The southern sentinel., 1907-03-29
BURN OVER
PASTURE LANDS
Great Numbers Of Cattle Ticks
Are Feared as Result Of
Mild winter.


and the State Crop Pest Commits
sion are sending out the following
important bulletin to farmers,
urging the burning over of all
pasture and uncnltivated lands so
as to destroy cattle ticks and cot
ton boil weeviIs. The bulletin is
as follows:
The winter just past has been
an exceptionally mild one, and
the weather conditions have been
such as to favor the survival un-
harmed of large per cent of the
tick eggs in pastures and fields
where tick-infested cattle roamed
or were pastured last summer and
autumn.
lit is we'll known that the adult
female 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 eventually hatch into
seed ticks or baby ticks. These
latter get onto the cattle and grow
rapidly.
During winter of normal
severity the eggs lie on the ground
all winter without Matching, al d
seed ticks which have Matched
before cold weather comes on also
remain in a dormant condition
during the winter months.
During the winter just closed.
owing to the warm weather, cattle
In central and southern Louisiana
(and perhaps in northern LOUIS
lana also) have been constantly
infested with ticks, the seed
ticks being active on warm DAYS
and getting onto the cattle. Or
dinarlly the cattle in the vicinity
of Baton Rouge do not have ticks
on them during February, but
this year they were quite heavily
infested all winter. The pro-
geny 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 Louis
lana which will witness the death
of hundreds of cattle from excess
sive tick-infestation. and inciden-
tally the death of hundreds of
calves from Texas fever or MUIR
rain, the disease which is trans
mitted by the cattle ticks.
In the pasture lands where there
were ticky cattle 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 rubbish,
waiting to hatch out and infest
the cattle within the next month
or so. There are also thousands
more of minute seed ticks, lying
senfi-dormant, ready to get upon
the cattle at the first opportunity.
If the pastures and uncultlvated
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 sum
mer's losses from the tick will be
materially lower than if these
eggs and ticks are allowed to
remain in the pastures unharmed.
We do not hesitate to say that we
view the situation with. no little
alarm anawe therefore urge every
farmer to at once burn 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 Ist.
La the boil weevil infested sec
ton this burning of the pastures
and grassy lands will catch q
goodlY number of hibernating
boil weevils not yet out of their
winter quarters. The number OF
boil weev;ls killed in this manner
may not greatly reduce the pros.
pectiye damage BY this pest, but
il will help.
La this connection it should be
said that the Experiment Stations
and the State Crop Pest Commits
sion are actively advocating the
complete determination of the
cattle tick on every farm in Lou.
ssiana. The methods by which
the ticks can be extermlnated viii
be gladly explained by either oil
the undersigned, upon request
from any cattleman or farmer.
In cooperation with the II. S
SF IL, ". a - .rns...t sxf