per head.
The greatest number of animals that the Santa Fe Land Company have been
able to put through the dip in a day is 6,700, working from 6 a.m. to 5
p.m.
Animals certainly are frightened the first time they take this bath, but
very soon they find the comfort of its effect, and come to like and
enjoy it. The cattle we saw dipped to-day had mostly been through the
process several times before, and walked calmly down the passage,
seeming to enjoy their scramble through the dip. On emerging from the
dip, the animals stand in a small corral on the other side, and are kept
there for a while to allow the liquor to drain off their hides, and find
its way back to the tank.
Some of the younger animals seemed scared at the first plunge, and
though a very great point is made of the fact that they must all be
collected and driven into the corral and down the passage, with the
utmost gentleness, some of them grew so disturbed at the unusual
proceeding, that they leapt on to the animal in front instead of sliding
down the dip as the older animals do. However, there are always plenty
of men under the superintendence of the mayor-domo to see that no harm
comes to any animal, and though in the early days of dips, broken legs
were not unusual occurrences, nowadays there are very seldom any
accidents, though thousands of animals may be dipped in a few hours.
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