THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



What it Costs a Country 

 to Keep Ticks 



THE CASE OF THE UNITED STATES 



CATTLK TICK 



Extract fi m VS. Dcpt. of Agriculture, Bulletin So. 261. "The Cattle Tick 

 in its Rein Son t ha 1 tlture" by AUGCST MAYER : — 



"What it costs the Southern States to harbor the cuttle tick is not 

 calculated, bu1 from observation and experience we can estimate 

 tlife loss w ith -' row assurance of approximating the truth. 



BEEF CATTLE. "Below the quarantine line we have 

 >\er 15,000,000 cattle, tin I il farm value of which is given by tl 



irly $1X3,000,000. The dairy cattle arc credited with a value 



■1 about $58,650,000, and the other cattle with "\er si 24.000,000. Prom 



■ : 1 ■ iiui.tt'.- that a shrinkage in value ol 1 



title, othei than dairy cattle, is due to the effects <>i the cattle tick. In 



. numbers tri an a loss ol >25,000,000 for beet cattle." 



DAIRY CATTLE. ■• ] ol dain cattle, considerable damage 



; ienced because of the extra teed required, and the shrinkage in t lie 



ol milk 1 .; festation. tt is believed that an estimate of 



Hu total value of the dairy cattle is not overcharging the tick. This 



means an annual loss of nearh $3, 000, 000 for dairy cattle. Thi total 



depreciation then of southei 1 cattle, on account <>i the tick, would be 



s28. 000,000." 



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

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

 area it was about 3.12 . The total numbei 01 cattle that died in the tick- 

 a during the year ended March 3 i~t, roos, was about 1,250,000. 

 The average farm value ol these southern cattle may be put al $12, 

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

 death in the tick-affected States amounted t.. s 15,000,000. The average 

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

 that in the tick-free Slates, it is not unfair to assume that two-thirds of 



1g - > \ .Uath is directly attributable to the tick, that is slO.OOO.OOO." 



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

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

 pel haps also in the greater prtineuess.it tiok-infested cattle to diseases or 

 mal conditions oi the reproductive organ's." t 



EXCEPTIONAL EXPENDITURE. '* There is also chargeable to the 

 tick the greater expense of providing pasturage or extra teed for the 

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

 .ind for extra care and extra supervision. It 1-- deemed a conservative 



■st ,u tn place the annual loss under this and the previous head at 

 sS. 500,000." 



STUNTING OF GROWTH. "There is another material chargt to 

 ne entered against the tick. Willi tick infestation at babyhood, tl 

 very little chance to bring cattle to early maturity. I'he stunting which 

 they usually receive obliges us to carry them until they are three or more 

 years old. That means two years of extra feed and care, and capital tied 

 up unnecessarily by adverse conditions. It costs easily from $g to $10 per 

 vear to provide and care for a cow ; and to Keep our 12,000,000 beet cattle 

 a year < \i two Longer means, acci irdingh , an extra outlay oi at least 

 $60,000,000." 



■• It is very easily seen that the annual loss sustained by the Southern 

 States to-day must amount yearly to an enormous slOO.OOO.OOO 



■-being named in the Year Book of the Department of Agriculture for 1004." 



' from VS. Deft, oj Agri uUure, Bulletin ?S, on m Texas Fever" by 

 Dr. John R. MOHLER, V.M.D., Chief of the Pathological Division, Bureau of 

 Annual Industry : — 



DECREASED MARKET VALUE. "Animals coming from tick- 

 ■ : disti cts bring an average of one-fourth to one-hair' a cent less 

 per pound than the quoted mar] The handicap that is placed mi 



luthern cattle raiser as a re tult ol tin - decrease in value ol hisstocb 

 will average at the former figure at least si . . pei head, allowing an 

 individual weight of 000 pounds for all classes oi animals : so thai tl 

 On the estimated 705,000 southern cattle mat ly under the- 



in 1 -will sum Up at a loss ol ,sl,057,500 per annum. It will be I I 



that this decreased value rea< ts and fixes the valuation of all cattle which 

 remain in the infected territory, therein- reducing the assets of the cattle 

 industry of that section by this ratio per head for the tour and a half 

 millions oi cattle east ol the Mississippi Kivcr, andthe eleven mill: I 



cattle west of the Mississippi River; or, altogether, the enoi 

 shrinkage in value oi >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 1 quart per day, and the loss 

 occasioned thereby at 3 cents per quart for the $75,000 ticky dairy cattle 

 out oi more than 4.000,000 dairy cattle below the quarantine line, would 

 amount to $26,250 per day. or counting three hundred milking days lot 

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



LOSS OF IMPORTED STOCK. "The damage resulting to the 

 southern purchase! ol northern pure bred or high-grade cattle is another 

 item of n" small moment. About toftof all such cattle taken South die 

 .-I Texas Fever, even alter they are immunized by blood inoculations, and 

 about (jo% of these cattle succumb to Texas Fever when not >«■ treated. 

 Of the approximate 4,<ioo oi such cattle brought South each year, al least 

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

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

 range from $100 to $1,000 or even more, it can readily be conceived that 

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



Extract from a Papei rend by DR. F. BAHN'Sl v Chief Veterinarian 

 Statt oj Georgia, at tin ro/5 Annual Meeting oj the United States Lm ft 

 Sattitary Assot iatiou : - 



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

 and every year not less than $ 150.000,000. Every milk cow in Jested with 

 ticks wili give anywhere from a quart to as much as .1 gallon less milk than 

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

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

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

 exceeding $15 a head on each and ever) milk cow) will make an item in 

 excess 1 $75,000,000." 



LOSS OF CONDITION. "When your cattle get infested with ti< kfl 

 they get poor. Tin * > ■ : in fiesh and yon have to sell them foi less 

 money, u is a certainty that the difference in value between t poor cow, 

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

 infested is conservatively, even with our scrub cows, 85 a head,and ori 

 that basis we lose not less that -45.000.000 ->t -£50,000.000 on that 

 one item." 



COOPERS CATTLE TICK DIP 

 Has received the official approval of the following Countries: 

 Union of South Africa, Northern Rhodesia, Brazil. Ka.sutn.and, 



Nyasaland, Swaziland, Southern Rhodesia. Madagascar, 



British East Africa, German East Africa, Portuguese East Africa, 



Portuguese West Africa, Egypt, Argentine Republic, Queensland, 



United States of America, Northern Territory of Australia. 



WEST INDIAN AGENTS : 



ST. KITTS : S. L. Horsford & Co. ANTIGUA : Bennett. Bryson & Co. 



JAMAICA: IK Henderson & Co., Kingston. 



GRENADA: Thomson, Hankey & Co. 



BARBADOS: Barbados Co-operative Cotton Co., Ltd. 



TRINIDAD: T. Geddes Orant. Port of Spain. 



BRITISH GUIANA: Sandbach, Parker & Co. 



ST. VINCENT: Corea & Co.'. Kingstown. NEVIS: S. D. Malone. 



DANISH WEST INDIES: Carl V. La Beet. St. Thomas. 



MONTSERRAT: W. Llewell) n Wall. DOMINICA: Hon. H. A. Frampton 



ManufactuTers : WILLIAM COOPER & NEPHEWS, Berkhamsted, England 



BRANCHES : Toronto, Chicago, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Buenos Aim. Monte Video. Punta Arena*, East London, Odessa. 



