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HEARSTS SUNDAY AMERICAN, ATLANTA, GA., SUNDAY, MAY 18, 1913.
Farmers Throw Millions Away
On Wrong Kind of Fertilizer
— ♦—
Prescriptions Should Bo Obtained for Land Just As for Sick Members
of Family. Modern Analysis Aids Agriculturist in This
Way by Determining Physical Characteristics of Soil.
This Striking Contrast
Shows Ravages of Tick
Scrub bull raised among ticks and suffered from the disease.
Age years; weight, 460 lbs.
By CHARLES A. WHITTLE.
GEORGIA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE.
O NE of those day* a farmer will
not think of buying fertilizer
without knowing what kind to
buy.
Were a farmer to purchase hi*
clothing as he does his fertilizer Jie
would write:
"Please send me by parcel post one
suit of clothes."
Tht* matter of size, style and price
would be omitted a* non-essential*.
The chAnces are, when the suit ar
rives, that it was made to fit lorn*
other man.
Just so with the average farmer.
“Please send me fertilizer,” he writes,
and the chance* are, when he get*
it, that ha haul thrown away a .
part of his money for something his
soil doe* not need. As if the man
who ordered a work suit should find
that it had “scissor tails,” or some
several inches excess space tore and
aft.
Quite differently, the future farmer
will place his order for so much ni
trates, so much potash, so much phos
phorus. He will probably mix these
on his own premises, but if he does
not he will be certain that what h1s
land needs and he wants, he get*.
Soil Must be Analyzed.
Before lie can know how much of
these main fertilizer Ingredients to
buy, his soil must he analyzed and
tested, Enter the chemist. With his
fumy laboratory he determines how
much nitrogen, phosphorous and pot
ash therein exists. The chemist has
a formula or standard of how much
a soil ought to have of these various
Ingredients of nlant food, to develou
crops successfully. Knowing this he
can compare his findings with his
standard and say that the soil is de
ficient or has sufficient of this or that
kind of plant food.
Next enters the agronomist Into the
plot, who using the findings of the
chemist, proceeds to determine Dy
actual field practices what amount of
the plant food is available for plant
development and how the limiting
factors inav be overcome by growing
the right kind of crops.
Put another way. the soli physi
cians who have been licensed to prac
tice, will be called upon to diagnose
the case and prescribe the dosage.
With prescription^ in hand, the far
mer can then go to the soil apothe
cary, the fertilizer dealer, and get
what he had need of.
States Supplement Federal Work.
The United States bureau of Agri
culture is authorized to make physi
cal surveys of soils, that is, to de
termine the types of soils. This Is
yr— useful, but for various reasons
the same soil type does not carry ev
erywhere the same proportions of
plant food. Hence, It has been con
sidered necessary to go further, fol
low up the physical analysis and
learn definitely the amount of nlant
food of a given tvne of soil In a
county, the tests being made on sam
ples taken from a number of points
in the county >0 that a pretty close
average can be obtained for the entire
area of that type of soil in the coun
ty. All kinds of soil are thus tested
and when it is announced that there
has been a soil survey and a chemi
cal analyses of a county made val
uable information Is In hand for
working out a program for the con
servation of the fertility of the soil
and for upbuilding the land.
Thus far it has been left to the
colleges of agriculture through initia
te n of state enterprise, to finish the
work which the federal government
is doing, and makes the chemical
analyses of the soil types together
with the field tests a state matter.
Only a few states have done very
much in this respect and it Is to ttm
credit of the South that some of it«
states have been with the leaders m
this undertaking.
Determines Need of Humus.
To know how much of this and that
element of plant food there is in a
soil would seem to be all that need
be known In the purchase of fertil
izer. But far from It A chemical
analysis may show a large amount of
nitrogen in the soil but actual tests
may show that only a very sma’l
amount of it can be got at by the
plant during a season. What is the
matter? Perhaps the soil Is toAacid.
Acidity holds In check certalir bac
teria in the soil which must the ni
trogen into food for the plant. Sweet
en the soil with lime, the acid is neu
tralized, bacteria become active and
the nitrogen is taken up by the plant.
Therefore it is very important that
the acidity test be made of soils. This
the chemist who is making the analy
sis of the soil, does in addition io
finding out the food elements.
Enough has been learned of the
bacteria operating In the soil to make
sure that whatever favors their de
velopment likewise favors the growth
of plants. It becomes Important,
therefore, to look into the soil for
bacterial food. Bacteria are organ
isms and feed on organic matter. Hof
much organic matter is in the soil?
