: 593 "5 U6 >py 1 Department of Agriculture, U.S. Information relative to the tion of ticks in Alabama. 62d Congress, > SENATE. j Document 1st Session. \ \ No. 47. ERADICATION OF CATTLE TICKS IN ALABAMA. LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE, TRANSMITTING INFORMATION IN RESPONSE TO SENATE RESOLUTION OF MAY 11, 1911, RELATIVE TO THE ERADICATION OF CATTLE TICKS IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA. June 14, 1911. — Referred to the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and ordered to be printed. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary, Washington, June 13, 1911. . To the President of the Senate : Referring to Senate resolution dated May 11, 1911, I have the honor to transmit herewith, by direction of the President, a memo- randum setting forth in detail the operations of this department in the eradication of cattle ticks in the State of Alabama. Very respectfully, James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture. STATEMENT OF TICK ERADICATION IN ALABAMA. In the year 1906, when this department undertook the work of tick eradication in Alabama, it was considered advisable to begin in the area north of the Tennessee River on account of that section being adjacent to the area where ticks had already been eliminated. At that time there was no adequate State law under which the work could be successfully prosecuted, and no State funds were available for that purpose. However, the outlook was good for favorable action by the legislature at the coming session, and therefore considerable work was done by this department in the counties of Limestone and Madison, 2 ERADICATION OF CATTLE TICKS IN ALABAMA. with the view of ascertaining general conditions, locating infection, and creating an interest in order that an active campaign might be taken up during the following spring. From May 1 to August 31, 1907, from five to eight persons were employed by the department in Limestone and Madison Counties, and tick eradication was pushed until September 1 of that year, when it was necessary to withdraw on account of the action of the Alabama Legislature, which practically annulled the good results which might have followed the expenditure by the department of approximately $3,600. This act of the legislature made the State live stock sanitary law inoperative in all counties in which a maj ority of the area was not under stock law. The State veterinarian then requested that cooperative work be taken up in the black belt in the south-central portion, representing that a stock law had been in force in that section for many years and that the conditions were favorable for tick eradication. How- ever, no employees of the department were detailed to that section until the following spring. Since the spring of 1908 the depart- ment has also done tick eradication in the counties of Butler, Dallas, Elmore, Jackson, Lauderdale, Limestone, Lowndes, Madison, Ma- rengo, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, and Wilcox, as follows: Butler County. — Educational work was conducted for a period of five days during November, 1909, at an expense to the department of $42.55 with a view to creating an interest in tick eradication and later extending the work in that direction. However, this has not yet been done and the cattle are not free from ticks. Dallas County. — At the instance of the State veterinarian coopera- tive work in tick eradication was taken up with the local authorities on May 11, 1908, and has continued, and at the close of April 30, 1911, $11,357.62 had been expended by the department. The work done during the year 1908 was largely educational and demonstrative. Since that time systematic inspections have been conducted to ascer- tain the conditions and get the cattle disinfected. While the results have not been entirely satisfactory on account of the failure of the local authorities to control the movement of cattle throughout the year by enforcing the State laws and regulations, yet much good has been accomplished and the work is progressing fairly well, but the cattle are not yet all free from ticks. Elmore County. — Cooperative work in tick eradication was taken up with the local authorities on March 1, 1909, and has continued, and up to April 30, 1911, $8,270.11 had been expended by the depart- ment. This consisted in educational and demonstration work, and inspections to ascertain the conditions and get the cattle systematic- ally disinfected. The progress has not been entirely satisfactory on account of the failure of the local authorities to control the movement of cattle throughout the year by enforcing the State laws and regu- lations. However, much good has been accomplished, but the cattle are not yet all free from ticks. Jackson County. — Because of the desirability of eradicating ticks from this section on account of its location adjacent to the nonquar- antined area, representatives of the department have visited this county from time to time between September 1, 1910, and April 30, ERADICATION OF CATTLE TICKS IN ALABAMA. 6 1911, at an expense of $565.85, to confer with the county officials and cattle owners and do educational work to create an interest in tick eradication. On account of the free range condition and the opposi- tion on the part of many cattle owners to the control of their cattle, regular cooperative work has not yet been taken up in this county and the cattle are not free from ticks. The opposition is being over- come as a result of the educational work, and it is expected that the people will soon be ready for cooperative tick eradication. Lauderdale County. — Because of the desirability of eradicating ticks from this section on account of its location adjacent to the non- quarantined area, representatives of the department have visited this county from time to time between September 1, 1910, and April 30, 1911 , at an expense of $551.70, to confer with the county officials and cattle owners and do educational work to create an interest in tick eradication. On account of the free range condition and the oppo- sition on the part of many cattle owners to the control of the move- ment of cattle regular cooperative work has not yet been taken up in the county, and the cattle are not free from ticks. The