366 The Care of Animals 



neck or shoulder. In case the latter place is chosen, care 

 should be taken not to push the needle into the mus- 

 cles, but simply into the loose tissue beneath the skin. 

 The single vaccines should be used in the tail, to insure 

 safety. Vaccine should not be kept more than an hour 

 or two after mixing, and then only in a clean, well- 

 stoppered bottle. Vaccinating instruments, with the 

 necessarj^ accessories, can be purchased at from $3.50 

 to $5.00. Before using, the instruments should be 

 thoroughly cleaned with boiling water, and this precau- 

 tion should be repeated just after u^ing. Any cotton or 

 filter paper which contains sediment should be burned. 

 In using the double method, the second vaccine should 

 be prepared as already described, and injected about ten 

 days after the first vaccination. 



Vaccination will ordinarily protect cattle for one year, 

 although calves under eight months old should be re- 

 vaccinated, if possible, when they are yearlings. The 

 best time to vaccinate cattle is before they are turned on 

 grass in the spring, or just before they are placed on 

 dry feed in the fall. Avoid extremes of weather when 

 vaccinating, as well as in branding or other surgical 

 operations that are likely to lessen the vitality of the 

 animal. If the cattle can be confined in a narrow stall, 

 or, better, in a narrow chute, with a little practice a 

 hundred head an hour can be vaccinated. There are no 

 visible effects from vaccination, if the operation is care- 

 fully performed. Full directions for use accompany all 

 the vaccines that are on the market. 



A medicine that is used as a preventive of blackleg 

 in some parts of the West is as follows: 