If it is slight then bacteria will be
Inert and the growing plants will feed
sparingly upon the food contents of
the soil. If it is aboundant, and the
soil is not sour and there is no other
hindering cause, a maximum of plant
food will be taken up.
Organic Matter Present.
It is thus plain that a soil survey
and soil analysis would.be far from
complete if it were not determined for
the farmer whether his soil were sup
plied with organic matter or not. ani
if deficient, how much so.
But even when the farmer has
learned what elements of plant food
his soil contains whether or not the
soil is acid and whether organic mat
ter or humus exists in sufficient quan
tity, he may still fall to get out of
the soil what it would seem that ne
has a right to exnect.
Somehow -lants poison themselves
excreting something that makes it
more and more difficult for the same
kind of plant to sret from the same
soil year after year the required food.
Perhaps it is not poison or toxin, but
that is the wisest looking guess that
has been made in explanation of ^
very plain fact that the same kind
of plants on the same soil year after
year not only do not get as mm*a
food but not as much as the analysis
shows is there for them to get.
Furthermore, while one cannot say
for a certainty that these soil lim
itations are toxins, it is a fact that
the toxins or limiting factors what
ever they are, offset by a crop rota
tion. The toxin of corn will not hin
der legumes and vice versa, and so
with other crops.
The soil surveyor, the chemist nor
the agronomist can furnish from the
laboratory tho final formula for ex
tracting from a given soil all of the
plant food, or as much as the growing
crop needs. Field tests must bo
made.
Chemist's Information.
The agronomist taking the Informa
tion that the chemist ha* furnished
places here and there on the soil
types plats on which he plants the
crops the soil best favors. If the
soil is acid, ho determines how much
lime is needed to correct it. When
the first crops have been taken from
the soil he at least, can tell the far
mers whether or not lime has helped
the yield. The second year’s crop
may reveal how well the soil has re
sponded to a fertilizer of a given for
mula. Before the experiments have
gone many years it would seem that
it will have been determined with al
most absolute accuracy exactly how
much nitrogen, how much phosphorous
and how much potash is required to
qjilcken and call out of the soli Its
natural supply.
One might hastily conclude that
since these plat tests are to be mad *
anyway, that there is no need of all
the soil survey work and chemical
analysis. This would be far amiss.
The Information which the soil sur
vey and the chemical analysis af
fords is a basis on which to work. To
operate without this would be largely
guess work, at least, long and often
Ineffectual experimenting.
of great importance to the farmer
Is the rotation experiment. What
crops to grow, what crop should suc
ceed another and how often one
should return to the starting point m
the rotation, is information which the
Southern farmer must have and put
into practice or quit. The limit of
the land’s sndurance has been about
reached for single cropping.
Test of Crop Varieties.
It is therefore worth wnlle that the
testing of the fertility of the lands
Includes also testing for crop varie
ties and especially for right crop ro
tations. This Is what is being accom
plished on the plats along with the
determination of fertilizer require
ments.
A crop rotation naturally includes
a program for contributing to the soil
a large amount of organic or vege
table matter as possible In view' of
the great lack of it in southern soils.
It is of supreme importance that the
Southern farmer have regard to cry
of his soil for humus or organic mat
ter.
Cyril O. Hopkins, of Illinois, has
estimated that it requires 74 pounds
of nitrogen, 27 pounds of phosphoric
acid and 42 pounds of potash to pro
duce BO bushels of corn. He also has
estimated that It requires 84 pounds
of nitrogen, 34 pounds of phosphoric
acid and 41* pounds of potash to pro
duce one bale of cotton per acre. All
these plant food constituents do not
go into the grains of corn or the cot
ton lint but go to produce both corn
and stalk in corn and lint, seed and
stalk in cotton.
Bacteria Perpetuate Plants.
Scientists very generally know that
a soli may have very little nitrogen
and yet grow legumes, for the reason
that there is a species of bacteria that
forms on the roots of the legume and
produces nitrpgen from the air in con
dition for the growing plant itself to
feed upon.
And so it is with a great variety
of plants, the agronomist knows what
soil element they will draw upon most
and will plan a crop rotation accord
ing to the supplv in the soil. The far
mer could hardly be expected to find
out such things. In the processes of
trying this and thnt and keep trying,
to find out which crop will grow best
he will often have crop failures and
may deplete his soil when with right
rotation he could be building it up.
