THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



What it Costs a Country 

 TO Keep Ticks 





THE CASE OF THE UNITED STATES 



OATTLC TIOM 



Extract from P.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 161. "The Cattle Tick 

 in its Rrlnlioi: to Soiilheni Agriculture," by AUGUST Mayer ; — 



"What it costs the Southern States to harbor the cattle tick Is not 

 casihr calculated, but from observation and experience we can estimate 

 this loss with some assurance of approximating the truth. 



BEEF CATTLE. - Below the quarantine line we have something 

 over 15,000,000 cattle, the total farm value of which is given by the last 

 census as nearly $183,000,000. The dairy cattle are credited with a value 

 ■ >f about $58,650,000, and the other cattle with over §124.000,000. I'roni 



■bservation and experience I estimate that a shrinkage in value of 20^ in 

 >atUe, other than dairy cattle, is due to the effects of the cattle tick. In 



v.und numbers this would mean a loss of $25,000,000 for beef cattle." 



DAIRy CATTLE. '• In the case of dairy cattle, considerable damage 

 i> ciperienced because of the extra feed required, and the shrinkage in the 

 (low of milk caused by tick infestation. It is believed that an estimate of 

 5X of the total value of the dain,- cattle is not overcharging the tick. This 

 means an annual loss of nearly $3,000,000 for dairy cattle. The total 

 depreciation then of southern cattle, on account of the tick, would be 

 $28,000,000." 



HIGHER DEATH RATE. "The average death rate among cattle in 

 the tick-infested area for the year 1904-5 was about 8.33% ; in the tick-free 

 area it was about 3.I2«. The total number of cattle that died in the tick- 

 infested area during the year ended March 31st, 1905, was about 1,250,000. 

 The average farm value of these southern cattle may be put at J12, 

 according to the Bureau of Statistics ; therefore the total annual loss from 

 dcatfa in the tick-afifected States amounted to $15,000,000. The average 

 death rate in the quarantined States being nearly three times as great as 

 that In the lick-free States, it is not unfair to assume that two-thirds of 

 this loss by death is directly attributable to the tick, that is $10,000,000." 



DECREASED FECDNDITY. " There is a further loss to be recorded 

 against the tick in the reduction of the fecundity of the female cattle, and 

 perhain alio in the greater proneness of tick-infested cattle to diseases or 

 aboormaJ conditions of the reproductive organs." 



DCCEPnONAL KXPENDirnRS. "There is also chargeable to the 

 tick the greater eip«OK of providing pasturage or extra feed for the 

 ciMie during heavy infestation, for dips and other preventive measures, 

 aad for extra care and extra supervision. It is deemed a consen'ative 

 if H rml e to place the annual loss under this and the previous head at 

 $8,600,000.* 



tfi'UNTlNQ OF OBOWTH. • There is another material charge to 

 '■c cstsfad against the tick. With tick infestation at babyhood, there is 

 v«y IMU* cfaaoce to tartag cattle to early maturity. The stunting which 

 ••y "iuBT rttxtn otill{** « to carry them until tliey are three or more 

 yaa «U. That mcaa* two yean «i mtn feed and care, and capital tied 

 ^ — nrmnr lly by a4nne rm u imi ma H costs easily from $5 to $10 per 

 yar l» froride and care foe a cow ; aad to keep our 11,000,000 beef cattle 

 ajvarsr two loafer meaaa, acoonBagly, an extra outlay ol at least 



loM mstalawl by Um Soothsra 



««»«<>«• nak—i 100.000,000 



cf Agtiautan lor 1904.' 



-Rhwty sMOyasM tmt 

 ■Mm *t>-^y BBst ■■s iM t jmtij to as 

 ^a^aanW^la tU Tsar hmA of &• Z>sy 



ExiKKl Jrom US. Depi. oj Agt iculture, BulMin }S, on "Tcras Fever,' by 



Dr. John R Moiiler, V.M.D., Cli,e/o/ the Pathological Divifion. Bureau of 



A uinuil liidmtry : — 



DECREASED MARKET VALUE. "Animals coming from tick- 

 mfected ilistricts bring an avernge of one-fourth to one-half a cent less 

 per pound than the quoted market price. The handicap that is placed on 

 the southern cattle raiser as a result of this decrease in value of his stock 

 wdl average at the former figure at least $1.50 per head, allowing an 

 incli\idual weight of 600 pounds for all classes of animals ; so that the loss 

 on the estimated 705,000 s,iulhcrn cattle marketed vearlv under the.se con- 

 ditions will sum up at a loss 1.1 «:1,057,500 per annum^ It will be found 

 that this decreased value reads and lixcs Ihc vaki.ition of all cattle which 

 rcmnin in the infccled teuiloiv, thereby reducing the assets of the cattle 

 industry of that section l.y this ratio per head for the four and a hall 

 milhonsof cattle east of the Mississippi River.and the eleven millions of 

 callle west of the Mis.-i.-,sip|ii River; or, altogether, the enormous 

 shrinkage in value of $23,250,000 directly chargeable to the cattle tick ' 



LOWER MILK YIELD. "The shrinkage of the milk production of 

 L-attle harboring uiauy ticks will average i quart per d.ay, and the loss 

 occasioned thereby at 3 cents per quart for llie .S75,ooo ticky dairy cattle 

 out of more than 4,000,000 dairy ciltlc below the quarantine line, would 

 amount to $20,250 per day, or counting three Inmdrcd milking days for 

 each cow to the year, $7,875,000 per annum." 



