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r^ ^ LIBRARY 



U.S.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 





Contribution from the Bureau of Animal Industry, A. D. Melvin, Chief. 



August 14, 1914. 



ARSENICAL CATTLE DIPS: 



METHODS OF PREPARATION AND DIRECTIONS FOR USE. 



By Robert M. Chapin, 

 Senior Biochemist, Biochemic Division. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



This bulletin is intended to l)e a handbook for the user of arsenical 

 I cattle dips. It aims to include in brief but ample form general in- 

 formation, formulas, tables, and practical hints bearing on the prepa- 

 ration and management of 

 arsenical dipping solutions. 

 But to this field it is 

 strictly limited. Those who 

 desire a popular account of 

 the life history of the 

 Texas- fever tick and of its 

 relation to cattle are re- 

 ferred to a previous bulle- 

 tin (Farmers' Bulletin 498) 

 issued by the department. 

 jThe same, as well as an- 



FiG. 1. — Map of the United States, the shaded area 

 showing the territory to which this bulletin 

 applies. 



jother previous publication 



[(Bureau of Animal -Industry Circular 207), contains plans and speci- 

 ications for the construction of dipping vats, together with directions 

 for the management of cattle in connection with dipping. 



PROPERTIES OF SUBSTANCES USED IN MAKING DIPS. 



Making a dip is simply a manufacturing proposition. No manu- 

 facturer can expect to get the best results unless he is somewhat 

 icquainted with important facts regarding his raw materials. 



White arsenic^ also known as arsenic trioxid, arsenious or arsen- 

 )us oxid or anhydrid, should always be purchased in the form of 



fine powder, and under a g-uaranty of 99 per cent purity. Water, 

 3ven when boiling, will dissolve only a little of it, and that slowly, 

 )ut by the use of certain other chemicals white arsenic may be readily 

 md abundantly brought into solution. 



White arsenic is a violent poison, and users of it must never allow 

 |familiarity to beget carelessness. It may be absorbed into the 

 system and cause injury or death, either through the mouth, the 



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