The more that is learned of what
the soil contains that plrtnts need
and the more that Is learned of how-
plants get at this food, the more de
pendent the farmer becomes upon the
chemist and scientists in general for
the knowledge of what to grow and
how to grow that he may be in a win
ning game.
The dependence of the farmer upon
the scientist is greater in this coun
try than in any other, for the reason
that soil has been so plentiful and
cheap that the farmer has given very
little concern about holding the soil
fertility or building It. Not so in
the Old World where the .carefullest
husbandry is practiced, where a ma
nure heap is such a proud possession
of a farmer that it Is said that in
parts of rural France it is the chief
adornment of the front yards.
Origin of Soil.
One of the chief considerations in
the survey which the Federal Gov
ernment makes through its bureau of
agriculture, Is the origin of the soil
This largely characterizes a soil
Originally most >f the soil was solid
rock. Frost, rain, bacteria, chemical
change have disintegrated the solid
rock at the surface and formed soil.
Vegetation has gained a foothold and
has returned in decaying vegetable
form more than it took from the soil,
for in its grow th it has obtained fro n
the air some of the elements of food
for years and years, centuries and
centuries vegetable life made this
contribution before man came upon
the scene. In bogs and around coni
reefs very much of the soil has be®,
contributed primarily through vege
table growth and accumulation.
When tho surveyor has found from
what kind of rock the soil has been
made he has some knowledge of what
the chemical constituents of the soil
are, for rocks of a class wherever
found, have much the same constit
uents. If the soil has a granite base,
some idea of the contents is known
when it is known how granite ana
lyzes. But obviously there are the
many other factors entering in to
make the rock analysis a safe cri
terion. It has been considered that
soils must be analyzed as has been
described.
Farmers Benefit.
What does the farmer get out of
all this? It is primarily designed to
help the farmer and by the measure
of its use to the farmer is it to be
judged. Briefly stated the farmer
extent
6— To what crops the soli type Is
adapted.
7— What rotation of crops Is heat
suited to the soil type.
8— What amounts of fertilizer are
necessary to call out the natural
stores of the soli to largest useful
ness, under field practices.
9— What crop the soil best favors
for use in restoring humus to the
soil.
TICKS HAVE KEPT
GEORGIA BACK II
CATTLEINOUSTRYj
South Could Be Great Beef
Raising Country, but for
Vicious Little Pests.
QUARANTINE BIG HELP
Dipping Only Real Preventative
Available—Vats Should Be
Established.
Fowl Cholera
Care and prevention
of dread diseases which
makes heavy inroads
into many flocks. Cleanliness and freedom from mites
first step in guarding birds. Kills within a few days,
and should be actively combated at the first sign of
outbreak.
-By JUDGE P. J. MARSHALL
Well bred beef bull raised in South after ticks have been eradicated,
months; weight, 1135 lbs.
Age, 2 years, 6
iiriiish ire is
1— A knowledge of the amount of
plant food contained in the soil.
2— A knowledge of the amount of
the various kinds of plant food in the
soil.
3— A knowledge of how much :hi
soil lacks in coming un to standard
requirements in each of the plant food
elements.
4 — A knowledge of whether or not
his soil needs lime to correct acidity.
5—Whether or not his soil lacks in
humus or organic matter and to what
Farmers Urged to Cultivate It by
Department of Agriculture
Experts.
NEW YORK, May 17.—After sever
al years of experimenting in the South
the Department of Agriculture at
Washington is ready to advise far
mers in the warmer parts of the Unit
ed States to grow varnish trees and
will help start the new crop, which
w-ith care, should bring good profits,
even on ordinary land.
Last year the United States import
ed 6,000.000 gallons of tung oil, ex
pressed from the seeds of the Chinese
tung or wood-oil tree, an oil which in
recent years has had a revolutionary
effect on the varnish industry. II
makes a high grade, quick drying
varnish with only slight tendency to
crack.
Tree Native of China.
The tree which produces this var
nish is a native of the Yangtse River
region. In some respects it resembles
the catalpa; in the spring It is covered
with large flower clusters beforw the
leaves appear.
