Lice on Cattle, 311 



saturated with rock salt. With this the hide should be well 

 saturated several times at intervals of three or four days. 

 This repetition is absolutely essential to success, as the nits in 

 which the lice store their eggs, and which can readily be seen 

 fastened to the hair, have a covering of a waxy material 

 wholly insoluble in water or mild alkalies. They all hatch 

 out in a week or ten days, and by repeating the wash, the 

 young are killed before they have had time to deposit other 

 nits. 



The covering of the nits is, however, readily soluble in 

 alcohol. Therefore, the most effective of all louse-killing 

 preparations are made by pouring common spirits of some 

 kind on tobacco leaves, allowing it to stand for a few days 

 then bottling for use. Such tinctures of stavesacre seeds, and 

 of cocculus indicus are also very promptly destructive to 

 vermin of all kinds in the hide and fleece of animals; but 

 these two last mentioned drugs are actively poisonous when 

 taken internally, and must not be carelessly used. It may be 

 said of the cocculus, that it is so intensely bitter that we 

 question whether a cow would lick her hide with that flavor 

 on it. 



An excellent and cheap oily preparation is : — 



No. 361. Flowers of sulphur, 1 lb. 



Oil of turpentine, ^ pt. 



Train oil, 4 pints. 



Mix the sulphur with the train oil by gentle heat, and when cold stir 

 in the turpentine. 



Ticks which infest live stock should not be pulled off, but 

 snipped in two with a pair of scissors, and the head half 

 which remains touched with a feather dipped in oil of tur- 

 pentine. 



