27 



6. Is there any difference in the average weight of cattle now and before 

 tick eradication began? Answer: Yes, 19.7 percent. 



7. Is there any improvement in the grades of cattle in your county since 

 the work of tick eradication began? Answer: Yes. 



8. Do you use cow manure as fertilizer? If so, state the relative produc- 

 tiveness of land on which it is used as compared with land on which it is not 

 used. Answer: 83 percent. 



The loss expressed in money terms may give a clearer concep- 

 tion of the havoc played by the fever tick. It is estimated that for 

 several years previous to the eradication of the tick in any of the 

 infested areas of Mississippi, 18.5 percent, or 161,000 cattle in the 

 entire state, representing a value of $2,132^,370, died annually from 

 tick fever. 



These statements regarding the benefit brought to the southern 

 states by eradicating the fever tick are sufficient to assure a greater 

 future for stock raising- in these sections. The success with which 

 the eradication has been .effected should stimulate many more 

 farmers to engage in beef production. The secret of the success 

 is the dipping tank. The cow acts as a carrier for the ticks, which 

 are found in the pasture upon grass and weeds. When dipping 

 is regularly practiced, the cow fills the role of conveyor of the 

 ticks from the pasture to the dipping tank until at last the crop 

 is exhausted. A second method of eradication is starvation. Altho 

 it requires nine months to starve the ticks which are in the pasture 

 awaiting- the coming of the host animal, this method can be used 

 with success. 



The control of the tick has opened a new vista for the south- 

 ern farmer. Not only is diversified farming required to control 

 the boll-weevil, but also to build up the once fertile soil that has 

 become depleted by continual cropping and the removal of the en- 

 tire crop from the farm. Consequently successful stock raising of- 

 fers a means of bringing the soil back to its normal productivity. 

 However, the southern farmers lack experience in handling stock, 

 and since they are dependent upon negro labor, it will require some 

 time to establish stock raising on a solid foundation. 



Many sections of the South surpass the corn belt in being" able 

 to produce a greater variety of crops well suited to live-stock 

 production. Cowpeas, velvet beans, alfalfa, vetches, and clovers 

 are deep-rooting legumes which will materially aid in putting the 

 soil in good physical condition. Shallow cultivation has depleted 

 the surface soil, but good cultivation and the growing of deep-root- 

 ing crops should place the land on a productive basis within a, few 

 years. The legumes and grasses will furnish forage the entire year 

 where properly managed, whereas at present the number of cattle as 

 well as other animals is kept reduced below the carrying capacity of 

 the land because the winter season is not provided for. At present 

 the number of cattle per square mile in the South is far below what 



