The Mena weekly star., 1917-11-29
NUCHOF ARKANSAS
 NOW IS TICK FREE
Secretary of Agriculture Houston rhru Gov. Br0ugh, CongratGlates peonle of State-Quarantine or
 ia Counties December 1.
Department of Agriculture, Office of Secretary,
 M. te 4A4-
Washington. Nov. l6, i9i7.

Office of Secretary,
 Washington. Nov. l6, 1917.
 uon Charles II. Brough, Governor
 of Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkan-
 sas,
 Sir. Permit me, thru you to con- orafuIate the people of the i9 coun- lies and 6 parts of counties of Ar kansas on their success in eradicat- ing the cattle tick mad freeing their area from Federal quarantine re- strictions on account of this insect enemy of the cattle industry of the South.
 With meat so important at this time. especially in provisioning our armed forces and with milk so wall uable a food for our population, it was an especial privilege to be able 10 promulgate the recent order de- claring these several counties free from cattle ticks and lifting the Federal quarantine which has been in force since 1906.
 Your citizens, working thru their State ard county agencies and in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture, this year have dipped out the tick from i3,3e5 square miles, and thus have cleaned this destructive parasite from the following named counties and parts of counties:
 Territory Released December 1, 1917.
 The counties of Baxter, Columbia, Crawford, Independence, lzard, Jackson. Lee, Lonoke, Monroe, Ne vada, Ouachita, Phillips, Pope, Union, White, and Yell; and parts of the counties of Conway, Desha, Faulkner, Jefferson, Pulaski, and Van Buren.
 The area thus freed, together with the counties previously freed from quarantine, gives your State a total area of 3i,573 square miles free from tick
 This accomplishment, with that in other states, notably Mississippi, which now is entirely free from cat tie tick, enable the Department to succeed all former releases of ter ritory and to declare free at this time a total area of 65,520 square miles. The total area in the South released from quarantine since 1906 is. 379,3t2 square miles, Theres re- mains yet to be freed in your state 20,952 square miles, and in the South 3i9,253 square miles of sinfested area.
 Eradication of the tick, is an eeo-, homie necessity for southern agri-t culturea in normal times and at this time, is patriotic duty. T am hope ful that the success Of those coun- ties which have dipped the tick from their lands vii serve as a po- tent example to other communities to free their territories of the pest. Fhe-work of freeing the remainder Of your state will be greatly faciIi- tated by the Statewide tick eradi- cation law which your legislature has enacted.
 Freedom from the cattle tick means to these counties that their cattle no longer will be killed by tick fever or be weakened by the persistent blood letting of this par asltes It means that a large part of their grain, forage and pasturage, instead of being wasted in sustain ing ticks hereafter is to be turned into meat and milk to supply the ur- gent needs of our Nation. 1t means an increase in the yield of dairy COWS and an important reduction in spring loss ofcows and calves.
 With the deadly tick eradicated, owners of farms are safe in bring Ing in the best of breeding animals 10 improve their herds of beef and dairy cattle, and thus to introduce i've stock into their farming sys- Iems to their direct profit and the maintenance of soil fertility. Farm CTS can develop their dairy indus try upon plane of profitible pro- duction.
 With the quarantine restrictions eliminated nothing now hampers the free interchange of their live stock between their farms and the northern feeding regions. Cattle Shlppers are free to sell their cattle on their merits in competition with all other free animals instead of be- ing required to sell them for what they will bring in the detention pens for immediate slaughter.
 For the Department of Agricul- ture and especially for the tick eradication agencies of it's Bureau or Animal Industry. I would say mat 1t has been a privilege to CO., operate with your State and local agencies in this Important under taking. aN
 3F Respectfully, fSicuadl n IS IToTrcrpN