The Mena weekly star., 1913-09-11
Jobn D. a9age's
 OQaeeklp 1etter
Cattle Ticks and Dipping vats.

1 N'tthb ANN' Ntiu A'BPAhD N"''
 In letters previously written 1
 have tried to impress the import ance of stock raising. Now comes
 for consideration one of the most important matters affecting stock raising in the South. 1 refer par ticularly to the cattle tick, known
 as the Texas fever tick. How he came here and where he came from are matters of interest, but not of importance. He is here, and has
 been for years. What he is doing
 and how to handle him are the questions. The cattle ticks get on the cattle during the summer. They
 suck the blood and poison the cat
 tie. Sometimes the cattle die and
 sometimes they do not. If the cat
 tie die they become a total loss to
 the farmer. If they don't they are
 partial loss anyway. A fresh COW
 will give a quart more milk when
 she is free from ticks than when
 she is not. A steer will fatten when
 he is free from ticks; he will not when he is covered with ticks. A calf will thrive and grow when free
 from ticks: it won't when infected with ticks, but will make a runt, and maybe live through the winter to die in the spring.
 Four-fifths of Arkansas is under quarantine by the national govern ment against shipping out cattle ex- cept under certain restric tiOns, on account of the cattle tick. Do you know the effect of this? It affects the price of the cattle. Cattle from
 the quarantined sections will not bring within three dollars per head as much as from other sections on an average. This applies to Arkan- sas. We have in the quarantined district 100000 head of cattle. Thus you see the presence of the cattle tick in fOur-tifths of the state is costing people of Arkansas S2,250- GOO. We, as farmers. would be over two million dollars better off in the value of our cattle if we had no cattle ticks in the state. Just think of it Enough money to buy winter shoes for all the children in Arkan- Sas. Enough to buy milk to raise all the babies in Arkansas. Enough to buy a dress for all the mothers in Arkansas! Enough to buy a sad ile for all the boys in Arkansas! Enough to place a Bible and spell
 ing book in the hands of every man, woman and child in Arkansas! Enough to gild every church spire pr to earnish the festal board in every home with fowl and food and flowers on Thanksgiving day. What . toll we are paying for our neglect
 in not getting rid of the pest.
 Since the work of tick eradication was begun in 1909 about 20 per cent of the state has been cleared of the tick. Let us educate and organize and work as hard and fast as pos Sible to gel the other so per cent. The work of eradication has been going on in some parts this year. Let us try to get it extended to all parts. We should have general law that would require the organi- zation of tick eradication districts, and permit the assessment of taxes on every head of kline for eradica- tion purposes. Let's go to work with a will against the cattle ticks. Let's help to get dipping vats built in every neighbOrhood. Regular dipping will soon get rid of the ticks. If you want information about dipping vats or the dipping mixture, write me. By all means let us have concerted action in this and let's do something that will have a telling effect. Cat tle are high and going higher, and we can't afford to overlook the op- p0rtunity that stands before for profit in the cattle business.
 Also remember about the hog cholera and cholera serum. Write to Dr. Cow, Fayetteville. for the serum. He furnishes if at cost and will administer it for you if you will pay his expenses.