The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-12-04
GREAT AREA IN
south TICK FREE
Over Fifty Thousand Square
Miles Reclaimed from Tick
Fever in Year.
(By GEORGE II. MANNINe)

Washington, Dec. 3-Over fifty
thousand square miles in the southern
states have been reclaimed in the past
year from the cattle fever tick-the
worst enemy of live stock fin the
South-the bureau of animal industry,
department of agriculture. announced
today.
By an order effective December 1st,
the agricultural department releases
1921 square miles in Georgia, Ala
bama, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas
from the federal quarantine against
the movement of tick infested cattle.
This is in addition to 1924 square
miles released on September Is.
Alabama leads the list with 1891
square miles placed in the unrestricted
area. The other states are Louisiana,
with 1929 square miles; Texas, with
S,S47; Arkansas with S,13o: Georgia
with 6, 942, and Oklahoma with 4.346.
No releases were ordered for Florida
or North Carolina but active work is
going on in those states in prepara-
ton for strong cattle tick campaigns
next year.
The 1919 releases do not make this
year, in point of actual territory placed
in the free area, the greatest year for
tick eradication, but they do mean q
great amount OF consolidation work,
sthat is, take out counties here and
there from the quarantined area.
very successful campaign against
the cattle ticks has been waged since
1906 when the ticks threatened to en-
tirely eradicate the cattle herds in the
southern states. In 1906 the quaran-
tine line extended all the way from
Virginia to Texas and reappeared in
California. The battle with the ticks
since then has driven them entirely
out of California, Missouri. Kentucky
Tennessee, South Carolina and Missis-
sippi.
this year, resulting in the removal OF
the quarantine entirely from eleven
states and practically from seven others
is the result of work under the state
wide tick eradication law, which be-
came effective last spring.
Officials of the bureau of animal in
dustry regard this years progress as
encouraging and see in the results
be completely driven from American
soil within a few years. State and
county officials and farmers and live
stock owners generally have cooper
ated in good fashion with the bureau
force. The menace of the tick and
what the parasite has meant in annual
damage of at least S40.0oe.o00 to the
southern livestock industry appears
ctr c,d-
vance of the work is shown by the
fact that in 1906, 72S,565 square miles
were tick infested, while the Decem-
Der releases will bring the area freed
from quarantine to 509.oS4 square miles
or 20 per cent of the area originally
placed under restrictions.
The areas freed from the tick
are placed in position to proceed with
the development of their beef cattle
raising and dairying industries with
out paying an annual tribute to the
cattle parasite. Better cattle can be
brought in without fear that they will
contract the deadly fever that is carried
by the tick That tick eradication
pays has been answered affirmatively
in every community freed of ticks by
better cattle, better agriculture in gen.
eral, better prices, and higher real es-
tate values.
In Alabama the following counties
are released from quarantine: Butler
Covington. Chiffon. Escambia- Frank
lin, Geneva, Lawrence. Marion and
Winston, the remainder OF Perry and
Marshall, and a portion of Calhoun
Cherokee, Cleburne. Saint Clair, Mo-
| bile, Shelby and Bibb.
The Georgia counties released are:
All of Calhoun, Carroll, Chatham, Clay
] Colauitt, Early, Jones. Marion, Miller
Monroe, Schley, Screven, Sumter. Tiff
| Turner, Twiggs. Webster and WiIkin.
son.
Choctow county and about five.
sixths of Houston county. Alabama
are to be requarantined because the
county officers have failed to enforct
the quarantine law properly agricul-
ltnral department officials say.