The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-05-09
THE SHEEP TICK.
Injury 1t Does TO FIOcks and the Best
Method of killing the Pest.

1.-The injury inflicted by the sheep tick
upon the fiocks in this State,'' said Prof
A. w. Biting, veterinarian of the agricul-
tural experiment station of Purdue Univer-
sity, ''can only be roughly estimated. Ticks
do not cause death directly, nor injure the
wool, but cause untold torment by their
biting and wandering abou< over the body.
This saps the vigor of the old sheep, re-
tards the growth of the lambs, and makes
both susceptible to disease.
1.-The tick is a winglesS fly about a quarter
of an inch long, having a large, strong.
reddish-gray body, and six legs. The head
is square and set directly on the body. The
armed with a row of teeth. 1t lays only Il
few eggs during its lifetime, and these con-
tain young ticks. The parasites pass their
entire life upon the body of the sheep, and
live by sucking the blood. They can live
for only few days when removed from the
sheep. Their destruction is comparatively
easy, as they are susceptible to nearly all
the agents that destroy parasites.
The most opportune time for killing
ticks is just after shearing, as the ease of
handling and the cost of dip is reduced to
the minimum. Nearly all the ticks will
leave the sheep for the lambs, so that the
work will be very effective If only the
lambs are dipped. 1t is better, however,
to dip both old and young. The sheep
should be examined carefully about three
weeks after dipping, and If any eggs escape
destruction, the sheep should be redipped
The apparatus necessary may consist
only OF box or barrel, into which the
animals may be submerged, and a table
upon which they may be allowed TO drain.
Such temporary arrangements necessitate
considerable labor and loss of dip. A spe-
cial tank may be purchased or built, if a
large number are to be handled, as one will
soon be repaid for its USE The tank should
be about eight feet long at the top and two
feet WIDE 1t should be four and ons-half
feet high and one end made vertical. The
sides should slant so that the bottom will
be from five to eight inches wide. The bot
tom should be about three and a half feet
long and one end made to slant so that
the sheep may walk out The tank should
be set into the ground and a chute made
50 that the sheep may be driven into the
tank good tight wagon bed may be used
as a drain floor and the back end placed
over the end of the tank TO return the drip.
With such an arrangement several hundred
sheep may be dipped in a day with COM
paratively little work and a great saving in
ION the whole, it is more economical
and satisfactory TO use some of the good
sheep dips offered upon the market. These
dips usually contain arsenic, extract OF to-
bacco or products obtained from creosote
or tar as the destroying agent. AS the lat
ter dips are effective and less dangerous in
the hands of most people, they are TO be
preferred.
THE following. known as the Curtice dip.
is highly recommended, and may be pre-
pared by any one: Tobacco leaves, fifty
pounds; sulphur, ten pounds: water one
hundred gallons. The tobacco is stepped for
an hour and a half, the leaves are strained
of and the sulphur added. and again boiled
for an hour Keep Well stirred and use
while warm"