The tree begins to bear fruit when
four or five years old. The fruit is f h'i
size of small apples, each containing
four or five large oil seeds. The yield
of these seeds in China is 30 to 75
pounds to the three. The oil from the
seeds constitutes nearly 25 per cent
of their substance. The apple like
fruit would be worth 25 to 40 cents
a bushel, and when the trees are
planted 20 feet apart the gross yield
from acre would be, at the it 1
prices, $50 to $85 an acre. One eight-
year-old tree near Tallahassee, F' c..
bore last year two bushels of fruit.
The cultivation and marketing of
the fruit and tne manufacture of the
oil from the tung tree is said to be
a simple nrocess. The distribution of
several thousand trees in the South in
1906 and 1907 has brought out consid
erable information as to the behavior
of the trees in the United States. It
has proved a rapid grower and with
stands a temperature approaching
zero. It drops its leaves in the winter
and noes not start again until early
spring. Therefore its crop is not likely
to be injured by late frosts.
Grow Well In Georgia.
Tung trees have grown and fruited
well in South Carolina. Georgia. Ala
bama. Mississippi, Louisiana. Texas,
Florida and California, and the Gov
ernment specialists see no reason why
the experiments should not result in
a profitable industry, particularly
where land is of little value for other
crops.
The present consumption of tung
oil in the United States would re
quire about 40,000 acres of orchards
and the Department of Agriculture
points out that the consumption Is
likely to grow. The department has
on hand for distribution to experi
menters a limited number of one-
year-old trees. What is now wanted
to develop the industry, (ffficials say,
is the creation of acre plantations in
the hands of private individuals.
Will Go to China
for Cotton Pickers
Coolies Will Oe Imported in Shipload
Lots to Work in Imperial Valley
Field In Mexico.
CALEXICO, May 17—S. S. Simon,
in company with Dr. S. A. Wong,
Lim Kin Tuck and Wong Fook Yee,
all of San Francisco, will start a large
grocery and supply store in Mexicali
in a very short time for the purpose
of supplying Chinese employed upon
ranches.
This same party of men are already
interested in 650 acres of cantaloupes
at Bataques. and expect to extend
their interests next year. They will
also prepare to furnish ranchers with
Chinese employees. Dr. Wong will
leave June 6 for China for the purpose
of bringing over Chinese to assist in
the work of cotton picking this sum
mer.
The firm will operate under the
name of the O. M. Company, meaning
the Oriental-Mexican Company. The
men mentioned have been in Calexico
making arrangements for the begin
ning of operations in Mexicali. They
will build a Large building to do their
business.
Louisiana and Texas Crowd to the
Front in Production of
Irrigated Crop.
First Prize to Rooster
With Bleached Legs
An Obliging Chemist Worked the
Change for an Anxious Owner
Working-for Blue Ribbon.
KANSAS CITY, May 17.—A man
wolked Into a Kansas City chemist’s
office. Under his arm was a beauti
ful rooster.* He placed the fowl on a
chair and began thus:
“This cock is a high bred pedigreed
fowl. I know chickens and he’s got
it over everything, except for the
color of his legs. He’d take every
prize in his class if his legs were yel
low instead of blue gray. Can you
make them yellow- w-lthout injuring
him, and long enough for them to
look yellffw- through chicken* show
week?"
The chemist believed he could.
After some few experiments he did.
The rooster took first prize in his
class.
MINNESOTA FARMERS ADD
AN ACRE A YEAR TO LAND
MINNEAPOLIS, May IT.—The av-
erage size of Minnesota farms has in
creased nearly an acre a year for the
last twenty years, according to a *e-
port from the extension division of the
University Agricultural College, of
which A. D. Wilson is the head.
In 1890 the farmers of the State
were cultivating an average farm of
159.7 acres, and the farmer to-dav
owns an average of 177 acres. The
total number of farms at the present
time is 156.137. This report is to be
issued to th® farmers of the State,
graduates of the Minnesota School
and the College of Agriculture, to
show- the improvements in the farm
ing conditions that have been effected
b> the two institutions since their
founding 25 years ago.
Farm property in Minnesota to-day
is valued at $1,476,411,737. according
to the report, and the value of the
1912 crop is placed at $218,502,250.
Farm lands are worth $1,019,102,027;
the buildings. $243,339,399; the imple
ments and machinery. $52,329,165, and
the live stock, $161,641,146.
WASHINGTON, May 17.—Statistics
of the rice cleaning and polishing in
dustry of the United States for the
year 1909 are given in a bulletin soon
to be issued by Director Durand, Bu
reau of the Census, Department of
Commerce. It was prepared under
the direction of William M. Steuart,
chief statistician for manufactures.
