The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1911-06-29

ulre Incubus OF southern agriculture.
This is even greater than the boil
weevil, because it has been spread
and scattered all over the south from
Mexico to Maryland" BY the careful
estimate of the United States Agricul-
tural Department the annual loss,
cost, and sheer waste caused by the
cattle ticks is not less for the entire
south than $75,OO0,OOO; and of this
immense sum the share which falls to
Mississippi is yearly not less than 3d.
100000.
This being cold fact, it becomes
question Of paramount importance,
can this dire nuisance be effectually
eradicated and utterly stamped out,
or must 1t like Tennyson's brook, "go
on forever" To this vital question,
the plain and true answer is yes, 1t
can be-" Within the past four years
$4,000 square miles of southern ter.
ritory, an area three times as large
as the entire state Of Mississippi, has
been entirely cleared of cattle ticks.
and taken out of vigorous United
States quarantine, which has come to
stay while the ticks remain. This
great work was done by means which
were entirely adequate and effective
It was done by the vigorous applica-
ton of oily grease to infected cattle;
and by the aid of a most
stringent and rigid local quar-.
antine. Oily grease vigorously
applied to the bodies of ticky
cattle will surely kill, as it always
has, any and all ticks on the live cat
tie which the grease was made to
reach and cover. Local quarantine,
stringently enforced, by strictly keep
ing all cattle off tick infected pastures
for several months, will kill all seed
ticks left or Matched on the ground
where ticky cattle have grazed. This
is effected by sheer starvation, be-
cause these seed ticks must have cat
tie blood or die.
Means and Methods.
But the means and method used,
although most effective, was yet very
slow, and expensive and also very
greasy and unpleasant to use. It re-
quired constant attention, and hard
work. But now, I am glad to state
that the Bureau of Animal Industry,
has after long study and experiment
invented and fully and duly tested,
and freely given to the public, a new,
very cheap, very clean and a most
certain method and means which
promises the cheap, and speedy erad-
cation of all cattle ticks in Mississip
pi and the entire south, If it is only
adopted and everywhere put to rigid
use and application.
THE method consists in the care.
full dipping of all tick infected cattle
in properly constructed dipping watts,
each vat being. filled with a proper So
luton of white arsenic, sal soda, and
pine tar. Just these and no more.
This solution is made strong enough
to absolutely kill all live ticks on COW
calf or steer, and yet, not so strong as
to kill or injure any COW brute. Be-
cause they are not given it to drink
but are rigidly kept from it. And in
going through the vat at the rate of
one in about a minute--or sixty in an
hour, each animal is fully soaked and
saturated in the solution-and every
tick gets at once its sure death dose,
and the animal Is at once relieved to
its comfort, and its owners advant-
age. One single dipping would be am
pie for each COW or steer if it were
not that when the animal is perfectly
dry and free of ticks then the fresh
air and the enveloping winds will
quickly dissipate all the little arsenic
left in the creatures hair and the COW
or steer is rendered liable, and is very
apt to pick up seed ticks from the
ground where tick infected cattle
have graZed-and so it becomes both
safe and necessary to redip such ami
mails once in every two weeks for
few times in order to at once kill off
all such ticks so picked up, and to give
time for all ticks which are not so
picked up to die from absolute starva-
ton. For they will, if they can get no
fresh cattle blood. And in this way
in few weeks all the ticks can be
stamped out completely and utterly.
$50 successful is this method that
these necessary watts are fast being
set up not only in Mississippi which
has entered in the work of tick eradi-
cation in dead earnest, and over one
thousand watts have been put in opera
ton with perfect results everywhere,
and without exception. To see is to be
convinced