Dips may be divided into two classes according to their origin viz., proprietary dips and non-proprietary dips.
A proprietary dip is one which is put up in packages and sold as a dip and usually requires little handling to be ready for use.
A non-proprietary dip is one which the farmer makes up himself from articles which he buys as crude drugs. This is usually cheaper, but requires more handling in preparing it for use.
To-day, most, if not all proprietary dips on the market have been approved by the Dep’t of Agriculture, and are about as effective as the non-proprietary dips. The principal question is whether to pay a little more and save the labor of preparing the dip, or pay less and do the work yourself.
All dips come under one of five classes, according to the basic elements used; (1) Tobacco and Sulphur; (2) Lime and Sulphur; (3) Coal tar; (4) Carbolic acid; and (5) Arsenic.
The tobacco and sulphur dip is very much used and is highly recommended by the Dep’t of Agriculture. It is prepared as follows: For every 100 gallons of dip required, use 21 pounds of tobacco leaves and 16 pounds of flowers of sulphur. Soak the leaves in cold or luke-warm water for 24 hours in a covered vessel. Bring the water to a boil and then remove from the fire. Allow to draw for not less than one hour or preferably over night. Then strain and press out all the tobacco juice. Mix the flowers of sulphur in water so as to make a thin paste, and pour this into the tobacco solution, stirring to keep the sulphur from settling; add water if necessary to make 100 gallons. Heat to about 100 degrees F. for use, but be careful not to heat above 110 as the nicotine would evaporate.
The tobacco and sulphur dip is one of the best known. It is cheap, effective and does not injure the wool. However it does not keep and must be freshly prepared for every dipping.
The lime and sulphur dip is also a very good one and is the dip usually recommended, or even sometimes required by the Dep’t of Agriculture.
It is prepared as follows: For 100 gallons of dip take 8 pounds of unslaked lime and 24 pounds of flowers of sulphur. Place the lime in a kettle and add enough water to make a paste; sift in the sulphur, stirring so as to mix thoroughly. Then add 25 to 30 gallons of boiling water, and boil for at least two hours, stirring both mixture and sediment frequently. Boiling should be continued until the sulphur has disappeared from the surface of the liquid; add water as necessary. Then pour liquid and sediment into a barrel with a bunghole about 4 inches from the bottom, and allow to settle for two or three hours, and run off into dipping vat, and add water to make 100 gallons.
This is one of the cheapest and most effective dips, but does sometimes injure the wool if it is long.