In 1909 there were 71 establish
ments engaged in cleaning and pol
ishing rice. In these establishments
1.777 persons were employed, 1,239 be
ing wage earners. The value of pro
ducts was $22,371,457, but the value
added by manufacture was only $f
879,377, the cost of materials being
equal to 87.2 per cent of the total
value of the products.
In 1909 Louisiana reported 56 per
cent of the total value of products,
and Texas 36.4 per cent, leaving only
7.6 per cent for all other States com
blned. These two states employed 90.6
per cent of the average number of
wage earners. Louisiana reported 65.7
per cent of the total value of products
in 1899, South Carolina 11.2 per cent,
while Texas, w-ith one establishment
was included under “All other States."
KANSAS FARMERS OBJECT
TO WEARING NIGHTSHIRTS
TOPEKA, KAN., May 17 — Kansas
farmers are much perturbed, as
tounded and discouraged They s*ee
ahead the finish of one of the sacred
privileges of the horny-handed sen
of toll and the Introduction of an in
novation Which will put the farmer
on the same basis as the effete city
man.
The women folks are demanding
that the men on Kansas farms wear
nightgowns or pajamas.
The next thing will be putlng on
a “biled" shirt for supper and the
wearing of a tuxedo while the farm
er sits about the hou«e at night read
ing the weekly papers.
Most farmers assert vehemently it,
is a waste of time putlng on a night
shirt and taking it off, especially in
the cold weather.
LARGEST WHEAT FARM IN
WORLD HAS 32.000 ACRES
WALLA WALLA, WASH.. May 17.
Henry Vincent, the Eureka Flat wheat
grower, who harvested 12.000 acres
last year, has increased his holdings
to 32,000 acres in spring and fall
wheat, the largest wheat farm in one
piece of land in the United States.
Automobiles, auto trucks and mod
ern steam machinery are used freely
on the wheat farm and a stone of
fice building houses the force oLclerks
who atend to mail, pay rolls an< other
expenditures.
To seed this extensive wheat farm
there were used 39 drills. 42 harrows
and 5 steam plows each with a ca
pacity of sixty acres per day turned
over last year stubble.
On the farm are 600 spans of horses
and mules. 250 men, 18 women and
30 boys and girls. At harvest time
the force is tripled.
By DR. W. E. NIGHBERT.
U. S. Bureau of Animal Industry.
The great effort and attempt in
foreign countries at present to pro
duce as nearly as possible a home
supply of something to eat and wear,
is of some concern to thit* country,
especially to Georgia and the South
ern States.
It is interesting to note the efforts
being made in certain foreign sections
to raise cotton and live stock—some
thing to eat and w'ear. This effort
more than likely in time will be
marked w-ith considerable success.
Particular attention and stress is
made of the importance of fostering
a cattle industry, because this class
of live stock is able to consume
large quantities of rough, cheap feed,
which is necessary to produce in the
modern methods of farming. Cattle
convert this feed into w-holesome, edi
ble products and at the same time
leave the land improved.
Soil Improvement.
It is conceded now that permanent
soil improvement ^ind the general
changed conditions necessary 10
adopt before the old methods can be
changed to the new, dairy and beef
cattle and other live stock must be
considered in the farming operations
of Georgia and the entire South.
Cattle are a fundamental industry
that must be considered and fostered
In American methods of farming. In
every section a live stock industry is
established and maintained, there we
see improved soil and the greatest
success and satisfaction among those
who live in the country and farm the
land.
Georgia farmers and land owners
have not had an opportunity in a
general way to become inclined and
trained to undertake to produce a
home supply of beef and dairy prod
ucts to meet the demand, therefore,
the bulk of these products are pro
duced elsewhere and imported at a
tremendous expense that is not fully
reciprocated. The situation is to the
detriment of the whole farming oper
ations In the State.
If one is to judge a State as to
its fitness and opportunities for pre
paring to establish a cattle industry
generally on the farms for profit, the
State of Georgia presents conditions
that shquld be given careful consid
eration.
Present Conditions.
1. Because cotton seed meal is one
of fhe best cattle feeds.
2. Because green crops suitable
for the silo are quickly and easily
grown.
3. Because Bermuda grass, equal
to any other grass as a fattener, is
adapted naturally and will make pas
tures. These Bermuda grass pastures
can be reinforced with other grasses
that will make grazing for stock near
ly the entire year.
