American citizen., 1881-04-02
Lice, Their Ways and Antidote.

Mr.. Samuel Richardson writes from
Mime sofa that he has seventy-five (ol
twenty -five) head of two-year-olC
steers. which were put into a new barr
at beginning of winter; are in good
health and flesh; have never come in
contact with any other stock, and yet
they have got lousy. Has tried lard
aud carbolic acid melted together, but
it is so cold there that the lard freezes
in about two minutes, and the lice are
''just as hearty and well rs ever" The
hair is getting loose, and the fine look
ing two-year-olds are beginning to
make him feel ashamed of them ..The
barn is cleaned out every day and fresh
| bcddcd with straw; it cannot be from
any neglect of care" The ways of lice
are mysterious. They often attack cat
tie in fine flesh. but generally are to be
! found on those which are thin. They
will spread rapidly, sometimes from
| one animal To another when they are
confined in Il stable, or they will some
times remain on one animal. or more.
during the entire winter without
spreading. They seem to prefer ami
mails with thin skin, and on this account
are generally to be found on calves, or
white cattle. Cattle which are frequent
ly carded and the scurf washed out of
their hair rarely have lice.
When lice infest herd and get into
a stable thev are liable to summer over
in it and prey upon the cattle the next
winter. On this account, where lice
once come they usually come again.
They seem able to perpetuate them
selves, hiding in the crevices of the sta
BILE. without any animal food for susie
nance. Every stable in which lice are
Sl, ha xxyhit tn
washed with quicklime, allowing it &c
penetrate all the cracks or if the stable
is tight enough it should be fumigatcd
by burning sulphur in it, which is de-
structivc to all parasites of this kind.
Of course the cattle should be removed
from the stable during this operation.
There is no law of prevention that
know of. Cattle get lice upon them
When lying in places where rubbish has
decayed, or where there is rotten wood,
which is a natural place for lice to har-
Dor. Lice multiply under favorable
conditions, and some seasons are more
plentiful than others. Sometimes an
animal will have few lice which it will
carry all winter without an visible in
crease. and then again from Il few they
viii increase to myriads. This increase
generally follows when poor food is CIV
en- to the animal. with u waste of vital
ity. An increase of vitality and flesh
usually results in no increase, or per-
haps a lessening, i'll the number of lice.
Mercurial ointment is an effectual
remedy for lice, when rubbed into the
hair, but it is SO poisonous that it is
dangerous. 1t makes the animal liable
to take cold, causing stiffness, or erup
tions of the skin when too much is ap.
piled, and to be poisoned by licking it,
self. An old farmer used to puncture
the skin behind the foreleg and insert i
ball of this ointment. closing the aper
ture by stitch, SO that it could not
work out. The poison was absorbed
by the blood, and in this way the lice
were destroyed. This farmer insisted
that this was the only proper manner to
use mercury. He had practiced it for
years with success, he claimed. A
strong decoction of tobacco will kill
lice. The best destructive l have ever
tried is u mixture of kerosene oil and
lard of equal parts. If the weather is
too cold to apply the mixture, which
may be melted, should try kerosene
oil alone. 1t will not in IRE the hair or
skin of pigs when applied TO them, and
it probably would not affect cattle. |
would not be afraid to risk it, and it is
perfect destructive for lice. 1t is a
discovery of my own, which experience
justifies. | should mix powdered sulphur
with salt and give the cattle free access
to it whenever they were lousy. If
they eat enough of it the lice will leave
them. Anyway it is hcathful, and will
aid in the cleaning out of the parasites.
=. d. Curtis, IN ". J. Tribune.