422 VETEEINAEY HYGIENE 



spite of passing part of their existence on a non-sus- 

 ceptible animal, and in the case of Heart-Water a single 

 minute nymph-tick, if infected, is sufficient to give the 

 disease in a fatal form. 



If there were no ticks there could be no East Coast 

 Fever, a disease which threatens to clear off nearly all 

 the cattle in South Africa. The hygienic aspect of the 

 case — and the same remark applies to other diseases which 

 are tick transmitted — is to get rid of the ticks. By this 

 means such scourges as the above, Texas Fever, ' Heart- 

 Water,' etc., would either be kept under control, or the 

 diseases entirely disappear. 



Dipping or spraying cattle regularly appears to be the 

 only solution of the problem. The most effective dip is an 

 arsenical one, such as has been used for years by farmers 

 in Queensland and elsewhere. The cattle may be run 

 through the bath at the rate of ten or twelve a minute, but 

 a smaller bath must be employed for sheep. To get clear 

 of ticks all herbivorous animals on the farm must be 

 ' dipped.' 



The Agricultural Department of Cape Colony recommends 

 a Cattle-dipping Tank, seen in Fig. 176, and points out* 

 that if it is desired to get completely rid of ticks, the 

 dipping must be carried out at sufficiently short intervals 

 to prevent females from maturing. If the object is merely 

 the reduction of the ticks, dipping once in fourteen or 

 eighteen days is sufficient. 



Dipping must be accompanied by fencing, and so prevent 

 all tick-infected stock from entering within the area which 

 is being cleaned. Stock which are tick free should not be 

 taken outside the fencing excepting for sale or the butcher, 

 and in the same way, no fresh stock should be introduced 

 without being dipped. 



The tank is 44 feet long at the top, 12 feet long at the 

 bottom ; 4 feet 6 inches wide at the top and 2 feet 6 inches 

 wide at the bottom. The pulley block seen in the figure is 

 to haul in obstinate animals. 



* Agricultural Journal Cape of Good Hope, vol. xxv., No. 2. 



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