The Monticellonian., 1917-11-30

EkRa ing the federal quarantine from cattle EE shipment Tn 70754 square miles of nine EH Southern states, driving q broad wedge of
 tck-free territory through the tick lines to the Gulf of Mexico-the fight against the de- struetive parasite must count 1917 its greatest ye9r far.
 December I, when 65,520 square miles-the largest amount of territory ever freed at one time will be added to the liberated areas will be the greatest day in the campaign since it was started actively in 1906, and it will be celebrated such in the states and counties in which it will signalize undeniably long strides toward real ization of the South's merted position as a cat tle-rasing country.
 The governor of Mississippi whose people have made their state the first touching the Gulf to be entirely rid of the cattle tick. has designated De- cember 1 q day of rejoicing in the common wealth. A celebration at Jackson. the capital, and others at county seats have been arranged At these ceremonials congratulations on the achievement will be received from the United States department of agriculture and from gov ernors of other states. Celebrations of the same character to be held in the various counties free from quarantine in eight other states-Ala- bama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia. Louisiana North Carolina. Oklahoma and Texas.
 Falterng, slow, and uncertain at first the ad against the cattle tick in II years has gained such impetus that 1t literally Is sweeping forward There Is doubt of final success and there great hopes that the goal of n tickfree South in 1921' which also will mean American territory entirely freed from the para site. will be realized.
 Ticks Long Have infested Cattle in South
 Cattle in the Southeastern Atlantic and Gulf states have been infested with the tick since cat tie first introduced into those regions It is thought probable the ticks were introduced into the country by cattle from Spanish herds. The history of the tick in the South is largely his tory of the agricultural life of that section. In fy.fo tt.a or more that have attended the transformation of the South from a wilderness into a wide and prosperous agricultural domain.
 Ticks carry a fatal disease between cattle Calves survive the effect of it. but very few older cattle live long when attacked for the first time But for the fact that the calf that lives after the attack becomes partially immune, there would now be no cattle in the tick-lnfested portion of the South. Southern cattle always have caused disease among Northern cattle whenever they carrying ticks. have left their home territory aad been driven into through adjoining territory X notorious example of such driving occurred after the Civil war when Texas and Indian Ter ritory cattle were driven into Colorado and Kan sas, leaving death in their trails for the native cattle This caused the cowboy wars" in which 1t was sought to turn the cattle back by force of arms and also caused the enactment of stringent state laws.
 During these years of settlement the cattle tick had extended northward until it's distribution was about concident with that of cotton. From this vantage ground 1t was scattered by driveway and by rail into Northern markets and caused annual outbreaks of Texas fever, as the disease was then called. throughout the North. Legislation in var- eus states sought to check the disease at that time, but owing to ignorance of the manner of it's spread, powerless.
 Quarantined Territory First Defined In 1ss9
 Finally, with the formation of the bureau of animal industry of the United States department of agriculture in 1884, the federal authorities un- der authority of congress, began the fight against the tick. The bureau first sent out agents to define the line between infected and neninfected territory, and In the annual reports of 1884 and 1885 several maps published showing Its location. The first order defining and mapping the quarantined infected territory was published in 1SS9 The driving transporting of cattle from the infected the free territory was forbid den, except for a short season in winter and ex cept for immediate slaughter when transported by rail boat and discharged into quarantine pens at certain recognized slaughtering centers This constituted quarantine which has existed with timely notifications ever since
 The beginning of tick eradication is traced to meeting of the commissioners of agriculture of the cotton-growing states held in Raleigh N C.. in 1S99 when the North Carolina commissioner directed that the states aim to improve the cat tie industry by tick eradication be presented From this beginning until 1906 12 counties in North Carolina had been released from quaran- tine. The association of the commissioners of agriculture and various allied organizations in fiuenced by the eradication work of North Caro- lima and the results obtar.ed by federal state and other investigators. together with the growing necessity of amelorating the effects of the boil.
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