The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 52, July 1948 - April, 1949 Page: 162
512 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
were dead. Others died of Texas fever immediately. In the end
practically all died.
The experiments at Fort Worth were hailed the country over
as a success. The next year dipping was carried on at Fort Worth
and at Kleberg's ranch. Although the oil bath had proved suc-
cessful, it was expensive. A cheaper dip would be a boon. Two
years of fruitless effort brought no results. In 1900 the so-called
Australian dip containing Stockholm tar, carbonate of soda,
white arsenic, and water received a thorough testing at Kleberg's
vats. This dip had advantages over the dynamo oil. It was not so
costly as the oil, and there were no harmful aftereffects. It did
not, however, kill all the ticks at one dipping as did the oil. The
next year saw Spindletop's oil wells spray oil over the country-
side. Here, thought the scientists, was the answer to their quest.
Again at the suggestion of Dr. Francis they substituted Beau-
mont oil for the tar and noted a vast improvement. The new dip,
however, left a few ticks at one dipping, and as long as one
remained alive, Texas fever would persist. By 1909 the pharma-
ceutical houses and the paint manufacturers attacked the prob-
lem of a chemical dip. Finally, in 1914, the standard dip with
white arsenic as a base proved its worth. Two dippings were
necessary. With universal dipping the ticks of Texas could be
completely eradicated.
The granting of police power to the Texas Livestock Sanitary
Commission in 1917 set the stage for final action. By agreement
with the Department of Agriculture the Federal quarantine line
receded southward as the commission declared a county clean of
ticks. Dipping vats were built at the instance of the commission-
ers' courts of the various counties and compulsory dipping or-
dered. There was some resistance. Law enforcement officers had
to drive some livestock to the vats. A few vats were dynamited,
but gradually the people responded. Since compulsory dipping
was inaugurated, the tick area of the state has shrunk to some
forty counties in the wooded area of Southeast Texas.22
22Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture, z9oo (Washington,
1900), 216; Texas Almanac, z943-1944 (Dallas, 1943); Dallas News, June 16, 1917.162
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 52, July 1948 - April, 1949, periodical, 1949; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101121/m1/170/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.