INFECTIOUS DISEASES OF CATTLE. 489 



ticks is not controlled, the cattle may be so reduced in condition tliat 

 growth is retarded, and. in the case of young animals, they may 

 never become fully developed, but remain thin, weakj and stunted — 

 a condition that has been termed " tick poverty " — and easily suc- 

 cumb to other diseases as a result of lowered vitality. In milch 

 cows this debilitating influence of the numerous ticks is shown 

 in a gi'eatly reduced milk supply. This should not appear strange 

 when it is considered that some animals harbor several thousand 

 of these bloodsucking parasites. If these parasites are crushed, 

 it will be found that their intestines are completely filled with 

 a dark, thick mass of blood abstracted from the animal host and con- 

 taining nutriment that should go to the formation of milk, flesh, and 

 the laying on of fat. In some rare cases the large number of bites 

 over a limited area of skin may be followed by infection with pus- 

 producing organisms, giving rise to small abscesses which may ter- 

 minate in ulcers. The discharge from such sores, or in some cases 

 the mere oozing of blood serum through the incision made by the 

 mouth parts of the ticks, keeps the hair moist and matted together, 

 and the laying and hatching of fly eggs in these areas give rise to 

 infestation with destructive maggots, causing ulcers and other compli- 

 cations that require medical treatment. These statements regarding 

 the secondary injurious efl'ects of cattle ticks also apply to those ticks 

 which have been previously spoken of as harmless in so far as Texas 

 fever is concerned, and, in fact, to all external parasites. Therefore, 

 it is just as important to eradicate the cattle ticks for reasons other 

 than those associated with Texas fever as it is to extenninate lice, 

 fleas, and other vermin. Furthermore, cattle ticks, aside from the 

 losses sustained bj'^ their purely parasitic effects, are the greatest 

 menace to the profitable raising and feeding of cattle in the South, 

 because they are an obstacle to cattle traffic between the infected and 

 noninfected districts. 



LOSS OCCASIONED BY CATTLE TICKS. 



The economic aspect of the tick problem is unquestionably of the 

 greatest practical interest, since the fundamental importance of all 

 the other questions which surround it depends upon the actual 

 money value involved. It would therefore seem advisable to furnish 

 a few statistics showing the financial loss sust^iined by the country 

 as a result of the presence of this parasite. It is well known that 

 those animals, coming from an infected district and sold in the 

 " southera pens " of northern stockyards, bring an average of oue- 

 fourth to one-half a cent less per pound than the quoted market 

 price. The handicap that is placed on the southern cattle raiser as 

 a result of this decrease in value of his stock will average at the 

 former figure at least $1.50 per head, allowing an individual weight 

 of 600 pounds for all classes of animals, so that the loss on the esti- 



