The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-03
DOES ERADICATION
OF THE TICKS PAY?
A. H. PettibOne Points Out
What the Fight Means in
Actual Figures
, tn. rditor =, m. Aga.Herald.


great bane. of all southern agriculture
certain that Birmingham is great and
growing city. and that The Age Herald
Is Its foremost journal.
Indeed. the yearly loss and cost,
which is alone caused by the cattle
ticks. Is estimated by the experts of
the United States department of agri-
culture to be not less than s75.0oO,00 000,-
900, for the entire sunny south. And
the loss and sheer waste annually of
the two states of Georgia and Alabama
from the same fell cause, Is fixed by
the expert statisticians of the Central
or Georgia railroad at not less than
100000
These, Mr.. Editor, are certainly great
and fearful losses, and they would seem
incredible II they were not so stoutly
attested! But facts are facts. and they
cannot be gainsayed by any amount of
sheer incredulity. What then is to be
oohe? Shall the people sit down in
ooieful dumps, and wait for the cattle
ucks to die out? But they won't die
out. No. They have come to stay till
they are utterly stamped out and erad-
icated. But can this be done and as a
matter of fact, will tick eradication
really pay? 1 undertake to stoutly
aHlrm that it can be DONE and that
VIII immensely pay-and If space
oe granted for this open letter, | will
undertake to prove ii.
Inc ge-Herald has SO long beon
identihed with every movement looking
to the growth and DEVELOPMENT Of Ala
pama that | cannot doubt it will glad
ly assent
Well, it is now about six years since
'"is bureau began in dead earnest the
"ork OF tick eradication in the SUNNY
sou'h. 1t began the work in utter
iheNperlence-for there was then no
experience on the subject. 1t began
the work In ridicule and much anyr,,
opposltlon But it Kept at work in
sood report and in evII report. Anu
1~ we see at least 1S7,UUU square
"ihes' or more than 10000 900 a,r,s
Vi southern soil and territory. which
nave been utterly cleared OF carr.
''chs ana taken out of the clutch a. a
most drastic and yet most neces.ar,.
ohited states quarantine iawl T,,,s
sreat area was fully as large as th..
S, states OF South Caroline.
N
only small part of those states usra
eiidpfaced in the tick cleared section
Inns work of tick eradication cost
oheie sam fully S1,00O,000 besides tha
lesser sums contributed by the various
,ates ana counties, freed from the c It.
pai asites' But now did this great
Work well and truly pa.p Iat - -
plain facts answer
| . Upon this tick cleared area tbaro
iiVea the owners of fully I440U0O head
" horned cattle, and these horned c,t
.ie We're fully and utterly cleared ~
tne cattle vermin. And now with VII +
.sui'' wen, these same cattle were
~, aooner renewed from the tick para
SITES than they began at once ia inn
prove not only in appearance. but thAv
also improved in flesh and weight ard
shHe SIZE lhey improved in every wav
ihey grew in weight and in demand
SO ehat these same cattle actually rose
~ SAFE and cash value from S5S.I19.6vO
TO sSOOS5,i2 Or a clear net gain to
the cattle owners of s21.9e5 7soi Ard
an from the cattle alone! More thai
~ times the entire cost of tick eradica-
.ioh-the greatest part of which WI :
borne by Uncle Sam! And now we
40 not nave to argue with those cat.
eie owners to prove to them that tick
eraulGatlon Will surely pay. They tried
1t fully and they fully know!
But 1t must not be forgotten that
those 12O,O00.O00 acres, as mere land
were increased In value by the fact nj
utter tick eradication so much as from
~ to SO per acre. But an increase of
from $S to So per acre would be for
12o,000,O00 acres not less than s36O ooO !.
600 to 100000, 900. Now does this seem
incredible? Well, let us be most mod
crate. Let us concede for arguments
sake, that the increased value was only
u per acre Still. Mr.. Editor an in
crease Of only 81 per acre. an increase
away within the truth, would be for
lzo.oo0,o0O acres exactly $780, 900
And this would be more than 100 royal
Kings ransoms, at a round million dol
lars each. And the question, VIII Eek
eradication pay?" in the sunshine of the
cold facts becomes at once as silly as
1t is absurd. Yes, tick eradication will
pay as surely in Alabama as 1t has paid
in all the territory SO far cleared OF
the vermin cattle ticks!
And now what does all Alabama. and
all It's counties. want to render Ala abama
one Of the richest of states? Is it not
TO make all her acres valuable as like
lands are worth in Ohio, or Kentucky
or Illinois, or Missouri? Now the ay-
erage price and value of lands in Ala
bama today and now are not worth
one-hfth as much on the average as
I they are in each of the above named
states. Does any reader doubt this? Lei
MIN consult the census of 1910-and be
convinced
What Alabama as a state now needs
Is TO get rid of the cattle ticks. 1t car
be done. Alabama needs especially
great herds of giant shorthorns, OF
sleek and fat white faced Herefords
of great Holsteins, so famous in Den
mark; Of plump polled Angus. of blood
ed and valuable Jerseys and Guernseys
to take the place and to forever displacs
the runts and stunts. and tick dwarfed
scrubs which now occupy and disgrace
so many farms and pastures! This Ala.
bama can have, have without question
If she will get rid Of the cattle ticks
But she can't have this and keep the
cattle ticks. They won't breed bloodeo
stock. They breed only poverty-bu
they breed it a-plenty!
Now there Is no branch of farming
which promises so much for southern
agriculture as cattle raising. The fac
Is that there are less cattle in tht
United States than there were 20 years
ago. And yet we have 20.000,000 more
population. And immigration IL still
pouring in. Now all these people mus
be fed. No wonder that the cry is goine
up from all the country about the higf
price of living! There Is only one out
come. We must raise more meat Ant
the price of meat will be high for Ions
years to come.
Little Denmark Is now the riches
and most prosperous corner In Europe
What Is the basis of her prosperity
1t is cattle raising. Little Denmark l!
famous for her Holstein cattle. She las
year sold in the London market $50,
900. 900 worth of prime Holstein butter
Cattle raising IN surely success II