The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-04-08

Following are the winning essays
in the county school contest on "The
Eradication of the Cattle Tick, !"
awards for which were made at the
Myrtle Grove picnic Saturday. The
carried off by Edna Jones, grade 6,
of the Ferry Pass school; Mabel Adj
kinson, grade Z, Myrtle Grove school;
and Cathryn Wehmeier, grade s, Jo-
seph B. Jockey school. The essays
show great deal of study, their lit
erary form is excellent, and they will
well repay reading.
Eradication of Cattle Tick.
By Edna Jones, Grade Six, Fer.
Pass School No. 4.
Of the many infesting insects of
Florida the cattle ticks are the most
destructive. To prove this an init
mate knowledge of the cattle tick il
necessary.
Only a part of the growth of the
tick takes place on the cattle, the
rest takes place in the pastures and
ranges. The female tick, which sticks
to the skin of the cattle, draws large
quantities of blood which increases
her body, then falls to the ground and
searches for a hiding place to lay
eggs. These large juicy ticks are de-
stroyed by ants, unfavorable condition
and wet weather.
Egg laying begins during the
spring and continues through the
summer and fall months. The eggs
hatch in from two to twenty days in
summer and during winter months in
thirteen to ninety eight days, ide-
pending on weather conditions. The
eggs are small, oblong shaped bodies
of light amber color that later
changes to dark brown, one fiftieth
OF an inch in length, coated with a
sticky substance that causes them to
stick together in clusters and keep
them from drying out.
After the mother tick has laid all
of her eggs she dies. From each egg
small six-legged seed tick, ligh,
brown colored, but later becomes q
rich brown, and is very active in
warm weather, but does not go about
much in cold weather. The cattle tick
clings to weeds, grass and shrubs
waiting for the cattle and if the cattle
does not come that way, they will
die of starvation.
During its life in the pastures ano
ranges, the seed tick takes no fooo
| and does not increase in size. Furth-
er development begins when the itch
| reaches the cattle, horses or mules
and begin to draw blood from tbs
animals. In about seven days it sheds
its skin and the color changes from
| brown to white and having eight legs
instead of six, is known as nymph
In another seven days the nympf
| sheds its skin and is now seXually
matured. 1t is at this stage that
males are conspicuous for the frs
time. After mating with the male
the female drops to tire ground to re
peat the cycle of development. Yor
see then by treating cattle regularly
every fourteen days, the chain of life
! is broken never to be again mended
| To accomplish tick eradication al
cattle, horses and mules using tn
! ranges, pastures or COW lots that arr
| infested, must be considered.
Some may say this is strictly ;
southern problem, but it is not, it i
| a national problem. What effect
| fourteen states, effects the who'll
/ United States, and is therefore a ma
tional problem. It is not an expert
ment. A state could be free of tick
in six months; when once eradicatec
the ticks are gone forever.
! Statistics show that three per cen
of our cattle die from exposure ev
cry year in this mid climate. Man,
know these two thousand five hun
bred head of cattle do not actual!
/