TEXAS FEVER. 483 



possible extinction of some particular type especially selected for 

 the improvement of the herd. 



Another instance in which it is difficult to figure the injury done 

 by the ticks is in the case of death of nonimmune cattle in the tick- 

 free pastures of the South. Such animals are as susceptible to Texas 

 fever as nonimmune northern cattle, and inasmuch as there is in 

 many States only one out of every four farms infested with ticks, the 

 cattle on the remaining farms will in many cases contract Texas 

 fever when exposed to the fever tick. These losses can scarcely be 

 computed, as the death rate depends so much on the season of the 

 year when exposure occurs and on the age of the animal affected. 

 However, the deaths among such cattle are considerable, although 

 this fact is little appreciated or understood by many outside the in- 

 fected area. Thus, if we consider one-tenth of the cattle below the 

 line as nonimmunes which contract the disease on exposure to ticks, 

 and if we figure on the death rate of 25 per cent of these animals — 

 a conservative estimate — the loss would amount to 275,000 animals, 

 which, at an estimated value of $20 a head, would amount to a loss 

 of $5,500,000 per annum. This sum, excessive as it may seem, rep- 

 resents a smaller percentage of loss on the total valuation of neat 

 cattle than has been determined by several of the infected States. 



On rare occasions a small outbreak of Texas fever occurs north 

 of the quarantine line as a result of improperly disinfected cars, of 

 unscrupulous dealers breaking the quarantine regulations, or of 

 some accidental condition. Such damage, however, is slight, but 

 should be considered in summing up the loss occasioned by the fever 

 tick. 



The advertisement which a breeder obtains and the sales which are 

 made by having his stock in the show ring are usually lost to the 

 southern cattle raiser who aspires to display his animals in the 

 North, as they are barred from most of these exhibitions. On the 

 other hand, the southern farmer is not given an opportunity to see 

 and be stimulated by the fine specimens of northern cattle which 

 might be shown at southern stock exhibits, for the reason that the 

 danger of contracting Texas fever is too patent to warrant such 

 exposure. The expense incurred by the Government and the States 

 in enforcing the regulations that apply to the quarantine line reaches 

 about $65,000 per annum. 



Another loss which is indirectly sustained by the southern cattle 

 industry through increased freight rates is the cost, to the railroad 

 companies, of cleaning and disinfecting the cars that carry cattle 

 and in providing separate pens for them at various places. This 

 sum may be calculated at not less than $29,000 per annum. 



If all the above-mentioned losses are added it will be found that the 

 Texas-fever tick is responsible for about $40,000,000 of loss annually 



