The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-07-20
MEETING Of LIVE
STOCK men
Crusade Against the Tick Will be
Actively Prosecuted in Mar
ion County

While it is true that, aside from the
work of whipping the Hun. the eradi-
cation of the cattle tick is among the
most important duties that confront
the Florida farmer today, the meet
ing held Friday was better attended,
than was even anticipated by those
who have these matters in charge.
Long before the hour set for the
session called to meet at the court
house many stock men and farmers
from all sections of the county were
on hand When the hour arrived
however, the court room was occupied
in the trial of some case, and the
meeting was held at the Marion
County Board of Trade room, which
proved entirely too small to comfort
ably accommodate the number pres
ent.
Dr. w. F. Blackman, member of
the Florida State Live Stock Sanitary
Agent Blackjack, and made an ap-
peal to the Marion county farmers to
save themselves thousands of dollars
annually by dipping their cattle. He
proposed a court-martial on the tick,
with DR.. L. NJ Nighbert as prosecut-
ing attorney, and anyone present who
desired to so so. for the defense. He
said that he was prepared to make
the charge that tick is a loafer,
thief and murderer, as he served no
good purpose, stole from the farmers
pockets the dairy products that right
fully belong to infants and soldiers on
the fighting lines and killed thousands
of human beings by causing a food
shortage in various sections of the
world. DR.. Blackman expressed re-
gret that here were not sufficient
seats for all present, but said that it
was better so than to have lot of
empty seats to talk to.
Agent Blackjack, as Judge advocate
of the court. introduced DIR. L. NJ.
Nighbert, sent out by the United
States bureau of animal industry to
assist the Florida board in its work
tof tick eradication. DR.. Nighbert has
been on the trail of the cattle tick
in the southeastern states for the
past sixteen years, and as result
of his efforts, combined with those Of
state boards. many sections of the
country have been cleared of this
great enemy to farmers and the quar-
antines that existed against them
have been raised.
DIR. Nighbert complimented Marion
county upon its progress in the cattle
raising industry, and said that with
| dipping vats and other advanced
methods for properly caring for stock
it would be one of the leading sections
of the, southeast as a stock growing
center. He displayed large piece of
leather showing the injury done by
the tick, and showed why tick infest-
ed hides brought from $1.25 to 50
| less than those free from the pest.
His lecture was made doubly interest
| ing by number of charts which he
referred to, giving actual photograph
reproductions of cattle treated for
tick destruction and those not so
treated. Just how a practical stock
grower could look at so practical a
demonstration of the advantages of
dipping and not be convinced that he
was annually losing large amounts of
money by the tick ravages is hard to
conceive He stated that Congress
had appropriated millions of dollars
to assist the states in getting rid of
this menace since 1906, and that Flor