4 The climate is mild; expensive
housing of animals is not necessary;
shelter, of course, should be pro
vided.
5. Because at present only 40 or
50 per cent of the land area is util
ize4 in a way to give returns, the
remaining 50 to 60 per cent remains
unfenced and idle, bringing in no re
turns.
Even with opportunities the State
of Georgia has never been a competi
tor in tho live stock business. The
past few' years, however, has brought
about an inclination to undertake the
business. Many good men have un
dertaken to establish cattle on their
farms, with but partial success; they
became discouraged and made no gen
eral effort to continue the business
because the undertaking did not prove
satisfactory. The animals either ret
rograded or succumbed to disease.
Cattle Introduced.
There has been enough high-grade
cattle introduced into the State of
Georgia the past 20 years to make the
State a leading cattle State, but the
animals died or retrograded into un
profitable property from a market
standpoint.
Let us compare, for instance, the
cattle industry of Iowa with that of
Georgia to see what thi-s industry
really means commercially:
Number of milk cows in Georgia,
402,000 head.
Average value per head, $28.50,
In Iowa, a State about the same size
as Georgia:
Number of milk cows, 1,337,000
head.
Average value per head, $50.30.
Difference in price of milk cows
in Georgia and Iowa, $21.80.
Loss to Georgia farmers In not
having milk cow s in equal numbers,
value and quality, as Iowa, $723,600.
There are not enough milk cows in
Georgia to produce dairy products to
meet the demands of the population.
Annual amount of dairy products
imported from other States to meet
this demand. $8,000,000.
Annual Loss in Georgia.
Annual loss to Georgia farmers in
not having valuable cows and enough
of them to supply the demand; to
tal. $8 723.000.
Number of all other cattle in Geor
gia, 667,000 head.
Average value per head, $11.
In Iowa, number of cattle other
than milk cows, 2,607,000 head.
Average value per head. $33.
Difference in price of cattle other
than milk cows in Georgia and Iow-a,
$22.
Loss in value as to quality and
numbers to farmers in Georgia, $14,-
674,000.
There is not enough fresh beef pro
duced in Georgia to meet the demands
of the population.
Annual amount of fresh beef and
beef food products imported from
other State to meet this demand, $6,-
000,000.
Annual !o?« on account of existing
beef cattle conditions in Georgia..$20,-
674.000.
Annual grand total loss, the result
of existing cattle conditions at pres
ent as a whole in the £tate of Geor
gia, $29,897,000.
Fowl cholera has been known in
Europe for more than a century, but
it has been but during the last quar
ter of a century that its extreme con
tagious character has been fully un
derstood. During the last few years
great strides have been made in the
means for treating it and also for the
very prompt measures adopted to
take hold of It In its very incipiency
and stamp It out. This seems to be
the most rational thing to do. since
treating these flocks of fowls for any
kind of disease is fraught with many
great difficulties.
This dread disease was found in
this country in quite a number of
pltcet about 1876. It did not take
very long for people to give it the
name It now carries since from its
very rapid work it so much resembles
the disease among humans bearing
that name. The disease being fo lo
cal in Its character that it w-as a num
ber of years before it attracted more
than a passing notice. Even the
students of poultry culture had paid
but little attention to it or its havoc.
Although at this time we so fre
quently hear people asserting that
they believe they have some cholera
in their flocks there are but a com
parative few who really know chol
era when they see it.
Kills in Short Time.
There is one thing sure, however,
that those who talk about for w’eeks
at a time believing that they have it
surely do not from th.* very fact that
it takes the real thing but a few
short days to put a poultry farm out
of business entirely. What causes it
to crop up in isolated places is a
problem not easily solved. It is a
mighty good thing for all poultry-
men to have some definite idea of the
symptoms so that when they do have
a case of It come before them they
may be able to detect it at once and
proceed without delay to stamp It
out.
Fowl cholera Is an acute highly con
tagious disease, affecting the intes
tines. liver and spleen. It Is Indi
cated by a high fever. As should be
the rule with every poultry keeper
when there is any* indication of ill
health to examine the droppings
forthwith they will notice that when
there Is cholera Infection the drop
pings will Indicate It by a thin mu
cous nature, bright yellow in color,
mixed with green. If the disease
makes its appearance in a virulent
form the first thing noticed perhaps
will be a hen dead on the nest or cock
under the roost stiff in death.
Disease Very Swift.
In fact, for a while, it will be so
sudden and .«wift in its work that it
is almost difficult to find one sick.
