REPELLENTS FOE PROTECTING ANIMALS FROM FLIES. 13 



minutes later with symptoms of carbolic-acid poisoning. There was 

 salivation, dyspnea, trembling, paralysis, inability to rise, rapid 

 breathing, and rapid and irregular beating of the heart. 



Another calf was sprayed on the same date with about 1£ quarts 

 of the mixture. The calf showed distinct symptoms of carbolic-acid 

 poisoning in 6 minutes. It showed a tendency to fall in 8 min- 

 utes, and fell in 14 minutes. The symptoms in the order in which 

 they occurred were: Salivation, dyspnea, muscular tremors, loss of 

 muscular control, and finally motor paralysis. The breathing was 

 rapid and shallow. 



It was necessary to destroy both of the animals. 



July 15, 1913, applied the mixture to a calf by means of a brush. 

 Used 2f ounces of the mixture. The repellent action was very 

 marked. July 16, about 18 hours later, the animal was worried as 

 much by flies as were the controls. Oil was present only along the 

 back. There was only a very faint odor of carbolic acid. The pro- 

 tection was practically nothing. There were no symptoms of poi- 

 soning. 



The results obtained with crude carbolic acid may be summarized 

 as follows: In the case of the first two calves treated it shows that 

 carbolic acid in cottonseed oil is absorbed through the skin. It is 

 well known that carbolic acid, when combined with oil, loses its 

 caustic properties, but its toxic properties still remain, as evidenced 

 by the above cases of poisoning. It seems certain that in the case of 

 any such mixture, no matter how small the content of carbolic acid, 

 a certain amount of the same must be absorbed. The amount ab- 

 sorbed will depend, other things being equal, on the amount of the 

 mixture applied. In the third test that was made, the same strength 

 (10 per cent) mixture was used, but it was applied with a brush and 

 only to the amount of 2§ ounces. There were no symptoms of poison- 

 ing. It is therefore evident that a 10 per cent mixture of crude car- 

 bolic acid (21.8 per cent phenols) in cottonseed oil may be used with 

 safety if the application is very light. It is undoubtedly true that 

 a very much weaker mixture of carbolic acid if applied liberally 

 would produce toxic symptoms. 



The repellent action of this mixture, however, does not endure. 

 Its action was very marked at first, but lasted less than 18 hours. 

 It would be necessary therefore to apply this mixture every day. In 

 order to ascertain whether daily applications of the mixture could 

 be made without danger to the animal, a calf was treated with this 

 mixture on October 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13. The mixture was 

 applied with a brush. There were no symptoms of poisoning or other 

 untoward results. 



