50 



CIRCULAR 14S, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



top. All measurements should be made only of the space to be 

 filled with dip, and not above the dip line. The capacities of the 

 various tanks are obtained by a like process, 



Before dipping, the contents of the vat should be well stirred in 

 order that the dip may be of uniform strength and temperature 

 throughout. The pens, chutes, vat, etc., should be examined for pro- 

 jecting nails or any object that might puncture or wound the horses, 



as the dip may injure 

 those having fresh 

 wounds. 



In dipping wild 

 range horses it is nec- 

 essary to have a gate 

 or bar in the chute to 

 prevent the animals 

 from piling up in the 

 vat. Horses should 

 be watered and fe-d 

 from two to four 

 hours before dipping, 

 and if heated by driv- 

 ing they should be 

 allowed to cool off be- 

 fore entering the vat. 

 The head of each 

 animal should be 

 completely submerged 

 for an instant at least 

 once while in the vat. 

 The head should not 

 be held under, but 

 quickly ducked with 

 a dipping fork and 

 released. Two duck- 

 ings of the head are 

 advisable, especially 

 if the animals are 

 affected with scabies. 

 Care should be taken 

 to see that the inner 

 surface of the ear is 

 well soaked. 



In dipping for lice 

 it is not necessary to 

 hold horses in the vat. 

 but if they have 

 scabies they should be held in the vat two or three minutes. After 

 leaving the vat the animals should be. held in the draining pens 

 until all surplus dip has drained off their bodies. (Fig. 34.) 

 Dipping should be finished for the day early enough to dry the ani- 

 mals before sunset. 



Before approving a dip for use in official dipping one of the 

 requirements of the Bureau of Animal Industry is that there shall be 



Figure 33. — Dipping vat being filled with liquid 



