the animals to be 

 dipped. The dipping fluid may be heated from a steam boiler by 

 pipes or hose, or water heated in large iron cauldrons or tanks may 

 be used for charging the vat, and hot water with a proper quantity of 

 dip added from time to time as the dipping fluid becomes cool. 



If crude-petrolemn dips are used, one dipping is usually sufficient, 

 and the dip is used cold. Crude-petroleum dips are rarely used for 

 common mange, but are of special value for sarcoptic mange, which 

 is cured with difficulty by the ordinary dips. In the treatment of 

 ordinary mange with lime-sulphur or nicotin dips two dippings are 

 necessary, the second dipping being given 10 to 14 days after the first. 

 The second treatment is necessary to kill the few parasites which 

 sometimes escape at the first treatment, either in the egg stage or as 

 fecundated females. 



LIME-SULPHUR DIP. 



The lime-sulphur dip is made in the proportion of 12 pounds of 

 unslaked lime (or 16 pounds of commercial hydrated lime — not air- 

 slaked lime), 24 pounds of flowers of sulphur, and 100 gallons of 

 water. 



Directions for preparing 100 gallons of dip. — Weigh out the lime, 

 12 pounds (or hydrated lime, 16 pounds), and sulphur, 24 pounds. 

 Place the unslaked lime in a shallow, water-tight box similar to a 

 mortar box, or some other suitable vessel, and add water enough to 

 slake the lime and form a lime paste or lime putty. Sift into this 

 paste the flowers of sulphur and stir well ; then place the lime-sulphur 

 paste in a kettle, boiler, or tank containing 30 gallons of water, the 

 water being first heated nearly to the boiling point. Boil the mixture 

 for two hours at least, stirring frequently; add water occasionally 

 to maintain the original cjuantity. Allow the mixture to settle in the 

 tank or draw the entire contents of the kettle or boiling tank into a 

 large tub or barrel placed near the dipping vat and provided with a 

 bunghole about 4 inches from the bottom, and then allow ample time 

 to settle — from two to three hours or more if necessary. When fully 

 settled, draw off the clear liquid into the dipping vat, taking care 

 not to allow any of the sediment to accompany it, as the sediment is 

 hable to render the dip unnecessarily caustic. The clear liquid thus 

 obtained requires only the addition of sufficient clear warm water to 

 bring the total up to 100 gallons. Flowers of sulphur must be used 

 and the lime must be of good quality. 



