The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1907-03-23
FIGHTING THE CATTLE TICK.

FARMERS Advised to Burn Over Last Sea-
sons Pasture Lands Without De-
1ay-Ticks Likely to be Plen-
tifuI This sum1ner.
The winter just closed proved an
exceptionally mild one. and weather
conditions have been such as to favor
the survival unframed of large per-
centage of tick eggs in pastures and
fields where tick-infested cattle roamed
or were pastured last summer and
autumn.
1t is we'll known that the adult fe-
male ticks, when they have completed
their growth and have become fully
engorged with blood, drop from the
cattle to the ground and there lay
many hundreds of eggs which event.
ually hatch into seed ticks or baby
ticks. These latter attach themselves
to cattle and grow rapidly.
During a winter of normal severity
the eggs lie on the ground all season
without Matching, and seed ticks which
have Matched before cold weather comes
on also remain in dormant condition
during the winter months. This winter,
however, owing to the warm weather,
cattle in central and southern Louisi-
ana land perhaps in northern Louisi-
ana also) were constantly infested with
ticks. Ordinarily the cattle in the vi
cinity OF Baton Rouge do not have
ticks on them during February, but
this year they we're quite heavily in
tested all winters The progeny of
these February ticks'' will therefore
augment the usual number surviving
the winter, and we entertain the gravest
fears for a summer and autumn in
Louisiana which will witness the death
OF hundreds of cattle from excessive
tick-infestation. and incidentally the
death of hundreds of calves from Texas
fever or murrain, the disease which
is transmitted by the cattle ticks.
In pasture lands where ticky cattle
roamed last fall and during the early
winter, there are now thousands upon
thousands of tick eggs on the ground,
snugly hid away in the grass and rub
bish, waiting to hatch out and infest
the cattle within the next month or so.
There are also thousands more of
minute seed ticks, lying semi-dormant,
ready to get upon the cattle at the first
opportunity.
If pastures and uncultivated fields
be burned off now, before the new
grass becomes too green to prevent
the burning, a very large percentage
of these eggs and seed ticks will be
destroyed by the fire, and the coming
summers losses from the tick will be
materially lower than if these eggs
and ticks are allowed to remain in the
pastures unframed.
We do not hesitate to say that we
view the situation with no little alarm
and we therefore urge every farmer to
at once burn-o over every pasture and
every field that is not going to be in
cultivation this year. This burning
should be given as soon as possible,
and by all means by April l.
In the boil weevil infested section
this burning Of the pastures and grassy
lands win catch goodly number of
hibern ating boil weevils not yet out of
their winter quarters The number
OF boil weevils killed in this manner
may not greatly reduce the prospective
damage by this pest, but it will help.
In this connection it should be said
that the experiment stations and the
state crop pest commission are act
lively advocating the complete exter-
mination of the cattle tick on every
farm in Louisiana. The methods by
which the ticks can be exterminated
will be gladly explained by either of
the undersigned, upon request from
any cattleman or farmer.
In cooperation with the United
States department of agriculture, the
complete eradication of the cattle tick
in portion of Louisiana will shortly
be undertaken, and will be extended
into new territory as rapidly as state
and government appropriations are
provided for the work. While it will
doubtless require many years to Grad
icate this costly parasite from the en-
tire state, the farmer should not now
neglect the simple measures which wiEl
help to keep down the number of ticks
this season. Let us do all we can to
reduce the hordes of ticks preparatory
to the grand final campaign that win
be made to GUST the pest from Louisi-
ana territory.
By all means burn over pastures
and uncultivated fields and do it with
out delay. 1t means much to every
owner of cattle.
w. r. DoDSON,
Director, Louisiana Experiment Sta
lions.
WILMON NEWELL,
Entomologist, State Crop Pest Com
mission.
CHURCH AND STATE In FRANCE.
Continued from First Page.