The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1908-06-17
Tick Eradication Resumed.

The Bureau of Animal Industry of
the United States Department Of Az
rlculture is resuming active opera
tons for the eradication of the cattle
ticks which prevail in the southern
part Of the country and transmit the
contagion of Texas fever to cattle. Its
men are being sent into the field and
preparations are being made to push
the work Of determination vigorously
during the warm weather when the
ticks are most active.
Since this work was begun, two
years ago, an area Of about $4,000
square miles, or almost the size of the
State of Georgia, has been freed from
the ticks. AS result the quarantine
: on southern cattle has been either
| modified or entirely removed from
this area. Last year work was done to
a greater or less extent in the States
of Virginia, North Carolina, South
| Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennes-
see, Kentucky, Missouri Arkansas,
Oklahoma, Louisiana. Texas and CAL
| ifornia and it is proposed this year
to continue in the same States with
the addition of a small portion of
Mississippi. Most of the work has
| been and will continue to be done in
sections contiguous to the quarantine
line, the object being to push the line
farther south from year to year; but
encouragement is given to local work
In any part of the quarantined dis
trict in the assurance that when any
considerable area is rendered tick
free it will be released from quaran-
| tine.
| The work is being done by coope-
| ration between the federal govern
ment and the State and local author
tiles. Congress has appropriated
! s25O,oOO for the year beginning. July
1. and it il expected that the, States
and counties where the work is car
ried on will duplicate this sum- The
committee on appropriations of the
house Of representatives expressed it,
self very strongly to the effect that
the States should bear a reasonable
share of the cost and that the federal
work should be mainly confined to
States where cooperation is receiv-
ed.
Various methods of exterminatins
the ticks are used, including transfer
ring the cattle from pasture to pas
ture at suitable intervals, and dip
ping. spraying and hand dressing the
cattle with oil and oil emulsion. In
sections where there are large herds
and large ranches dippig on large
scale is practiced either alone or in
connection with pasture rotation,
while in other sections where the cat
| tie on some farms frequently consist
| only of a COW or an OK team. hand
dressing with oil is found to be the
only practicable method.
The damage caused by the ticks
and the benefits to follow from their
eradication are not generally aprpe-
ciated. 1t is estimated that the Tex
| as-fever tick is responsible for about
| 100000 of loss annually to the
people Of the infected country. and
that it also lowers the assets OF the
South by an additional $23.25., 900
| making the enormous aggregate of
$63.250. 900 TO wipe out this heavy
loss is the object of the work now
under way, and the results already
accomplished leave no doubt that sue
cess is possible, though a number a
years will be required for the complet-
ion Of the undertaking. Much de-
pends upon the cattle owners, who
can either hasten or rctard progress
according as they corporate or refuse
to assist in the work
Literature giving full information
as to the ticks. the disease which they
transmit and methods for their
eradication has been issued by the
Department Of Agriculture and will
be supplied free Of charge on appli-
cation to the Chief OF the Bureau of
Animal Industry, Washington. d. c.