The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1917-11-24
TICK-FREE DAY.

Saturday, December l, Will be cele-
brated as "Tick-Free Day through
out the south, concentrating the re-
lease from federal quarantine OF the
entire state of Mississippi and ninety
areas in eight other states which have
succeeded in&eradicating the cattle
tick. The occasion will truly mark an
era in the agricultural development. OF
the southern states. Every loyal citl-
zen will join with the freed counties
in rejoicing that the blight of the cat
tie tick has been driven from an ad-
ditional 7O,754 square miles during
1917. The people in the remaining
349,253 square miles of infested terri
tory will be awakened to the import
ance of Kidding themselves OF TINS
meat, milk and feed wasting parasite.
There is no reason for the ticks
continuing it's damage to the cattle IN
dustry of the south. The present eX-
istence of the destructive pest IN any
section simply points to the fact that
the people there are not yet fully
awake to the terrible toll it exacts
from every business, and, therefore,
as yet have not become aroused SUI
ficiently to put into effect the simple,
inexpensive measures necessary to
free their cattle.
In more than half Of the south the
tick no longer kills cattle with fever
or sucks them thin. It no longer bars
the introduction of proper breeding
animals to build up beef and dairy
herds to consume profitably the
south's feedstuffs. In the remainder,
cattle still are dying by thousands OF
afaHar4and ii large part Of every
pound of forage, grain and concen-
trates goes to feed useless ticks in
stead of making meat and milk.
In throwing off its complete bond
age to cotton the south has made a
great advance by extending gradually
its production Of food crops. The
greatest obstacle to the change, how
ever, was finding substitutes for cot
ton which could be marketed readily
and proftably. Cattle, to which she
south is adapted by climate and agri-
culture, furnish an ideal, readily mar
ketable commodity. Cattle, however,
cannot be raised profitably as part of
the farms business unless the tick is
banished. The tick, therefore, has
been costly obstruction to the evolu-
ton from one-crop farming to profit
able Investigation,
Increase in meat production at the
present juncture is an absolute es-
sential to the nation. The quickest,
surest way for the south to do its full
share in contributing this food is to
eradicate the tick. Eradication. from
a somewhat more selfish standpoint,
is peculiarly important at this time
because lately the south has raised
vast quantities of velvet beans and
other crops valuable in feeding live
stock Every county freed from tick |
and permitted to develop an unim-
peded live stock industry is a market
right at home for velvet beans and |
other feedstuffs. The introduction of |
better breeding stock throughout the
area and more recently the |
transfer of excellent grade cattle from
Texas to the pastures of the south
east have put many farmers IN the
freed areas in position to use these
new products and to profit fully from
dairying or raising cattle for meat.
There will be an excellent market
for meat for years irrespective of
whether peace comes soon or is long
deferred. All the world is meat
hungry and wonderful opportunity
awaits the south to satisfy this es
sential demand if only it will eradi-
,ate the tick, enable itself to make
sull rather than partial use of its
,orage, and open up its cattle to the
rec cattle markets of the world.