The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1917-12-07
EMPHASIZES ERADICATION OF
CATTLE FEVER TICK

as, who in company with NJ. SAMSON
of that city, and Caesar Kleberg and
Tom East of Kingsville, Texas, visited
Florida during the summer to look
over the opportunities for cattle rails
ing, has returned to Florida and will
spend the winter months feasting~ his
eyes on our luxuriant range grass and
abundant water supply while giving
further study to the five stock posi-
biiities.
z. c. Chambliss and other promi-
nent live stock men of Marion county
have asked Mr.. Waddell for some sug-
gestions above live stock production
as he sees conditions in Florida.
In order that the people of Florida
may understand who Mr.. Waddell is
and why his suggestions should have
careful consideration a little of his
life history will not be out of place.
He is native of Texas, and has been
actively engaged in the cattle indus
try for forty years. He has seen the
cattle of Texas bred up from common
scrub stock, such as are running on
the ranges of Florida today, to a
standard of excellence where it is not
uncommon for Texas bred beef cattle
to win the blue ribbons at the Inter-
national Live Stock Exposition in Chi
cago, and at the American Royal in
Kansas City, where are entered the
aristocracy of all the beef breeding
states in the Union. Also at the feed
ers' and breeders fat stock show
held in Fort Worth, where competi.
tion is open to the world.
Mr.. Waddell takes pardonable pride
in the fact that he contributed in a.
measure, to the development describ-
ed above, as it was under his admin
istration as the directing head of the
live stock sanitary commission of
Texas that some of the most noted
herds in that state were freed of ticks
and released from quarantine.
He was chairman of the live stock
sanitary commission for four years.
and the first systematic tick eradica-
tion work conducted in that state was
due to his efforts.
Mr.. Waddell said: "You cannot |
place too much emphasis on the ne
cessity for eradicating the cattle fe-l
yer ticks at once, or as fast as man
and money can do the work.
Il want to urge upon the people Of |
Florida to avoid the mistakes made |
by the live stock men in Texas, of /
trying to breed up their cattle and /
breed ticks at the same time Wei
tried that, and the cost was enormous. |
Our well bred bulls, imported from
northern states became fever stricken i
and died in due course of time after
the cattle fever ticks got on them. |
This was overcome in a small way by
some of our most determined cattle |
men who went north and bought bull i
calves about two weeks old, which
we're shipped by express to the ranch
es in Texas and put on foster mothers
to raise. In that way they became
tolerant to tick fever while living on
milk at the only age it is safe to at /
tempt to innoculate them with fever
from the ticks.
II have been asked which of thel
beef breeds of cattle will be best suit
ed to cross on our Florida cattle, and
make the most on our Florida ranges.
Either of the three leading breeds
are good-the Hereford. the Short
horn or Durham, or the Angus, Each
one has some points Of merit over thsl
other two, and the selection OF the
breed % use will bt determined II q