142 Western Live-stock Management 



and since the sheep spend most of this time with very 

 Httle feed, it is necessary to work with the greatest pos- 

 sible speed. On this account the sheep-men are partial 

 to the large plants that can shear an entire band in one 

 day. 



DIPPING 



Dipping for ticks is an operation which should follow 

 shearing. Both lambs and mature sheep must be dipped. 

 The method of dipping is to run the sheep through a long 

 vat or tank which contains a solution of dip. The tank 

 on the range usually is long enough so that it takes about 

 two minutes for the sheep to swim through. 



The directions sent along with the dip recommend 

 dipping twice, nine to ten days apart. The life cycle of 

 the tick, however, indicates that it would be better to 

 make the time about twenty-one days. The first dipping 

 kills all ticks on the animal at that time but has no effect 

 on the pupae. The second dipping kills the ticks that 

 have hatched since the first dipping. There are many 

 dips on the market at the present time, all of which fall 

 into two general classes, namely, dips which kill by poison- 

 ing, and dips which kill by burning. Arsenical dips 

 would fall in the first class, while dips such as Kreso No. 

 1, Zenoleum, Chloroleum, Lysol, and Creolin and Lime- 

 sulfur make up the second class. There is considerable 

 controversy between the producers of dips as to the rela- 

 tive merits of these two classes. One claims that the 

 class which kills by burning damages the wool, while the 

 other sets forth the damages resulting from the sheep 

 swallowing some of the poisonous dips. Tests have been 

 carried on at various experiment stations to determine 

 the relative merits of these dips. It appears from these 



