CATTLE TICK BURNING HURTS FORESTS 



673 



a cattle ranch. The advantages of the 

 denuded pine lands for raising sheep 

 have been amply demonstrated by the 

 farmers of north Calcasieu, who have 

 been raising sheep on this class of land 

 for years with much profit to them- 

 selves. Indeed, so assured are the 

 profits in this business, that the com- 

 pany has already had a chance to sell 

 this enclosed land for a sheep ranch. 



The Long-Bell Company, however, 

 could not be induced to forego, or even 

 delay, its cattle ranch demonstration. It 

 desires not only to show how well 

 adapted the cut-over lands are to stock 



raising, but also to show the advantages 

 to be gained by securing better breeds 

 of cattle. To this end 600 head of 

 native cattle have been placed on the 

 ranch, together with three carloads of 

 thoroughbred graded cattle, mostly 

 Devonshires and Shorthorns. The cat- 

 tle came through the winter in good 

 shape and there is every prospect that 

 the demonstration will be a success. 



The company this year is planting a 

 small acreage of forage crops, and will 

 build three large silos on the ranch this 

 summer to provide feed for its stock. 



CATTLE TICK BURNING HURTS FORESTS 



desire of Missouri farmers to with seedlings, trees have come up from 



rid of the cattle tick has the last seed crop, but these have been 



caused thousands of dollars in loss and will be burned up during the win- 



of pine-timbered sections of the State, ter when the farmers fight the under- 



This has been discovered by Prof. J. brush and cattle tick. Had the Mis- 



A. Ferguson, head of the Missouri souri forests been protected from fire, 



School of Forestry. pine would be growing on every hill 



This loss to Missouri pine forests, in the pine regions. The State would 



according to Prof. Ferguson, is due to be thousands of dollars wealthier in 



the fires set to underbrush to kill the timbered lands had the protection 



ticks. The fires got the ticks to a cer- started many years ago. 

 tain degree, but also got all seedlings "As it is, with the cutting of the pine 



from the pine trees which were ready and the leaving no seed trees, the pine 



to begin new forests to replace those forests of the State will cease to exist, 



felled by the modern timberman. In and the ground wil l become more than 



regard to this discovery, Prof. Fergu- eyer CQvered , Qaks usually of ]itt , e 



son says : yalue 



"We are studying the effect of fire . 



on the forest, especially on the younger I m teaching the boys the methods 



stand and saplings. Fires run through for fighting fires and the best way to 



every year. They are set by farmers kee P the people from being careless 



to keep down the underbrush, to kill with fire in the timbered sections. So 



ticks and to extend the grazing area, far, however, I have found no traces 



These fires have destroyed seedlings or records of raging forest fires, but 



and have prevented the Missouri pine the underbrush fires have curtailed 



from reproducing. Missouri's pine forest wealth an ines- 



"After the ground has been covered timable number of dollars." 