When they are noticed, however, they
wdll be found moving about the place
In a slow, stalking gait, or drooping
in some remote corner of the place
attempting to get as far away from
its companions as possible. They will
also be noticed to stretch their heads
and necks out as far a.« possible,
opening the mouth at the same time.
Extreme diarrhoea continues all the
while and the fowls grow’ rapidly
weaker until they are found with head
stretched upon the ground breathing
rapidly.
In its acute stages cholera lasts
but from one to three days, usually
the former. At times the disease has
become modified and dragged out un
til case? have been known to last
a week or two. Examinations have
revealed the fact that there Is great
inflammation and hemorrhage of the
lungs, liver and often of the intes
tines. In many cases the heart is
so affected. The germs of this dread
disease has occasionally been found
in certain wild animals, which ac
counts in a measure for its sporadio
appearance in domestic fows.
How Disease Spreads.
It is, however, of more importance
to know r in what manner the disease
spreads through the flock, and what
are the best means for combating It.
It is a pretty well-known fact that
the disease spreads rapidly through
a flock if not checked from the ex
crement from the intestines of the
sick bird. Where birds are on the
free range the great danger is from
the carcasses of the dead birds w’hich
are liable to be deposited in all kinds
of remote places to be eaten by theis
live companions.
In cases of this kind when the trou
ble is first detected the fow’ls should
all be yarded at once if possible in
order to control the sick as fast as ,
they show up and get them away from '7‘
the well ones.
In Massachusetts and Rhode Island
where the most trouble has been had
from these epidemics they have suc
ceeded in treating by inoculation that
has proven quite effective where large
flocks are involved. But thip is not
practical for the average farmer or
small poultry keeper. The real im
portant feature in handling the
trouble is to be able to detect the f
disease at the start. . 1
Separate Fowls at Once.
After you have decided that the
trouble is cholera the immediate thing
to do is to separate the fowls in’o
about three groups, one of the sick
ontes left in the original pen; next
those that look a little droopy in an
other pen. and the third those oppar-
ently all right. Having thus divided
them you are in a position to success
fully treat all of them. If the disease
seems to be of a virulent form and
very fatal, It is advisable to kill and
burn or bury very deep all affected
ones.
This looks a little severe to the
keeper who thinks a great deal of
his flock, hut it is the short road
to stamping the disease out. The first
step in treatment is to fill a good
spray pump with a 3 per cent solution
of Zenoleum Chloronaptholeum or
'other good disinfectant and thor
oughly spray all the houses, roosts,
nest boxes, and after cleaning out all
litter spray the floor of the houses
and the yards. Collect all fountains
and feed pans and put them to soak
in a solution of the rame kind in
a tub or other suitable vessel. The
dropping boards should be soaked
down with a 1 per cent solution of
sulphuric acid. This should be re
peated about every four days.
Feed No Solid Grain.
Give no solid grain to sick or well
until you can tell what turn the dis
ease is going to take. Well boiled
rice and rice water into which mid
dlings have been thoroughly cooked
and allowed to get cold make about
the be^l food to be used in modera
tion at all times. t
Following these plain directions
with the utmost care and cleanli
ness w ill in ordinary cases prove suc
cessful.
How to prevent or get along with
out having this dread disease is the
thing that should engage the atten
tion of every poultry keeper. It means
cleanliness in eveTy part of the work.
It means looking out for the mites
and lice. Destroving them before ’■
they are hatched, by pouring coal oil
upon the roost poles, affd about the
houses wherever there is a crack for
them to breed in. This means a whole
lot to the poultryman for when poul
try gets overrun with mites the
chances are that bowel trouble will
set In and many times it develops
into the most virulent kind. So that
if there is any chance for cholera
that is the very time it will get in
Its work. So vve would say if you
see your hens in a droopy mood with
diarrhoea stains about* them, ilook
for mites about the house the verv
first thing.
The above figures are tremendous, 1
but they are a conservative estimate
according to the best figures avail
able and are given as an Indication
of the value of having cattle suf
ficient in numbers and of the right
quality in the State of Georgia.
Cattle Tick to Blame.
The blame for present cattle con
ditions in the State can not be laid
entirely to the indifference of the
Georgia land owner and farmer, be
cause be has tried; at least one or
more in each county have tried but
met discouragement.
