EFFECTS OF TICK ERADICATION. 15 
if sold as quarantine cattle. This increase In value of the cattle sold on the 
markets should be inducement enough to make any people exterminate the tick 
without considering the many other benefits which accrue from such work. 
Hinds County, Miss., where the people have made such progress in 
exterminating the tick that the county has been released from quaran- 
tine, was visited. The farm of W. J. Davis & Co. was first inspected. 
On this farm are to be found some fine specimens of the Hereford 
breed of cattle. There is a large herd of them, and all are in excellent 
condition. The breeding cows on pasture were in superb condition 
for grass cattle and showed they had received good treatment during 
the winter months. The young stock looked exceedingly well and 
were very growthy and vigorous, in great contrast with the calves 
usually found in the State. 
In an interview with Mr. Davis he made the following statement: 
There is no doubt about the ill effect which ticks have on all cattle in general 
and young growing stock in particular, but one of the hardest questions we ever 
had to decide was whether or not to eradicate all ticks absolutely from our 
farm, or to try to keep them in check, but still have enough so that all of our 
cattle would get some upon them and thus be accustomed to them. Our situa- 
tion was a peculiar one, for w r e are not raising cattle for beef, but raising pure- 
bred stock to sell to southern farmers for breeding purposes. The amount of 
breeding stock we have sold in the North is small and possibly never' will be 
large, for we want to cater entirely to the southern trade, and it was a ques- 
tion whether we would hold this trade if we got rid of all ticks and could not 
sell our cattle to men who lived in tick-infested districts. We would then be 
in the same position as the northern breeder in regard to selling stock in the 
South. At first we thought it better to keep our premises lightly infested, so 
that we could sell breeding stock to go into quarantine territory, and dip under 
Federal inspection those cattle which we wished to ship into free territory. 
After studying the question seriously, however, from every possible angle, we 
became convinced that with the progress Mississippi was making in tick-eradi- 
cation work it would not be long until most of the State was free from ticks, 
and that the work would evidently make great progress in neighboring States; 
also that in the counties which exterminate the tick are the farmers who are 
first going to buy the largest number of good bulls, for these counties will 
very probably develop quickly into the best live-stock counties of the State. 
Immediately we began regularly dipping all animals and soon cleaned up the 
entire place. Now we are glad of it, for not only are w r e relieved from the 
losses of animals and the stunting of others from tick fever but we see that 
our surmise was right about the men who would purchase our surplus stock. 
All farmers who are progressive enough to desire to raise good cattle or regis- 
tered cattle will interest themselves in tick eradication in order that they may 
raise their stock more profitably. 
The next farm visited was that of Mr. A. A. Morson, of Jackson, 
Miss. Mr. Morson keeps a good herd of Jersey cattle, milking from 
40 to 50 cows at all times of the year. He buys the best Jersey bull 
he can find for the head of his herd, for he recognizes the importance 
of the sire in raising calves for future use. He was two years in get- 
ting his farm completely free of ticks, but he did not get started to 
