The Little River news., 1917-02-07
Cannot Be a Great Cattle
 State Uutil the Tick Is Gone

ansas, now doing work in the tick-in- fested area of the state for the eXten- sion division, says:
 "I do not believe Arkansas will ever become a cattle state until we get rid of the tick. have worked in the tick infested! area ter some time and find that while the farmers are interested in besrter live stock and realize the possibilities of the state for live stock raising and have been willing to pay big price in order to get stock which is tick immune, nevertheless they have met with disaster in a great many cas- es when they have brought pure bred cattle into the state. Particularly in this true of men who have disregarded the advice of the agricultural special ists and brought in cattle from tick free states Statistics gathered by gov ernment officials show. that 10 per cent of the tick immune cattle, as we'll as 13 per cent of the native cattle Iie ev- cry year from the tick fever There is no certain immunity from this dis ease
 'This loss is disccuraging and a great many of our farmers refuse to work under this handicap. With the present condition of affairs, we cer- 'finly cannot expect to develop the ag ricultural resources of the state to their fullest extent.
 recently made the statement that it would take at least seven years to rid the state of the tick under the pres ent system with conditions most fav- orable for tick eradication. With the passage of the $5O,O0O appropriation, the work can be done in two years.
 Experiments by the United States government show that dairy cattle in- fested with the tick produce from 16 to AZ per cent less milk on the same amount of feed than do these that are free from ticks.
 Figures by the University of Wis consin show that in that Northern state where the cattle must be kept on feed at least seven months of the year, milk can be produced cheaper, than it can be produced in Arkansas because Wisconsin has not cattle tick.'
 During his work in Arkansas, MT. Mcleod has met all the large stock men and is familiar with their views. Here is what three of them think about reasing cattle under tick condi- tions:
 Lee J. Reynolds, who came from H. linois several years ago and at present is manager of a large plantation near LeWisville: "I often have inquiries from my neighbors and friends in H. linois asking me about the possibilities of growing live stock in this state. They are very much interested in our mild climate and long growing season but when l have to tell them about the cattle tick they lose interest at once in our cheaper land and drop the corre- spondence."
 G. w. Gaes, large land owner of Crosett: eff the tick were cut of my county I would just mark up the value of our property here one-halt million dollars. On several occasions I have almcst closed land deals with people from the North, but just as soon as they heard about the ravages siton.'
 O. H. Scantling, who three years ago purchased coo acres in Lafayette coun- ey, says: Arkansas has number of undeveloped agricultural possibilities The greatest Encouragement that l have experienced, however, since com ing to this state, is that have found, I cannot grow cattle here like I grew them in Indiana The climate is more favorable and I find that we can have pastures here throughout the year There is possibility of producing beef here much cheaper than we do in the North if it were not for the destructive influence of the cattle tick I have found that where dipping is not prac- ticed continuously, steer will lack 200 pounds of gaining as much as one which has been kept free of ticks. I have recently purchased several head of registered Shorthorn cattle from the ticky region of Texas. While these cattle are much better than our native stuff, still recognize that they are not near the stock they would have been if they had been grown up in region free of ticks. I feel assured that we will never take our place as a live stock state until we get rid of this pest. The quicker we get rid of the tick, the quicker will prosperity come to our farmers and other business in terests."
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