36 



FARMKHS^ Bin.LETIN 874. 



the top. It should be deep enough so that the hogs will be com- 

 pletely immersed in the dip and will not strike the bottom of the vat 

 when they plunge. If possible, the vat should be located so that a 

 2-inch drain pipe may lead from the bottom of the vat to facilitate 

 emptying and cleaning, otherwise it is necessary to pump or dip out 

 the contents of the vat in order to clean it. Do not use old, filthy 

 dip, but clean and recharge the vat before dipping again if the dip 

 has become very dirty or if it has stood a long time in the vat. The 

 end where the hogs enter sliould be perpendicular and the entrance 

 should be on a slide. The other end should slope gTadually, with 

 cleats to provide footholds for the hogs for emerging after dipping. 

 A dipping va t is very useful wherever a large number of liogs are kept. 



HOG WALLOWS. 



Some farmers favor hog wallows; others are strongly opposed to 

 them. Filthy hog wallows are a source of danger. Hogs wallowing 

 iu or drinlving contaminated water are likely to contract disease. 

 However, there are many advantages to be derived from wallows. 

 A cool bath is very soothing to a hog during the hot weather. It 

 cleans the scurf from the skin and protects the hogs from flies. Crude 

 petroleum, sufficient to form a thin layer on top of the water, may be 

 poured into the wallow about every 10 days. This will tend to keep 

 the hogs free from lice and other skin parasites. If the skin becomes 

 irritated from the oil, its use should be discontinued. Small quan- 

 tities of coal-tar dip are sometimes added to the water in hog wallows, 

 but there is an element of danger in this practice, as poisoning may 

 result from the absorption of phenols by hogs which lie in the w^^llow 

 more or less continuously. 



On some of the larger hog farms concrete wallows are becoming- 

 popular. The cement hog wallow should be located in a shady place 

 and made so as to contain from 8 to 10 inches of water. A 2-inch 

 drain pipe, a& recommended for the dipping vat, should be placed in 

 the bottom of the wallow to permit its being cleaned out. 



SPRAYING AND RUBBING. 



In many cases a farmer is not financially able to build a hog wallow 

 or a dipping vat. If this be the case, the dip, properly diluted ac- 

 cordmg to directions, can be applied with a spray pump or sprinkling 

 can, or else rubbed on every part of the body by means of a brush 

 or a swab of cotton waste. Care should be taken not to apply the 

 dip stronger than directed. 



Another method of controlling lice is to tie gunny sacks or similar 

 coarse cloths around a post at a proper height, so that the hogs may 

 rub against them, and saturate the sacks frequently with crude 

 petroleum. 



