The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-07-12

| III helds, virtually under stocklaW con-
ditions.
| The fact that at least three species
! of ticks may be found on cattle and
| that one is disease~bearing and out
| lawed. would seem to complicate mat
| ters. The existence of the either two
| Species however enters very little into
| the problem practically, FOR they are
| easily told apart and are quite different
| in habits.
| All these ticks look alike. especially
| the large females, which are those uSll-
ally seen. They are often as large as
| Il castor oil bean seed. and usually lead
| en- blue in color: have soft, leathery
body provided with four pairs of little
| legs and a hard little head with NOV
able mouth parts The three varieties
can be distinguished by a glance at
| their heads. In the cattle tick tine
color is solid chestnut brown.
The male. which is an inconspcuous
| little fellow always accompanies the fe-
males. his presence is Of no practical
| Importance since it is the female which
attracts our attention and against which
all efforts must be made.
The eggs hatch under ordinary tenn
peratlmes in varying lengths of fine.
Experiments in which the temperature
has been kept at uniformity at high
est summer heat. produced young ticks
from the eggs in three weeks
A tick picked from a COW and kept
in q bottle. or one that has fallen to
the ground in favorable place at or
binary summer temperature, viii lie per
fectly passive for two or three DAYS.
when she will begin to lay eggs In the
course of two weeks she will have laid
about 1000 eggs (some say $500, which
appear like a little brown mass at her
head end. When She has finished egg
laying. she is completely llsed mp. there
being nothing left to her but her dried
UP yelowish skin.
The life history shows that the ticks
complete their cycle of life in about two
months, and field experiments show that
there are about three broodS each year
during the warm season.
The person who picks a tick in spring
may therefore feel the satisfaction of
not having merely destroyed a single
tick. but of having prevented thousands
from coming into life. A single tick
which lays 1000 eggs will produce 1000
pairs of ticks. Assuming that only one
tenth of these may arrive at maturity.
the third brood win bring into existence
100000 seed ticks. This multiplication
accounts for the swarns of ticks obser-
we'd in the fall while but few appear
in spring. One tick in spring or sum-
mer would be sufficient 10 stock /; farm
completely 10y fall On the other hand.
the multitudes that would appear in fail
are prevented by a little painstaking
in fyinu |.
ticks.
1t is thought that cattle ticks mature
ON other animals. This is practically a
mistaken idea. excepting in the case of
colts. on which they seem to develop
to full growth. While they may attach
to think skinned dogs they 90 not ma
ttre. They have not been found ON
other animals.
Since ticks may be introduced upon
any farm by driving ticky cattle upon
them. any new CATTLE should be examined
daily for three weeks to prevent this.
II they are ticky at the time Of their
arrival. all should he removed by hand
picking. THE animals should not be
turned into Imcttrek among others until
vt is certain that there are no more
ticks. Or. the cattle, if there be but
few. can be stabbed or kept in a sepa-
rate yard for twenty-one days, when
They must he promptly removed to
another enclosure for tweImy-one DAYS,
or. until closest examinations discover
no ticks. They may then be added to
the herd. If a stable is used it should
be carefully cleaned so that none Of
the ticks could remain IN the cracks.
The infected enclosure should not again
be used by cattle or horses until after
severe frosts.
When farms have become infected and
eggs and seed ticks are already present
the business of disinfection is more la
borlo,ls. but not to the amount that ap-
pears at first glance. The eradication in
such cases depends entirely upon the
number of cattle and methods of farm
ing.
Fields used for growing crops may be
considered as unaffected. An owner
of a single animal or Il few head can
easily pick off what are on them or turn
them into small unused enclosure as
Indicated above, and then use some OF
the cultivated fields for the rest of the
season. IL this is done towards fall.
the abandoned portions will be disin-,
'NNtNd ~ HHt NifIttI > tliH1uIe anu
ready for use in the spring
Old fields may be disinfected Of ticks
III early spring or late fall by burning
the dry grass This method lis often
used to keep them reduced Such cor
ners and woods as cam not be burned off
must he fenced from the cattle as they
furnish the ticks for reinfecting the pas
turages. They should be carefully at
tended to for it is to them the cattle
go for grass while it is growing in the
burned fields.
Flowing and cllltiyating fields destroy
the seed ticks both by covering them
III dirt and starving them ont. Since
cattle are kept off the crops they are
not reinfected.
For cattle men who can not pursue
the above methods ON account Of condi-
tioms. or those who own comparatively
small herds-from twelve to fifty-a
combination of methods may be desir-
able. Handpicking pursued daily from
fifteen minutes to half an hour will clean
a farm in a few weeks. Careful watch
has to extend over a longer time to be
sure that there are no more ticks ON
the pastures as Indicated by their in
fecting the cattle later. THE only
oh, IL