The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-02-23
FEDERAL HELP IN TICK WAR
 A----s- Alabama Stock Raisers Make Request. CARE OF DAIRY CATTLE Impressive Talk by Expert Risser
 of Auburn. Practical stock Raiser. Make Address .. on Detail. Tint Have
 Brought Them
 Success.

Having profited materially by the Knowledge of the animal industry in all it's phases gained by attendance on the eleventh annual meeting of the Alabama Livestock Association, scores of farmers returned yeserday and last night to their homes following the adjournment yesterday afternoon of the final session ofN that body.
 when pr. c. A. Cary, State Veteri- marian and President of the State Live stock Association. dropped hts gavel to signal the end of yesterdays proceed fnRs, everyone present pronounced the assembling of dairymen and cattle raisers the best ever held in the his tory of the enthusiastic organization. They came to Montgomery Friday and Saturday to exchange views on the va- rious problems of their vocation and to hear the lectures of experts who were on the extensive program and all felt fully repaid for their journeys. And some of the Journeys were from homes located in the remotest corners of the State. thus Illustrating the live iy interest manifested in promoting the cattle raising business.
 The officers for the ensuing year were elected unanimously as follows: Dr. c Al. Cary, President: Prof. D. T. Gray of Auburn, Secretary and J. S. Kerr nachan. of Florence. Treasurer.
 So cordial was the welcome extend ed the members of the Association in- dividuaily and as body by the citizens of Montgomery and the Commercial Club. that 1t was resolved to hold the twelfth annual meeting next year in Montgomery. There was no opposition to the vigorous campaign waged by the Montgomery County contingent for bringing the gathering again to Mont golnery. Indeed. there was talk of -e "A n4r.- tfon in this city, as 1t Ms the logical center of the animal industry in Ala hama.
 Aside from the numerous addresses and lectures with which the program was filled. . feature of the proceed- ings yesterday was the passage of res- olutions calling on Congress for Fed eral aid in the campaign of cattle tick exterminatfon. In these, resolutions, which were passed unanimously. was also an urgent call on the Represent atives and Senator's from Alabama in Congress for active efforts in behalf of a bilI now pending in that body look ing to national aid to the several States. Territories and the District of Colum- bia, flor the maintenance of instruc- tion in agriculture and home econon- ics in agricultural schools of the sec- ond grade. and instruction in mechanic arts and in home economics in city schools of secondary grade"
 The assistance of Commissioner J. A. Wilkinson, of the State Department of Agriculture and Industries was like. wise invoked for the passage of this bill by Congress.
 The Importance of the work of cx- terminating ticks in Alabama and the entire South was brought out in yes- terday's afternoon session. It was shown that the successful undertaking Adj saving to the South of at least S40,- 000,00 and to Alabama of about $2,- ,s 0o0, ,000
 In resolutions unanimously adopted, the members yesterday expressed great appreciation of the effective co-opera- tive work being conducted by attaches of the United States Department Of Agriculture. the Alabama Department and the attaches of the Alabama Poly teehnic Institute at Auburn. Not only was this work duly recognized yester- day but tribute was also heaped upon the experts of all three institutions in the encouragement of dairying in Ala banna and all notifications of the cattle industry in general.
 Perhaps the most interesting address of the day was that of yesterday morn ing by 4. K. Risser, representing the Dairy Division of the United States Department of Agriculture. Mir. Risser has been since about the first of this year engaged in cooperative work at the experiment station of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute at Auburn. He is now in charge of this character of work at Auburn.
 While in this short period little has been accomplished by Mr. Risser, he has done much preliminary work in the way of visiting dairymen throughout the State for the purpose of outlining ta of he hnFn carried on in all the Southern States where there are experiment stations and encouraging the dairymen to take deeper interest in the scientific side of their business.
 1Ir. Risser yesterday spoke at length of the plans to stimulate from now on in Alabama the idea of herd improve nlent. He called on his hearers to do Q little extra thinking while they are usibg their arms and legs and also some figuring. He told of the vast difference in the efficiency and profits of individual cows.
 'One COW may produce more than twice as much milk or butter-fat as another on the same feed basis" said Mr. Risser "A good COW. well-cared for. may produce five times as much as the average COW of the United States (424 gallons) Every dairyman should have a standard of production for his herd and any mature COW that falls bellows that standard should be considered as condemned for use in the dairy and should be put on the block. This standard depends on the cost of feed and the care and value of the product on the market Nearly every dairyman is keeping some un- profitable cows. If some disease should suddenly destroy the poorest fourth of all the cows in Alabama. the dairyman would be better off financial y.
 '.Frequently dairymen are keeping one-half of the herd at an actual loss. They make a little profit from the whole herd and go on satisfied with the results, whereas, if they would dis pose of that unprofitable part of their herd. their good cows would become more profitable and would require less labor Get rid of those star boarders in your herd"
 Next Mir. Risser insisted on all dairy men keeping an individual record of their cows. He gave an object les- son of the methods of keeping such records. He presented to the meeting the equipment necessary in such work consisting of scales, a Babeock tester and record sheet. In the use of these things, the dairyman should weigh on the scales the milk drawn from each COW and put down the result on the record sheet. From time to time sam pies of the milk of each COW are taken and a Babcock test made of the same.
 In the use of the Babcock test, Mir. hisser did not go into all the details