The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1922-02-17


the cattle are under control Several
Florida counties which were practical
Ily cleaned up and had been released
had to be put back into quarantine be
cause few ticky herds reinfected the
open ranges and nullified the work
which had been done If those ticky
animals had been confined in pasture
the infection could have been kept
under control until cleaned up.
Potash and the Farmer
The president of the National Farm,
ers union is doubtless right in the
statement that American farmers are
heavily against the proposal to put
a duty of 21a cents per pound on
potash. 1t is true that there are ex
tensive sources of potash for fertiliz
ing purposes in this country; but I'M
fortunately most of it is not in such
shape that methods so far available
can prepare and deliver it to the farm.
er at price at all comparable to that
of the foreign article.
Potash is so tremendously impor.
tant to the basal agricultural interests
of the country that it seems impos
sible to justify any artificial enhance
ment of the price, even though com
paratively small But 21a cents pei
pound is not comparatively small. II
is tax which would run into many
millions OF dollars, even on the mini
mum amount which might be used
ton to stand any such tax. But q
more serious effect than the tax &C
tually paid under such a tariff would
be the heavy curtailment in the use
of potash on lands where it is sorely
needed.
1t is not true that the lack of a
potash tariff will put us wholly at the
mercy of a German monopoly II
should be remembered that rich and
extensive portions of the former Ger
man holdings went back to France
with the return of Alsace- Lorraine
And in the long run we are not sc
likely to get cheaply produced
American potash out of a tariff pro
lection as out of the influence of com
petition in forcing scientific research
for cheaper and more efficient meth
DDS of duction.-Columbus Dis
patch.
The Bite of Spider
i Physicians, housewives, keep
ers, farmers and many others call up
on the Florida Experiment Stations
specialists for information and advice
along many and varied lines.
/ Within the last few months at least
four requests have come in for infor
nation concerning the Black Widow
spider and the remedy for its bite
This is the only dangerous spider il
Florida. 1t is small with somewhat
long legs for its size (about half al
inch). Its color is jet black with {
bright scarlet spot on the undersid,
and few silver markings. The scar
J let mark is of the shape of an houl
glass and makes possible its easy iden
tification
The bite of this spider is very pois
onous. 1t has been known even t,
cause death. A typical case is tina
which was reported by a physician
few weeks ago.: AT first the patien
did not feel much pain, but in tn,
course of an hour or two the pain be
. came very severe and the patient wa
in danger of his life for several days
1t was a week before he entirely re
covered. There were extreme muscu
lar contractions. particularly in thu
abdominal region
The four patients who were brough
: to our attention during the past yea
were bitten in outdoor closets, which
is undoubtedly the most frequente,
!: place of these spiders.
The remedy for the bite of this spid
er Is potassium permanganate. Ar
!: ply it both externally and internally
The common fear of people for spid
: ers is unjustified, as the bite of mos
OF them is no more serious than tn,
sting OF bee or the bite of a. mosqui
!. TO. That is particularly true of thos
: large spiders often found crawlin,
|: about the walls of houses. Most spid