CATTLE TICK MENACE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 30, 5 February 1925, Page 8

CATTLE TICK MENACE.

CAMPAIGN FOR ERADICATION. | DKIWKTMI.N I' AM) IA lI.M lilts i'<i-h|'i:katk. Ii uill he recalled tii.u towards the j end ol la. | year she Auckland exeiulive oi the r'nrmi-rs" l'nion gave tpiite I a lot of linn- i,, (he discussion of the I tick <|iiestii>ii. It was pointed nut by some uiemhers that cattle were rinding! their way into Wctliold salevards inlested with tick, which led 10 ihe belief | that, ilie regulations with regard tv i dipping in the north were not lieiug j properly carried mil. Members from. the north generally contended that j every effort was being made by the J farmers to combat the' trouble, and! that dipping was conscientiously carried | out. At, tiie same time il was em- | phasised that ihe ,-ust of the prociiu- j lion was a heavy charge upon Ihe northern farmers, antl .-onie help from ihe '•'overnment might reasonably be looketl for. Tn get the matter down to a bedrock understanding ihe executive decided to ask for a eon-I fercn.e with ilic Department, and. 1 as a result. Dr. l.cakes visited) Auckland and met members of the j union antl auctioneering Minis to • thoroughly discuss tlie matter. The conference was held on Friday. January j 30th, and besides tin- executive members, representatives were present from I throe of the leading auctioneering I firms in Auckland. Dr. l!eakes, as head i of the Department, spoke at consider-] able length on the subject, and gave his' opinions freely to the meeting. He pointed nut that in a general way it was difficult to rigidly enforce the ; regulations and not cause hardship, and ! at the same time ensure protection for! the farmers in the clean districts. Some j members had suggested lhat the dip used was not strong enough. and others thought that the cattle had not been properly treated. To satisfy farmers on this point he slated that tests of rhe dips had been made by a , leading fJovernment. chemist. In some cases tin- mixture had been found slightly over tho standard strength, and in other ca.ses slightly under. It was, he pointed out. necessary to have the right strength in the dip. because, if it wore 100 strong it was likely to injure the animal treated, and if it were too weak if did no harm to the tick. Another point, exercising the minds nf farmers was touched, upon by Dr. Real.es when he said that the fact of a dip being muddy did not necessarily neutralise its effectiveness to any great extent. Willing to Help. Dealing with (he general aspect. Dr. Kea.kos gave tin- assurance that the Department was quite willing to help Ilie farmers. lie was prepared to appoint an inspect or. witli a roving commission, lo visit dips in various parts of the info-ted areas and see that animals wore properly dipped and the regulations carried out. Ihe inspectors would sec that the dips wore of the right strength, and that tho treatment was effective. Both Ihe representatives of the L'nion and t lie Auctioneers expressed agreement with such a course, and considered such action most desirable. They declared willingness to workin with the Department in taking all necessary precautions to prevent tho spread of the pest to new and clean areas. Dr. Koakos pointed out. with much emphasis, that to be successful the Department must, have the co-opera-tion of the individual farmer. To combat the 1 rouble in the north it was necessary to give attention to the destruction hi tin- li.k ill ils embryo r-tage. Km- Ibis purpose he urged that a wi«e course was to burn oil' all tufts of gra«s. rushes, and other vegetation which could harhour the eggs of the tick. There were stages when the tick was nurtured in the pasture—approximately between April and Novembcr-and its destruction at that time was most desirable. liig hunches of grass and rushes were good breeding grounds for ticks, and it was better to do-troy them and the eggs than to kill tho mature ticks upon tho animals at a later stage. These are, of course, only brief outlines of the di.-etission which took place, but it may be taken as assured that the Department is prepared to co-operate with tho union iv lighting the post, and the farmers may once again lind that genuine benefit will result from united action in dealing with a serious problem.