The Port Gibson reveille. [volume] (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1890-current, 1908-07-30
For the Reveille.l

For the RevelIle.
Because all intelligent men al
ways wish to know the exact truth
whether they relish it or not, and
because the u. S. government,
with the approval of all sections
and parties, is now engaging IN a
warfare on ticks, am led to write
this open letter to the Reveille for
the information of its readers as to
what Uncle Sam is doing and pro-
posing to do.
There is no wonder that the gov
eminent should be greatly stirred
up on the subject when it is under
stood that Uncle Sam has learned,
and this without doubt or question,
that the yearly loss, and cost, and
worse than useless waste, which IS
alone caused by the cattle tick
nuisance is, for all the southern
states, the enormous sum OF one
hundred million dollars, and that
the share which, every year, tails
On Mississippi alone a mounts into
the millions
But when any epidemic, or con-
tagion, becomes in its effects utter
ly intolerable, and must be stamped
out and eradicated at whatever
cost, two things must be done.
First, the real and true cause must
be seen and clearly understood,
and, next, sure, safe. and certain
cure and remedy must be found,
and rigidly applied. Well' the
Bureau of Animal Industry, to
which the work of tick eradication
has been assigned, has exercised
this wisdom. And as the result OF
a most careful and painstaking IN.
vestigation on the part of its most
skiIlful and candid experts the fol.
lowing conclusions are found to be
absolutely true.
First, that the true and only
cause of the splenetic or Texas te-
yer in domestic cattle is a micro
scopic germ which is alone carried,
transmitted, and sc.sstsred by that
peculiar tick known to science as
MARGoRoPUs ANNULATUs and, sec.
ond, that sure and certain cure
aud remedy has been found, and
tried and proven by thousands OF
experiments, viz: Grease and
quarantine Yes, grease, just any
oily grease, such as bacon grease,
rancid butter, cotton seed oil, or
crude petroleum will kill, in few
moments, all the ticks on the body
of any live COW or brute which it is
made to reach and cover. But all
the ticks which it does not reach
and cover it won't harm in the
least. And the ticks can't be talked
to death, they must be creased to
death And when we have killed
all the ticks on live cattle the battle
will be we'll nigh won. But the
cattle ticks have within a few years
been spread and scattered, quietly
and insidiously, from the Rio
Grande to the Potomac and the
Chesapeake. And this has been
done by the careless shipping and
handling of cattle, and by permit
ting tickY cattle to run at large.
Now this must be prevented, fully
and completely, and there will be
no further spread of the contagion.
And further, all tick infected fields
and pastures, can be entirely
cleared of the contagion carrying
ticks by absolutely keeping all
cattle off them for few months,
because, and right here especial
attention is asked, no female tick,
swollen with 1900 to 1000
eggs, ever lays these eggs in the
hair or on the body of COW
or steer. No, never. But when
about to lay her eggs the female
tick always crawls out on the ami
mails long hair and, by instinct
falls off on the ground, and there
On the grass or herbage she pro.
ceeds to lay her myriad of eggs
and then, her life function being
ended, she dies And these eggs
will, in usually from IS to 80 days
all hatch out into very small, ant
very active, and very hungry seee
ticks. And, as many females will
fall of the sarie COW or steer soor
that pasture will be sown with