The record-union., 1899-09-27

DR.. Charles H. Blemer, State Veteri-
marian, in an interview with a Rec
ord Union" reporter, spoke at length
on the subject of Texas fever in cattle,
and the Investigations made by Gov
ernment quarantine officers with view
of finding a dip which would kill the
tick which conveys the disease.
In view Of the Governors recent
quarantine proclamation, the informa-
ton given by DIR. Blemer will be Of the
greatest interest TO stock men and
others interested in finding cure for
the worst scourge of cattle not only in
this State, but in the United States.
In reviewing the recent proclamation
Issued by his excellency, Governor
Gage, August 10, 1899, establishing a
quarantine line for this State to pre-
vent movement of splenetic or Texas
fever infected cattle from an infected
TO a non-infected area, Sections i and
of said proclamation provide that:
From and after this date no cattle
shall be transported by rail, shipped,
driven or moved in any manner what
ever, from said area south and west of
said line hereinabove set out and de-
scribed to any portion Of the State of
California north and west of said line.
Section 2, exception to be above clause
is authorized as follows: Any cattle
which shall have been dipped, under
the supervision of an Inspector OF the
Bureau of Animal Industry, Z. s. De-
partment of Agriculture, in such a So
luton as may be required by the Hon.
Secretary of Agriculture and certifi
cate of such fact given with a bill Of
health from such Inspector shall be al
lowed to cross said line until otherwise
ordered.
1.-THE cattle tick, the transmitter of
Texas or splenetic fever. In bulletin
issued by the Bureau of Animal In
dustry in 1893, it was shown that the
cattle tick is the sole transmitter Of
Texas fever and that when Southern
cattle had been completely freed from
ticks they might be brought into the
non-infected territory without danger
of communicating the disease to the
northern cattle. The same bulletin sug-
gested a. means to free the cattle from
ticks, namely, to pass them through a
disinfecting bath, or, as it is now
termed, to dip them.
The first dipping vat to be built in
this country was constructed by r. j.
Kleberg, manager of the Santa Ger
trudes ranch in Nueces County, Texas,
who used it for treating his stock for
mango and itch. For this purpose the
cattle We're dipped in d strong solution
of carbolic acid, and it was soon no.
ticed that a large number of the ticks
which infested the cattle became Sc
verely affected by the dip. Mr.. Kle-
berg then placed his dipping vat and
also his ticky cattle at the disposal of
the Bureau of Animal Industry, and
during the following five years, with
the object of testing the tick destroy
ing properties of various disinfecting
preparations, therefwere dipped at this
ranch more than $4,000 cattle. The i'm
portant fact was learned during these
experiments that the ticks were better
able to resist these preparations than
the cattle. AS an instance showing the
resistance of the tick to strong disin-
fectants, it may be mentioned that a
solution of corrosive sublimate in water
q to 250) does not in the least effect
the tick when left in it for several
minutes. The same is true of carbolic