164 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ress and results so far attained have more than justified the expense. 

 The three diseases a<^ainst which our administrative etforts have 

 been chiefly directed are Texas fever of cattle, sheep scab, and cattle 

 mange. 



The boundary of the area infected with Texas fever was located 

 by the department between the years 1882 and 1885, and since that 

 time a quarantine has been maintained, and there have been restric- 

 tions on the movement of cattle from the quarantined area so as to 

 prevent the spread of the disease. The discovery that the tick is the 

 carrier and disseminator of Texas fever was made by scientists of 

 the Bureau of Animal Industry in 1890, and the eradication of the 

 tick has long been believed to be possible. No systematic effort, 

 however, to eradicate these ticks was undertaken until 1906. In that 

 year Congress made an appropriation for this purpose, and the work 

 was begim in cooperation with authorities of the affected States. 



"\^1ien it was first proposed to undertake the extermination of the 

 Texas-fever ticks this was regarded by many as an impossible task, 

 but it was soon proven to be not only possible but practicable. Since 

 the work was begun in 1906 about 165,000 square miles have been 

 freed of the ticks and released from quarantine. This is equal to 

 more than the combined areas of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, 

 and is nearly one-fourth of the total area infected at the time of 

 beginning the work. 



The objects of eradicating the ticks and thereby stamping out the 

 disease are to give the cattle owners of the quarantined area an 

 unrestricted market for their cattle, thereby enabling them to obtain 

 better prices; to prevent the losses due to the tick as a transmitter 

 of disease and also as a simple parasite; to increase the number 

 and improve the quality of cattle in the South; to increase the 

 fertility of the soil by promoting cattle raising, and to improve agri- 

 cultural conditions generally. The losses due to the cattle tick are 

 conservatively estimated at from $60,000,000 to $100,000,000 a year. 



The eradication of cattle ticks is an important step in the agricul- 

 tural regeneration of the South. The presence of this parasite has 

 been a great handicap to cattle raising there, but with the tick out 

 of the way the fine natural advantages of that section for cattle 

 raising will enable the southern farmers to build up a profitable 

 industry and add greatly to the country's beef supply, wdiich is now 

 running short. The eradication of the tick is also important for the 

 development of the dairy industry. 



SHEEP SCAB. 



In 1899, owing to complaints from England that American sheep 

 shipped to that country were frequently found to be infected with 

 scabies, the department issued the first order relating to interstate 



