320 EXPERTMENT STATION RECORD. 



even went so far a.s to say that 1)eef could bo produced in the Sviuth 

 more cheaply than in any other section of the country. Tin -re was 

 also a g'eneral agreement on the proposition that animal husbandry 

 will be the most efficient means for restoi'lng fertility to Southern 

 soils, and that it should become in the near future one of the impor- 

 tant industries of that section. The principal drawbacks to successful 

 beef production in the South were said to l)e the prevalence of Texas 

 fever and the lack of permanent pastures, of w^ell-bred cattle and of 

 knowledge among the farmers regarding the rudiments of stock raising. 



J. C. Robert gave interesting data regarding Texas fever and out- 

 lined a method for eradicating it by ridding the entire country of the 

 cow tick. This could be done, he said, by concerted effort on the part 

 of stock raisers along th(> (piarantine line to rid every animal of ticks 

 and, by practicing a rotation of pastures, to keep cattle off infested 

 pastures until the ticks have disappeared, which would require from 

 8 to 12 months. In this way the quarantine line could be gradually 

 moved southward until the whole country was freed of ticks. The 

 speaker also emphasized the importance of developing a better market 

 for beef cattle and of establishing slaughterhouses in the South. 



A. M. Soule gave figures showing the number of cattle in the 

 Southern States and the value of the same. He also showed that many 

 of these cattle leave the South as stockers and feeders and are fed in 

 the North. He contended that they^ should be fed in the South, that the 

 cotton-seed meal should be utilized as a cattle feed, and that sufficient 

 roughage to go with the cotton-seed meal could be cheaply produced. 

 He quoted figures to show that at tlie Tennessee Station roughage, 

 including silage, has l)een produced at a cost of $1.23 per ton. 



D. W. May gave emphasis to the stat(»ment that the South has the 

 advantage of a larger ^'ariety of forage crops, a longer grazing season, 

 and less need of providing shelter than any other section of the country. 

 He also emphasized the importance of stamping out Texas fever and 

 of improving the herd by the introduction of more well-bred sires. 

 Recent investigations had led him to believe that the influence of good 

 bulls could be greatly extended b}' practicing artificial impregnation 

 which has proven successful in practice among horse breeders. He 

 had found that one drawback to this practice, the death of spermatozoa 

 due to the fermentation of semen, can be avoided by the use of a little 

 glyc(U'in. In this waj^ he kept spermatozoa alive and active 10 hours 

 in a room at a temperature of (\7^' F. and 30 hours in a temperature of 

 00^^ F. He also found that the semen could be diluted and the sperma- 

 tozoa kept alive several hours. 



C. W. Burkett had found the cotton crop to be the great hindrance 

 to the introduction of animal hus])andry. The people must be shown, 

 he said, that animal husbandry is profitable to cotton production. He 

 considered Bermuda grass one of the best grasses for the estal)lishment 



