THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



What it Costs a Country 



TO Keep Ticks 



THE CASE OF THE UNITED STATES 





Mstrmtt >#m Pi Dept. of Agricullute. BuU/Mn Ne. a6t. " The OttUe Tick 

 in it! Rrtatitoi to Sviilhern .igriluUmrt," by AUGUST MaTKR : — 



" Wbat It costs, the Southern States to harbor the cattle tick is not 

 (aaily calculated, but from obser\ation and experience we can estimate 

 this lo«e with some a^suninct ot ;ippr<)ximating the truth. 



BEEF CATTLE. " Below the quarantine line we have something 



er 15,000,000 cattle, the total farm value 01 which is given bv the last 



. ensus ae nearly $183,000,000. The dairv- cattle are credited with a value 



■f about $58,650,000, and the other cattle with ij\er j; 124,000.000. From 



obserx-ation and experience I estimate that a shrinl;a_i;e in value of 2o2 in 



Httle. other than dairy cattle, is due to the eftecls 01 the cattle tick. In 



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



DAIRY CATTLE. " In the ca,se of dairr cattle, considerable damage 



■ experienced twcau&e of the extra feed required, and the shrinkage in the 

 now of milk caused by tick infe^tation. It is believed that an estimate of 

 5.t of the total value of the dair} cattle is not overcharging the tick. This 

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

 depreciation then' of southern cattle, on accopnt of the tick, would be 

 t28.000.000." 



BIOEOIB DEATH KATE. "The average death rate among cattle in 

 •.ht tick-infested area for the year 1904-5 was about 8.53% ; in the tick-free 

 axes it was about 3.12*. The total number of cattle tlmt died in the lick- 

 infated area during the year ended March 31st, I(K>i. was about 1.250.000. 

 The average farm value of these southern cattle niav be put at S12, 

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

 death in the tick-aCFected States amounted to $15,000,000. The a\ crage 

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

 that in the tick-free States, it is not unfair to assume that two 1 birds of 

 r- ' lo^5 by death is directly attributable to the tick, that is $10,000,000." 



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

 •gainst the '.icl: in the redncfion of the fecundity of the femiUe cattle, and 

 perhapa also in the grea;. 1 j>roneness of tick-infested cattle to diseases or 

 abnonnal conditions o: the reproductive organs." 



EXCEPTIONAL EXFENDITUBB. " There is al.«o chargeable to the 

 tiCJi the greater expense of providing pasturage or extra feed for the 

 cattlr during heavy infestation, for dip* and other preventive measures, 

 and for extra care and extra supenision. It is deemed .t conservative 

 estlnuUe to place the annual Iocs under this and the pre\'ious head at 



je.soo.ooo." 



STtJNTrNO OF OBOWTH. " There is another material charge to 

 r t catered a^iost the tick. With tick infestation at babyhood, there is 

 v«ry UCtle chance to taring cattk to eariv maturity. The stunting wliich 

 tfcijr ■■■aliy recave oblife* us to carry them until they ;u-e three or more 

 ^■■B aH That meant two jtmn otf extra feed ai>d care, and capital tied 

 a^^mece larily by m &tv m oondiiioia. It coets easily from $5 to )io per 

 ymr tn jgr' ride and care for a cow ; and to keep our 13,000,000 beef cattle 

 » J— r cr two longer means, accordingly, an extra oatlay of at least 



^ * lt» very caaU; tarn that the jMnnal km sustained by tbc Soothtrn 

 fMM t»Ay ■■■( i mramt nMlrto an eaocmons sum — 1100,000,000 

 *<JtttmtDea In the Year Boot oif tbc DcfvtaMBl ot Apicattore for 1904.' 



Extract Jrom US. Dtpi. oj AgricuUmre, BmOtUu ft, on 'Tczai farr,' ty 



Dr. JOHK R MOHLKR, V.^D.. ChuJ of tht PatMogical Division. Bureau of 



^Atiimal Industry: — 



DECREASED MARKET VALUE. "Animals coming from ti(k- 

 mfected districts bring an average of one-fourth to one-half a cent less 

 per pound than the quoted market p.-ice. The handicap that is placed on 

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

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

 individual weight of 600 pounds for all classes of animals ; so that the loss 

 on the estimated 705,000 southern cattle marketed vearly under these con- 

 ditions will sum up at a loss of $1,057,500 per annum. It will be found 

 th.tt this decreased value reacts an<: tixes the valuation of all cattle which 

 remain in the infected territory, thereby reducing the assets of the cattle 

 industry of that section by this ratio per head for the four and a hall 

 millions of cattle east 01 the Mississippi River, and the eleven millions d 

 cattle west of the Mis^issippi Kiver; 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 

