The Green Forest tribune., 1907-01-04

weevil invasion, prevailed upon the United States congress to make an appro criation in 1906 to empower the United States secretary of agricul- ture to inaugurate plan of cooperation with the authorities of Southern states in tick eradication
 In the annual report for 1907 of the chief of the bureau of animal industry 1t was stated: "En- couraging progress has been made in the eradica- ton of cattle ticks from the Southern states This work, which was begun in the summer of 1906 under appropriation by congress of S82,5O0 is no longer an experiment. The results already accomplished demonstrate that the ex- termination of this costly pest is only possible but practicable, though several years may be re- qured for the completion of the work:
 The years since that report have been years of meeting and overcoming obstacles until now when the real magnitude of the task can be ap- preciated, It is certain that nothing perma- nently hold up the work.
 Tick Fever and the Manner of It's Transmission
 to Cattle.
 The story of the cattle tick (known scientiica1- ly as Margaropus annuatus), in relation to the part 1t plays carrier of the tick-fever orgausm is one of the most interesting in the annals of scientific investigation. It has been described by writer romance in pathology" It may be recalled that in the early days of cattle exporting trade the Texas longhorn was most prominent. It soon became known that these cat tie, although apparently healthy themselves, caused deadly disease in other cattle, the part played Dy the LICK De1ng at that time unknown and unsuspected. Hence the disease acquired the name of Texas fever The tick, however is no respectOr of localities long they suitable for its propagation, and tick fever occurs wher- the combination of infected ticks and cattle is present. The problem of combating the dis ease was undertaken soon after the bureau of animal industry was organized in 1884 and few years later the epoch-making discoveries of the bure2u scientists led to the true cause of the dis ease being f0a0ds 4-,.+---t-------..-s------ The discovery that ticks can carry germs of disease from animal to another was the first instnnce in which the important role of insects as carriers of disease was ascertained. From 1t arose new procedures in preventive sanitation Since then the noxious roles of various other n- sects have been learned, For example: Mosqui- toes carrying malaria and yellow fever the rat flea, bubonic plague; the house fly, typhoid fever Formerly no attention was paid to the carriers; only treatment of the patients considered necessary. Now mosquitoes screened out of buildings and exterminated; rats are killed and house flies are screened starved. and 'swatted;" ]" all of which has greatly reduced the number of victims of the mentioned diseases. The discovery of tick inoculation made through the joint efforts of several members of the bureau staff
 A systematic study of Southern cattle fever, begun in 18SS developed that the disease, very similar to malaria in man, was caused by minute protozoan parasite that invaded the red corpus cles of the blood, and in acute cases destroyed
 
 debris from the blood, the liver filled with bile, and the red coloring matter of the blood was passed off with the urine. Intense fever de- velOped and the animal usually died in from one to four days after first appearance of symptoms of illness. The death rate was usually low in herds with many young insusceptible animals; among old cattle 1t ran as high as 80 to 90 per cent It further found that the disease acquired after the young of the cattle tick called seed ticks-attached to the cattle. Acqui- sition of the ticks found to be governed by their life history which is based the science of tick eradication and also the rules of quarantine. The life history Is as follows:
 Adult ticks carried by cattle fall to the ground and fin about week each female lays from 2,000 to 4OOO eggs, each of them carrying fever germs. Matching in about three weeks of weather but requiring much longer time in cold weather.e the seed ticks remain on the ground grasses, hungry and waiting for chance to attach them selves to COW or steer Attaching themselves, the ticks hunt for places in the hide they penetrate and, finding them, immediately begin to suck blood and to grow. Two immature stages. of development precede the adult stage, when the males fall off the animal and die, and the females also fall off, but lay their eggs the ground before they die.
 ArsenlcaI Dipping Vat Is Effective Weapon.
 The method of tick eradication found to be effective and now used almost exclusively Is the arsenical dipping bath. This method will rid county of ticks in single season, 1t has been shown For the method to be effective, every COW and steer in the county must go through the bath once every two weeks during the season.
 The ticks clingfng to the cattle are killed by the arsenical bath. Those that attach themselves before the next bath are killed in that immersion before they have time to lay eggs. Those forced to remain in the grass die of starvation. The arsenica bath used in dipping cattle for ticks was developed by federal inspectors in Texas of tho The c0lQred their. tAraS to ha