The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1910-04-01


real cause is a microscopic germ, or
animal micrObe which is alone car
ried and transmitted by that
peculiar tick, which is at once a
cattle parasite and the very
rattle snake Of the entire tick
species, which has alone been spread
and scattered all over and all
through the South from Mexico 20
by the careless handling
of tick infected cattle, but especially
by letting such cattle too freely run
at large and in no other way in the
world. Such is the cool verdict Of
true and exact science.
THE GREAT COST.
But the cost is a matter of great
and serious importance. Mr.. James
Wilson, our secretary of agriculture,
that the cattle ticks make the one
great bane of Southern agriculture.
He estimated that the destemper
cost the South fully So for each Of
the 20.0O0,000 head of horned cat
tai now owned in the South. But
this aggregates s1OO.OO0.OOO yearly
This is a most appalling loss, But
how can it be possibly true?
Well, there is in the first place
the loss of all the value of the
thousands of cattle which do each
year lie down and die of the distem-
per. And next there is the loss in
value of a still greater number of
cattle which do not actually die,
but are only rendered worthless, or
nearly so, by the poison virus.
And then too there is the mighty
loss on all the cattle by deteriora-
ton of stock which is fast reducing
all Southern herds into a race of
runty and scrubs. This is a cold
and gloomy fact. And then there
is the enormous loss of milk and
butter from the 10000 Southern
milk COWS. Estimate this at only
one quart of milk per COW and there
is daily loss Of 5000 quarts of
milk. Now multiply this by 800
the number of days a good milk
cow should give milk each year, and
we have an aggregate of 225, 600
600 quarts oil milk, an amount of
milk fully worth ten million dollars.
But there is one great loss which
the very smallest must see and
and this is the great
fall off, and shrinkage in the value
Of all Southern cattle marketed,
the real truth is that all Southern
breed cattle are, in all the great
markets that fix the price of all
cattle in America, under suspicion,
md under the ban.
They are received into great
Dlacarded cattle pens, and can
hence only be sold for immediate
and this does absolutely
slaughter the price of all Southern
,attle marketed. Only those can
De sold at all which can pass inspec-
ion. And this fact keeps many
thousands out of market. They
ant be sold at all. And this fact
,eeps down the price of cattle all
yer the South.
But how great is the loss2 Well |
he expense of Tennessee tells the |
7hole story. Tennessee as a State
} far advanced in the tick eradica-
ion, out of SO counties fully so are
ow free from ticks and out of /
uarantine. And in all these coun,
les the price of cattle, to day, is
lilly 5 to Go cents per pound, live
-eight, while in tick infected coun-
les the price is only 2 to 21a cents
er pound, live weight. Here is a
,ss of fully 3 cents per pound live
eight. And small steer which
i'll only weigh 500 pounds. hide,
oofs. and horns nets a loss of
Ally SIS. If it were a 1900 pound
eer the loss wound be fully SIS.
Now add together all these losses,
nd it will be seen at once that
ecretarv Wilson's estimate of a
early loss to the South alone of
100. 600. 900, is sadly too true.
THE REMEDY.
But now there is only safe and
Ire remedy for the evil. And that