New Britain herald., 1916-01-08
OX MARBLES ARE
 A SERIOUS DANCER
Farmers Advised to Look After
 Their Cattle

Washington, D. C., Jan. S-Special- ists of the U. $. Department or Agriculture are urging cattle owners, in the North as well as in the South, to take steps to rid their cattle If OK warbles or 'Wolves" the impor- tance of which to the cattle industry has been generally underestimated. Ox Warbles are the Whittish grubs or maggots which develop from the eggs deposited by certain flies known as warhle flies or heel flies and which injure the hides, reduce milk flow and retard the growth of the animals The maggots are commonly found just below the skin on the backs of cattle, in the spring. Their presence is revealed by local swellings about the size of pigeons eggs, each with a small central hole or perforation through which the maggot breaths From this hole the maggot, when mature, emerges to enter the ground and change to the adult or fly stage. When full grown the grub is about three-fourths of an inch in length.
 Becoming General
 In the past trouble from the war bles has largely been confined to CdttiC III tHo SOutll, put recently JnC Bureau of Entomology has discover ed that a second species, heretofore not found in this country but known to be even a more serious pest, in Europe, than is our native warble has become we'll established in cer- | tain districts in the northern part of l the United States. While it is prob a ble that this so-called European OK Warble will not be of as great inn portance in the Southern part Of the United States as the species al- ready established, there is every req son to believe that unless checked it will become generally distributed throughout the northern half of the country. This European species is now generally distributed throughout New York and the New England States, and a few specimens have been obtained from western Penn sylvania, western Maryland, southern Michigan, eastern Iowa and MissCari, and western Washington. Attention is also directed to the fact that this species is now generally distributed throughout southern Canada. The Departm ent, therefore is calling at- tention at this time to the danger of spreading this species promiscuously about the country, and is urging cat tie owners to take the simple means necessary to prevent it's spread.
 Marbles Are Serious.
 Until recently warbles were not regarded as serious even in the South because it was thought that the loss they occasioned came principally from the damage they did to hide Even this loss in the aggregate, how ever, is important, as hides show Warble holes three to six months in the year and dealers pay from 30 cents to $1.50 less for hides that show even moderate warble infesta- ton. In many cases the scars left after the holes have healed cause buyers to cut prices considerably
 The loss from the warble, however, is by no means limited to the holes the maggots cut in the hides. EXten- sive investiga ations in Germany and Denmark indicate that the losses reduction in milk supply in dairy cattle, the retardation of growth ir young stock, and the loss of flesh in all classes of animals are two-fold greater than the damage done to the hides. In some of these tests the early extraction of the grubs from the backs of infested cattle resulted