The cattle tick, commonly seen on
cattle in Georgia, transmits the dead
ly disease known to the farmer as
"Bloody Murrain," "Distemper,” or
Texas fever of cattle. Scientifically
this disease is designated “Splenetic
Fever."
This tick kills more cattle in Geor
gia directly and indirectly than all
other diseases of cattle combined.
The fact that this tick exists in
Georgia and other States of the South
made it necessary to establish the
National Cattle Quarantine Line some
twenty-five years ago, extending from
the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean.
Of all the eight or nine different
kinds of ticks that accasionally in
fest all kinds of animals in the
United States, this particular tick
infests cattle only, occasionally horses
and mules.
This tick must have the blood of
cattle, horses or mules, or it dies from
starvation. This tick then depends
on cattle, horses or mules only for
its life and development, because it
must spend its life from the small
immature larvel stage to the adult
age on the bodies of cattle, horses
or mules, or it perishes.
Cannot Live Without Food.
Tears of practical experience in the
work of tick eradication from farms
shows conclusively that this particu
lar tick cannot live longer than 4 1-2
to 6 or 8 months, depending on the
season of the year, without the blood
of its host. By dipping the animals
the ticks are killed before they ar$
engored with blood preparatory to
dropping to the ground to deposit
eggs. NO EGGS NO TICKS.
The most effective and cheapest
treatment is the Government stand
ard arsenical cattle dip, made by the
use of eight pounds of pure arsenic
boiled in twenty-five gallons of water,
to which has been added twenty-four
pounds of sal-soda. Boil until
disolved. When moderately cool, add
one gallon of pine tar and stir, then
add enough water tp make a five hun
dred gallon mixture. Place in the
dipping vat. Make sufficient to fill
the vat which should hold 1,500 gal
lons. Each animal dipped will cost
one-eighth of a cent for each dipping.
Community Vats.
When the vat is established, farm
ers of the whole settlement within a
radius of two or three miles may
drive their cattle regularly every
fourteen days to the vat and dip them.
This must be repeated fourteen or
fifteen times and the w'ork is com
pleted. The above plans are the way
that whole countries and states are
being freed of the cattle fever tick
In the body of the cattle fever tick
(Margaropus Annulatus) rests an or
ganism so small or in such a form
it has never been seen even by the
high power microscope, but when the
young ticks infest cattie and begin
to draw blood, this invisible organism
escapes from the tick and may then
be seen developed in the blood cells
of the animal.
When this invisible organism pass
es from the tick through the bite on
the skin of the animal and enters the
blood stream, the blood cells are
attacked and broken up. The ali
mentary and urinary tract are in
volved and a high fever exists. The
animal becomes weaker and dies. If
a young animal is the victim it never
recovers its growth; it is stunted
throughout its life. There is no suc
cessful mpdical treatment for the di
sease.
The fact that cattle are seen every
day in the badly infected section of
the State carrying heavy infesta
tion of ticks and live, makes it hard
for the owner of tioky cattle to be
lieve that ticks kill cattle by pro
ducing disease.
Every Young Calf Suffers.
Every young calf reared in the
presence of this tick suffers from the
disease in a mild form and is per
mitted to live, while if an animal if
reared to be over six months old aw-ay 1
from ticks, then comes in con
tact -With them, it usually dies
The resisting power of the young calf
then is the reason why the Georgia
cattle man and southern cattle men
generally have been able to perpetu
ate cattle in the presence of the cat
tle tick.
The more serious phase of the
situation is that the young calf al
ways harbors the fever germ in its
blood throughout life and makes it
a prey for all unfavorable conditions
that may develop.
A cattle industry of any proportion
is impossible under existing condi
tions in the State. This great menace
and barrier to the cattle industry
must first be removed.
Eradication of the cattle tick and
: the establishment of a cattle indus
try w'ill help solve some of the great
problems now confronting the agri
cultural status of the State. Name
ly: It will help make cotton a profi
table surplus money crop. It will
give better returns from the use oi
commercial fertilizer. It wdll make
diversified farming and soil improve
ment permanent and profitable. It
will help and make safe the scheme ol
rural finance. It will help solve the
labor problem. It will convert waste
lands that have been giving in no
return into profitable holdings. No
matter how long it takes, nor what
it costs, it will pay to eradicate the
cattle fever tick and gradually edu
cate the people to have cattle of high
quality on every farm in the State
of Georgia.
Cattle are a fundamental industrv,
they feed the land and the people;
we esu. «*Ule and their products.