52 CIRCULAR 148, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
LIME-SULPHUR DIP 
Proprietary brands of lquid hme-sulphur may be purchased, and 
many of them are equal to or even better than the homemade product. 
Manufacturers have also placed on the market a product commonly 
known as dry hme-sulphur, made by evaporating, in vacuo or in the 
presence of an inert gas, concentrated lme-sulphur solution to which 
a small amount of cane sugar has been added to act as a stabilizing 
agent. Dry hme-sulphur is readily soluble in hot water, and it is 
being extensively used as a dip for animals and as an insecticide for 
plants. Prepared dips should be diluted and used in accordance 
with instructions printed on the label of the container. Lime-sul- 
phur dips are efficacious and dependable remedies for mange, but 
they are not effective against lice and ticks. 
Homemade lhme-sulphur dip is made in the proportion of 12 
pounds of unslaked hme (or 16 pounds of commercial hydrated 
FIGURE 35.—Superstructure and draining pen of cage vat 
lime) and 24 pounds of flowers of sulphur to 100 gallons of water. 
The lime and sulphur should be weighed and the water measured ; 
do not trust to guess work. Slake the lime in a shallow, water-tight 
box or tank and add water enough to form a thin paste. Sift the 
sulphur into the paste and mix well with a broad hoe until a mixture 
of about the consistence of mortar is formed, adding water as re- 
quired. Put the mixture into 30 gallons of boiling water, adding it 
slowly so as not to interrupt the boiling, and boil until the sulphur 
disappears from the surface. The boiling should be continued for 
from one and a half to two hours without cessation, and the mixture 
stirred to prevent settling and caking on the bottom. When the sul- 
phur has disappeared from the surface and the mixture is of a choco- 
late or dark-amber color, the boiling should be discontinued. 
The contents of the boiling tank should be drawn off or dipped out 
and placed in the settling tank and allowed to stand until all solids 
have settled to the bottom and the liquid is clear. An ordinary water- 
tight barrel will serve very well for a settling tank at a small vat. A 