opposition is rapidly subsiding, and it is expected the people will soon be ready for cooperative tick eradication. Limestone County. — Representatives of the department have vis- ited the county from time to time since September 1, 1910, to confer with the county officials and cattle owners and do educational work. Cooperative work was taken up on March 1, 1911, and the county authorities appointed four inspectors, and one representative of the department was assigned to this county. However, at the meeting of the county commissioners on April 1, 1911, petitions were pre- sented protesting against the continuation of tick eradication. The services of the county inspectors were then discontinued and the rep- resentative of the department was therefore withdrawn. The cattle are not free from ticks. The expense incurred by the department was $964.47. Lowndes County. — At the instance of the State veterinarian cooper- ative work in tick eradication was taken up with the local authorities on May 1, 1908. During that year educational and demonstration work was done. In the spring of 1909 systematic inspections were begun to ascertain the conditions and get the cattle disinfected. The results have not been satisfactory on account of the opposition to the control of the movement of cattle and the failure of the local authorities to enforce the State laws and regulations. During the fall of 1910 the county commissioners discontinued the services of the local inspectors and permitted cattle to run at large, and local inspectors have not been reappointed. Cooperative work was there- fore discontinued. Much good has been accomplished, but the cattle are not all free from ticks. The expense incurred by the department was $10,428.37. Madison County. — Cooperative tick eradication was taken up with the local authorities on March 1, 1910, and has continued at an expense to the department of $3,724.37 up to April 30, 1911. The cattle have not all been freed from ticks, but satisfactory progress has been made. Marengo County. — At the instance of Hon. George W. Taylor, Member of Congress, and cattle owners, educational and demonstra- 4 ERADICATION" OP CATTLE TICKS IN ALABAMA. tion work was done from July 20 to November 30, 1909, and from April 1 to May 31, 1910, at an expense of $853.68 to the department, but systematic inspections and disinfection of the cattle were not taken up and continued for the reason that the local authorities did not see fit to take the necessary action to control the movement of cattle throughout the year. The cattle are not free from ticks. ■ Monroe County. — Educational and demonstration work was done for a period of i3 days during January, 1909, at an expense to the department of $123.97, with a view to creating an interest in tick eradication and extending the work in that direction. Systematic cooperative work has not yet been taken up, and the cattle are not free from ticks. Montgomery County. — The work in this county has been under the immediate direction of State representatives. However, representa- tives of the department have visited the county from time to time since the spring of 1908 to ascertain the conditions and assist in the work at an expense of $2,455.53. The cattle are not yet all free from ticks. Perry County. — Educational and demonstration work was done in this county from January 20 to February 28, 1909, and from April 1 to November 15, 1910, at an expense to the department of $2,088.90. Systematic cooperative work has not yet been taken up with the local authorities, but considerable good has been accomplished. The cattle are not free from ticks. Pickens County. — Educational and demonstration work was done in the portion of this county west of the Tombigbee Eiver for a period of seven days during November, 1910, at an expense to the depart- ment of $76.35, with a view to inducing the cattle owners to eradi- cate ticks and have that section ready for release from quarantine by the time the adjacent territory in Mississippi will be ready. The cattle are not free from ticks. Sumter County. — At the instance of Hon. R. P. Hobson, Member of Congress, and cattle owners, cooperative tick eradication was taken up with the local authorities on July 1, 1909, and has been continued at an expense to the department of approximately $6,500 up to April 30, 1911. The work has been considerably hampered by the opposition of some of the citizens to the control of the move- ment of the cattle throughout the year. However, a majority of the county commissioners have taken an active interest in tick eradica- tion and have used their best eiforts to have the State laws and regu- lations relating to this work enforced. All the cattle are not free from ticks, but fair progress has been made. Wilcox County. — At the instance of the State veterinarian coopera- tive tick eradication was taken up with the local authorities on June 1, 1908, and continued until August, 1910, at an expense to the department of $9,103.47. Cooperative work was discontinued for the reasons that the local authorities did not see fit to take the necessary action to enforce the State laws and regulations for the control of the movement of cattle throughout the year and dis- continued the services of their inspectors. The cattle are not free from ticks, but the conditions are improved. ERADICATION OF CATTLE TICKS IN" ALABAMA. 5 The following is a list of the persons now employed by the depart- ment in tick eradication in the State of Alabama, showing the counties to which they are assigned, the States from which appointed, the salaries paid, and the expenses allowed: Counties. Names. Appointed from — Salary per annum. Expenses allowed. Dr. J. E. Bender Dr. A. E. Zumwalt. .. Dr. E. E. Parker Dr. J. P. Bushong Dr. R. A. Stephens. . . Dr. G. A. Handley Ohio $1, 600 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,600 1,400 1,400 1,400 1125 Actual traveling expenses and subsistence while away from official station. Do. Do Do. New Jersey Ohio Do. Do Do. Sumter do Do. Do Dr. E. B. Shaw Dr. Sid Gait... Do. Do Do. Wm. Youngblood Do. derdale. 1 Per month. o Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/eradicationofcatOOunit MW.ORD BROS. MAKERS 'SIBACUSE - nx LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 002 838 665 5