 cattle harboring many ticks will average i quart per day, and the kws 

 occasioned iheiebv al 5 cents per quart tor Ihc .S75,ooo ticky dairy cattle 

 out of more than 4,000,000 dairy cattle below tlie quarantine line", would 

 amount to $26,250 per da;-, or counting three hundred milking days for 

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



LOSS OF IMPORTED STOCK. "The damage resulting to the 

 southern purcliascr of northern pure bred or liigli-grade cattle is another 

 item of no small moment. .About 10% of all such cattle t.aken South die 

 of Texas Fever, even after they are imnmnized by blood inoculations, and 

 about iio% of these c.ittle succumb to Texas Fever when not so treated 

 Of the approximate 4,600 of such cattle bn>u,;;lit South each year, at least 

 460 die of Texas Fever. The loss entailed would naturallv depend on the 

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

 range from $100 to *i,ooo or even more, it can readily be concci\Kl -h.it 

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



Extract from a Paper read ty DR. F. Bahnsen. Chief Veterinarian 0/ tU 



State of Gicr^in, at Hit 1111$ Anmiiit Mativg of the United Slates Ittr Sir, » 



Sttiiitary Associiition : — 



IXISS OP MILK. "Tick infestation costs the Southern States eaih 

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

 ticks will give anywhere irom a quart to a.s much .ts a gallon less milk than 

 one that is not infected with ticks. If they are infested with ticks they 

 will not recover their normal milk flow again until the next period <i| 

 lactation. That item itself (and let 11s place it conservatively at a loss i>»>t 

 exceeding $15 a head on each and every milk cow) will make an iteni in 

 excess of $75,000,000. ' 



LOSS OF CONDITION, "When your cattle get infested with beta 

 they get poor. They get thin in flesh and you have to sell them for Ie«i 

 money. It is a certainty that the difference in value between a poor cow, 

 infested with the tick, and the value of the cow if she were not tieh- 

 Infested is conservatively, even with our scrub cows, $5 a head, and os 

 that basis we lose not less than ^5,000,000 or $50,000,000 «■ itat 

 one item." 



COOPglt'S CATTLE TICK DIP 



I rmctnveJ tha officieiS approval of the following ConntH^t 



I ol Sooth Airlu, Northen Khodesla. Braiil, Banutolaai, 



Nyisaland, Swailland, Soatbern Rhoderia, Madagascar, 



Brillfh nasi Africa, Oermao East Africa, Portuguese East Africa, 



P*rtojtn»t West Alriiii, Egypt. Arjcnlinc Republic, Oueen(.laad, 



Unlltd Stalet. ol AmericE. N'ew Soulh Wales. 



^ Norlbtrn Terrilorv cl Australia. 5T. I.IICIA: Barnard »ons & Co., Cn.»trie«. 



Man.ifacturers : WILLIAM COOPER & NEPHEWS, Berkhamsted, Esio!;^ > j. 



IfHANCIii.^ ' InivLkL. Cittca^c, Svubc). i^icibpurtic. AuchUiuI, Buftoot Aire*, 5ioiiu Videc. PiwU Arciuu, East Londua. 0*ii<M^ 



WEST mPIAN AGENTS, 



•T.KITTAt .S. U HoraiDnlAC*. ANTiaUA: ISsonett. UryMn A Ca> 



JAMAICA t D, Itaa^MMo * C«., tClnsaten. 



QRBNAOAt ThenMo, Haakey * Co. 



BARBADOS: B'.arbados Co-operative Cotton Ca„ l.tA. 



BAHAMAS: W, N. Twjrnam, NmSiMU. 



TRINIDAD: T. Oeddu Qnint. Port at Spain. 



RKITISH OUIANA: Sandbach, I'arker & Co. 



ST. VINCENT: Corea A Co.. Ktairstown, NKVI.S; :>, I), Malnne. 



DANISH WEST INOieS: Cwl V. I.a Itect, .«t. Thomiiv. 



MONTSEKRAT; W. Llewellyn Wall. UOMIMC A: Hon. H. A. rram.Mnn. 



