The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-25
A victim of the Texas tick

In 1912 there were killed 2,212.19t cattle
and calves. In 1913 there were killed
], 1874. .427
The Illinois experiment station esti-
mates that there are 450,0O0,000 cattle in
the world, about 60. .000,0 600 in the United
States.
One of the reasons given for the de-
crease in the number of cattle in the
United States is the settling up the ranges
OF the west, which formerly supported
thousands of beeves. While it is true
that the west is no longer furnishing the
large number of cattle it does not follow
that the density of poulation should re-
duce the amount of cattle grown
Canada, sparsely settled country, has
only two cattle per square mile; the
United States has %. while the densely
populated nation of Belgium has 1874 head
per square mile; Great Britain 81, Ger
many 99, Illinois has 56 and Alabama has
~ per square mile, or only about one
eighth the number of Belgium.
Our exports of live cattle ana beef in
1900 were worth approximately s75. 600, ,0O0
while in 1913, we We're compelled to i'm
port cattle and beef from Argentina,
Australia, Canada and Europe 1t is
strange that while the price of beef cattle
Keeps going up the number we produce Is
diminishing. Sumter county, Alabama,
has been producing beef cattle for several
years and the prices received correspond
with the prevailing high prices at the
large market points. The whole nation is
calling for more cattle. Calling to Ala
bama, eorsia Mississippi and all the
southern states Calling for the beef va
riety, not the canned beef sort.
Profits in Dairy Farming
Dairy farming Is one of the most profit
able forms of live stock farming Thinly
settled sections are. as a rule. not dairy
price and it is necessary to secure a cor
responding larger income, the dairy COW
usually comes into use. In Denmark. Hol-
land and the Isle of Jersey dairying is
profftably followed on land worth from
$1,000 to $4,000 per acre.
In the south generally the demand for
dairy products is generally known to be
supplied largely by the dairy states of
the north. There is no northern state
better fitted naturally for the dairy bust
ness than Alabama. To make a success
of dairying as in beef cattle it Is neces-
sarY to get the profitable COW, the one
who shows a profit from the record kept
of her production of milk per day. week
or year. About 80 per cent of the COWS in
the average dairy herd do not actually
pay for the feed they consume. This can
only be ascertained by keeping records
1t is unnecessary to speculate on a market
for dairy products in the south. The
southern cities pay more for sweet milk
than the cities elsewhere in the United
States. We may resolve, plan and cher
ish the aspiration to make this a leading
cattle state and if we aspire to less than
making it the best cattle state In the
union our ambitions are too modest, but
our fondest wish in that line will never,
never come true unless we take up arms
against the greatest cattle foe that ex-
ists-the Texas fever cattle tick.
There are those people who have some
doubt about the tick interfering with the
development of the cattle industry, but If
they will take the time to investigate the
difference that exists in counties which
have eradicated the tick, ample proof
will be furnished to convince them. Take,
for instance, Madison county, Alabama
which is the only tick free county in the
state. Cattle may be shipped from Madi-
son to any part of the United States at
any time of the year. for any purpose at
an advance of cents per pound over the
prevailing price when the county was
under quarantine
First Eradicate Tick
For 80 years progressive farmers of the
southern states have baffled with the
tick In raising cattle and I know of no
man who has developed a satisfactory
herd of cattle which produce, the maxi
mum profits who has not first had to COM
pletely eradicate the uck. Inere are
some breeders in the tick area who aim to
keep the ticks reduced in number. with
out entirely eradicating them. This prac-
tice is predicated on the theory that they
must sell their bulls to people who have
ticks on their cattle. This argument is
not tenable for the reason that the people
of the tick area do not pay as large prices
for breeding cattle as the cattlemen in the
free area, and for the further reason that
each year the tick area is reduced in
size.
A breeder of pure bred cattle, who
formerly entertained the above idea, in
formed the writer that since his county
eradicated the tick and was released
from quarantine, he sold a yearling bull
for $1,000, which would have brought him
only $1,000 in the tick area.
The United States department of agri-
culture estimates that the cattle tick
causes in the aggregate a loss of nearly
$780, eco yearly to the southern states.
Until it was found by scientific investiga-
tion that 1t was possible to eradicate the
tick 1t was absolutely necessary to bear
this heavy annual loss, but having studied