The Prescott daily news., 1916-05-10
STATEWIDE TICK
 ERADICATION
New Mississippi Law Important Step in Campaign Now Being Waged for the Total Elimina- tiOn of the Pest.

new MlSSlSSlppl law requiring each county in the State that is still in- fected with cattle ticks to begin sys- i tematic eradication work next year is the first measure of the kind in the history of the campaign for the total elimination of the pest in the South. Hitherto, tick eradication has been a matter of county option. Each coun- | ty has determined for itself whether or not it should undertake the work. In Mississippi after January 1, 1917, there will be no choice. After that date the law provides that the cattle in every county which has not already freed itself of the tick must be dipped regularly in accordance with the rules and regulations of the State Live Stock Sanitary Board until, in the words of the Act, "the cattle tick be permanently eradicated and dcs
 troyed.' As experience has shown that energetic work can usually ac- complish this result in one season, this means that the entire State of Mississippi should be out of quaran- tine by the end of 1917, or at the latest by the end of 1918.
 This radical departure from the old policy of allowing each county to put up with the tick or drive it out, as it chose, has been necessitated by the progress that has already been made. Since tick eradication began in Mississippi in 1908, forty counties out of total of eighty-one have been freed from quarantine and twelve other counties are now engaged in systematic work. Some of the other counties, however, have steadily re- fused to take any part in the cam paign and in certain instances now present serious menace to the live stock industry in adjacent tick-free territory in which the cattle are no longer immune to splenetic fever. As is we'll known ticks are the only means of spreading this disease. In most cases the eradication of the tick has been accompanied by the importa- tion of valuable pure-bred stock and cattlemen in these areas are deter mined to be rid of the danger of re- | infection. Moreover, the existence in the midst of tick-free territory of isolated ticky counties interferes with the movement of stock and hampers in number of ways the full realiza- tion of the benefits of eradication.
 Under the new law the statewide campaign of elimination will not be- gin until January 1, 1917. The inter vening time it is planned to utilize { in the construction of dipping vats in those counties which have not as yet done any systematic work. As matter of fact, there are some dip ping vats in every county now which are being used by individual farmers to free their own herds, but in most cases the number is not sufficient for the regular dipping of all cattle. The | law provides, therefore, that each county which is not tick-free, shall proceed at once to let contracts for | the construction of vats and for the necessary chemicals for the baths, Inappropriate money for the salaries of the assistants and make the other ar engagements for the coming year. In each county the work is to be under the charge of an inspector appointe. by the State Live Stock Sanitary i Board and paid by it. For failure on the aprt of cattle owners to comply with the regulations of the Board in regard to dipping, a penalty of fine or imprisonment or both is provided by the law.
 The law also directs the Board to cooperate with the Federal officials in the work of tick eradication. In order to make this cooperation more effective, the Board recently decided to put the States part in tick eradi- cation in Mississippi in charge of a special inspector who is to give his entire time to the work.
 The desire to drive the tick out of Mississippi which has made possible the passage of this law, should, it is pointed out, also result in the freeing of large area this year by counties which do not care to wait for the compulsory statewide campaign. ! Enough has been done-already in Mis-