The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-07-02
FLORIDA'S LOSS FROM
CATTLE TICKS

- S'S s', JoAt ~ iNS
Is the one state III the tick-in-
tested area in which no system
attic effort has yet been made TO
eradicate the pest. The entire
/ state, covering an area of 52,24o
square miles, is afflicted with it
and suffers an annual loss which
it is impossible to estimate in
dollars and cents.
Educational and demonstra-
ton work has, however, been
undertaken under the direction
OF the federal Inspector i'll
charge at atlanta. Ga, and it is
believed that a certain amount
of interest has been aroused
among the farmers in this sub
lect. 1t has been estimated that
: the tick could be eradicated in
Florida in from six to eight
Years ii the state and the various
counties would provide adequate
! appropriations and cooperation
on the part of the local authori-
ties with the federal authorities
could be secured.
Hides Would More Than Pay
Expenses.
! AS a purely financial PROPOSE
ton, it has been shown that the
! increased value of the hides of
tick-free cattle more than pay
for the expense of freeing terri
tory. From the last figures
available. it appears that the
cost of the work has been about
| so cents per animal freed from
the quarantine, As the hide OF
the tick COW is worth on an
average SI.26 less than that of
the tickfree animal, there is a
profit here OF Is cents. More
over, much OF the money that
has been spent on educational
campaigns has not as yet borne
fruit i'll the release territory and
it is only natural that future re-
leases should come as the result
OF money that has already been
expended.
The greater value of the hide,
J however. is only minor feature
of the situation. Tick-free cat
tie yield more milk, produce
more meat. keep in better gen
eral conditions, bring a higher
price in the open market, and
are handled with less incon-
venience than ticky cattle. More
over, they can be bred with prof
it to pure-brcd bulls. The total
of these various items amounts
to saving which it is almost
impossible to express in terms
of money. 1t may be said, how
ever. that ticks make all the
difference between profitable
stock raising and Improbable
stock raising.
Doubled the Value of His Herd.
Some time ago the Depart
partment of Agriculture sent to
a number of representative
stock-breeding farmers series
of questions on the effect of tick
eradication in their neighbor-
hood. These replies show that.
in the opinion of the men most
vitality interested, cattle gained
in weight from II to 20 per cent,
the average being 1914; the av-
erage milk production increased
about 70 per cent, or nearly
oncfourth of the total yield.
The quality of the cattle had
improved about oneNfourth. Fin
ally, the loss from Texas fever,
which at one time amounted to
over one-eight of the total num-
Der of cattle, had been totally
stopped, and it was possible for
the first time to import pure
bred animals for breeding pur-
poses. One Louisiana farmer
wrote that his herd of cattle was
worth double what it had been
before the ticks were eradicated.
What systematic work can do
in the eradication of ticks is
shown by the experience of Mis-
sissippi. This state took up the
work in 1908. Two years later,
in 1910. I,4o7 square miles OF
territory were released from
quarantine, and subsequent re-
leases increased this area until
at the end of 1914 it was 2o,834
square miles or almost half of
the state. AT the end of 1914,
there we're ?, $50 dipping watts in
operation. If the people of the
state continue to show the same
interest in the matter that they
have done in the past, it is pre-
dicted that in two or three years
cattle ticks in Mississippi should