LOSS OF IMPORTED STOCK. "The damage resulting to the 

 southern purchaser of norllioru pure bred or high-grade cattle is another 

 item of no small moment. About losj of all such cattle taken South die 

 of Texas Fever, even after they are immuni.6ed by blood inoculations, and 

 about 60^ of these cattle succumb to Texas Fever when not so treated. 

 Of the approximate 4.600 of such callle brought South each year, at least 

 4f)0 die of Texas Fever. The loss entailed wo"uld naturally depend on the 

 value of each animal, and since the prices paid for such well-bred cattle 

 range from $100 to $i.oijo or even more, it can readily be conceived (h.il 

 the yearly loss from this item alone varies from $46,000 upward " 



Extract from a Puper rejd by Dr. F. Hahn^kn, Chief Veterinarian of the 

 Stale of Geoigin, nl the igis .iniiual Meeting of the United Stales Live Slock 



S,ii!it(jry Association : — 



LOSS OF MILK. "Tick infestation costs the Southern States each 

 and every year not less than $ 1 50,000,000. Every milk cow infested with 

 licks will give anywhere If oiu a quart to as much .as a gallon less milk than 

 one that is not infected with ticks. If they are infest«l with ticks lliey 

 will not recover their normal milk How again until the next period ol 

 lactation. That item itself (and let us place it conservatively at a loss not 

 exceeding $15 a head on each and every milk cow) will make an hem In 

 excess of $75,000,000." 



LOSS OF CONDITION. "When your cattle get infested with -J'kB 

 they get poor They gel thin in flesh and you have to sell them lot kw 

 money. It is a certainly that the difference In value between a poor ow, 

 Infested with the tick, and the value of the cow if she were aoS tkk- 

 iafestcd is coDservativcly, even with our scrub cows, $5 a head, and «o 

 that basis we lose not less than MB.OOO.OOO or $50,000,000 oa Ikai 



COOPER'S CATTLE TICK DIP 



fiaa received the official mpproval of the following Countriea: 



rioiofi of South Afri<a. Northnrn Rhoilesiu. HmzjI. IBoKutoland. 



NyfcMiland SwH/il^nd. Southfrn Rhodesia. Madafjiisear. 



HritlRh East Afritti. German EaMt Africa. Portuifuese East Africa. 



Portu^ue*,* WcKl Afrit ». Ej{yi>t. Ardcnlini- Republic. QueeDslaod. 



Unttrd St.ateK of America. New South Wale?t. 



Northern Tirrilttr.y of AuHtralia. 



WEST INDIAN AGENTS ; 



ANTiaUA; Bennett, Bryxon ^( Co., 5t. John*. 



BAHAMAS: H. T. Bricc, Na.s.wu, N.P. 



BARBADCS: Barbados Co-operative Cotton Co.. SrIdKCtown. 



BRITISH nulANA: T. Qedde.-t (irant, Ltd. 



DOMIMCA: Hon. H. A. I'ramplon. (iUliNADA: Thom.<ian, Hankcy « C«. 



ailAni-:i.<>lll>1-: : The .Slutlon Atrronomluue de la Uuadeloupe. 



Polnt-.\-Pi(re. .lAMAICA: O, Mender.^on & Co.. KloKSton. 



MARTIINIOIII:: ■- Duplan A Co.. i-ort-dc-France. 



MONTSKKRAT: W. Uewellyn Wall. NKVI5: 5. D. Maloaa. 



ST. KITT5: A. I.. Hor.ilord A Co. ST. I.UCIA: Barnard Sena » Ca... 



Cantrlea. ST. VINCENT: Cores & Co., KlncsUwa. 



TRINIDAD & TOBAQO: T. Qcddes (Irant, Ltd. 



AMERICAN VIKQIN ISLANDS: O. H. Scbmlerelaw, St. 



Manirfaclurers : WILLIAM COOPER & NEPHEWS, Berkhamsted, England. 



IIKANCHES : Toraata, Cbirafa, Sydatj, MtlkeiirM, Ascklaad, Bneooi Airei. Monlr VUsa. feat* krmm. 



