What the Dip means to the Desert 



were amazed at the marvellous progess that has 

 been made in the eradication of tick-borne 

 diseases by dipping, and we feel sure that our 

 readers will welcome a short review of what has 

 been done. The story of the discovery of the 

 value of dipping forms a fascinating chapter 

 in the annals of South African agriculture. 



In the year 1901 Mr Baynes despatched an 

 agent to Queensland to purchase a shipload of 

 cattle from the tick-infested areas for his dairy 

 farm at Nels Rust. It was supposed that these 

 cattle would prove immune to South African 

 redwater. It was soon seen, however, that 

 this idea was erroneous. On arrival, the 

 Australian cattle were found to be suffering 

 from both redwater and lung-sickness, and 

 practically all succumbed to these diseases. 

 Nevertheless, this unprofitable venture proved 

 to be the most profitable speculation that Mr 

 Baynes ever undertook, as it turned his atten- 

 tion to the methods of tick destruction then 

 in vogue in Queensland. Learning that the 

 Government of that state were eradicating the 

 tick by means of dipping, he straightway set to 

 work, erected a dipping tank, the first in South 

 Africa, and prepared a dip according to the 

 Queensland formula. In all this work Mr 



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