STORY OF CATTLE-FE\'ER TICK 15 



they "will pet rid of the ticks in their county in a single year. All 

 the cattle in the county must be dipped. It will not do to dip some 

 cattle and let others go undipped. The undip}K'd cattle will spread 

 egg-laying ticks along the roads and in the free pastures and woods. 

 The eggs whicli these ticks lay will hatch into seed ticks that will 

 get on undipped cattle. Those that do not get on to cattle during 

 the dipi)ing season may still be alive in the pasture in the fall. 

 They may then get back on to the dipped cattle when it is too cold 

 to dip cattle again in the medicine. 



Every cow, steer, or calf that is not dipped in the medicine regu- 

 larly is liable to carry and spread ticks wherever it goes. So long 

 as there are any ticks alive on any of the cattle the county can not 

 get entirely rid of ticks, 



HORSES AND MULES ALSO MUST BE DIPPED 



Fever ticks sometimes hide on horses and colts and mules. They 

 do not cause fever in these animals. The few ticks that are on 

 horses and mules must be killed or the seed ticks which hatch from 

 their eggs will get on cattle. Therefore, it is necessary to make 

 horses and colts and mules, as well as cattle, swim through the 

 medicine. 



IT PAYS TO DIP CATTLE 



It does not cost anyone much money to dip the animals. All the 

 people of the county help pay for the vats, the medicine, and for 

 the dipping inspectors. 



Where people want to get rid of the ticks the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, without cost to the county, will send 

 trained men to help the county build vats, mix the medicine, and 

 (lij) the cattle. 



The extra money the people will make from their cattle will pay 

 them back many times for the money they spend for dii)ping. The 

 extra money will pay farmers well for all the time they use in 

 driving their cattle to the vats. 



QUARANTINE NECESSARY 



These ticks were so dangerous to cattle in tick-free country that 

 the United States Government said that no cattle with fever ticks 

 on them should be shi[)j)('d out of a ticky State to go to fai-ms where 

 there were no fcNcr ticks. This is called a "(juai-amine '' to pi'event 

 the spread of tick fever. The (Joveinment made this rule because 

 these fever ticks would give the fever to tick-free cattle nud kill 

 them. 



This rule makes it harder for owners of ticky cattle to ship their 

 cattle to the big cattle markets in other States. 



Ticky cattle bring lower prices per jjound than tick-free cuttle. It 

 is more trouble and it costs more to get ticky cattle ready for 

 shipment. 



