The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-09-27
SEES DANGER TO
CATTLE RAISING
Expert Points Out Losses from
Cattle Tick
CAUSE OF TEXAS FEVER
Urges Alabama to Cooperate with
Secretary Wilson In Work That
He Is Ready to Undertake
In This State.

A. II. Pettibone of the United States de-
partment of agriculture has written a
striking letter to the editor of The Age
Herald on Cattle Ticks" Mr.. Petit
bone, who is stationed at Nashville,
points out the great work before Alabama
in Graduating the ticks which causes
state thousands of dollars every year.
He writes as follows:
To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
Because the splenetic or Texas fever in
domestic cattle Is a most unmitigated
and very costly nuisance, and because
there Is now determined purpose on the
part of the United States government,
with the aid of the people and the local
authorities, to stamp out the evil which
has become national calamity, will not
The Age-Herald grant me some space
wherein 1 may set out, for the benefit of
its multitude of readers, the cause, the
cost and the cure for the dire contagion?
The Cause.
About the cause there is now no room
of this pestilent contagion is microscope
ic germ which is alone transmitted by
that peculiar tick-a parasite of domestic
cattle, and the very rattlesnake of all the
tick tribes, which Is known to science as
Murgoropus annututus. And these pesti-
lence-bearlng ticks have, in the course
of years, been carried and scattered all
over and all through the south, from Mex
leo to Maryland. by the careless handling
and shipment of tick-lnfected cattle, and
especially by suffering such cattle to run
at large. and in no other way in the
world. This Is the clear verdict of exact
science.
The Cost.
The annual cost the yearly tax. the
immense waste of this cattle pestilence
is now matter of appalling f1guresl Mr..
Secretary Wilson declares that these con-
ion-bearing ticks are now the great
menace and bane of southern agriculture
He estimates, after a most painstaking
investigation, that the yearly loss and
waste and utterly useless tax u.s. on an
average, So per head for all the 5000, 900
horned CATTLE In all the SOUTH and this is
the enormous sum OF s10O. 100000!
But the misery of this terrible tax is
that it is true. 1t is cold fact. But how
can it be possible2 Well, vast number
in the aggregate do each year lie down
and die of the contagion. And a still
greater number which do not die. but in
sense become immune, are yet rendered
well-nigh worthless by the virus and
poison. And then a great deterioration
In the stock of cattle is continually going
on which Is fast reducing the herds of
the south into race of runts and stunts
and scrubsl This is an immense evil
milk and butter in the hundreds of thou
sands of mich cows in II great states OF
the tick-infected south, which is too pat
ent to be questioned, and this both in
quantity and especially in quality. Be
cause no COW infested with ticks, and
necessarily sick with Texas fever, can
give milk At for any one to use and con-
sumo. And yet thousands of children are
fed such milk 1t often kfs. And in
Kentucky 1t is now crime to sell such
milk. 1t ought to be everywhere. I'M
mense losses arise from the above, and a
dozen more. which causes might be point
ed out. But there Is one cause of i'm
mense waste and loss which the very
dullest must see. And this is the great
shrinkage and falling Off in the price
Of all cattle in all the tick-infected south.
The cold fact Is that. now and today.
owing to the cattle ticks alone. all south
ern cattle in all the great markets are
under suspicion and under the ban. In
all the great markets which fix the price
Of cattle. all cattle from tick-infected re-
sions are under a great prejudice. They
are only received into great placarded
pens, and must be sold for immediate
slaughter. And this does always
slaughter the price of all such cattle, and
cattle raiser when he buys again. The
whole loss falls always on the farmer at
last. But how great is the loss and
shrinkage in price? Well, the whole mat
ter is fully seen here in Tennessee where
the work of tick eradication is far ad-
vanced. The price of cattle, now and to-
day, in the counties free from ticks and
out Of quarantine, is from to 81 cents,
live weight, while in the counties tick-in-
fected and still In quarantine the price,
now and today. Is only 2 to ~ cents per
pound. live weight Call the difference
only cents per pound and then on a poor
runt of a steer. which will only weigh 500
pounds, hide hoofs, horns and all, the
loss is clearly SIS! On a 1900 pound steer
1t would be $45. Now add together all the
losses and every one must see that the
secretarys estimate II clearly within the
truth The loss and waste and cruel tax
which the ticks alone cause Is simply in
tolerabie. and must be stamped out. To
do this the ticks must be stamped out.
The Cure
Rut paW thia ho HouaY IL fhere