TICK INFESTATION IN THE COASTAL TRACT OF NORTH

                                      KANARA DISTRICT.*

                                                  BY

                                     R. N. NAIK, G.B.V.C.,

   Assistant Veterinary Research Officer, Imperial Institute of Veterinary Research,

                                              Muktesar.

                       (Received for publication on 30th July 1931.)

                                       (With 4 figures.)

In the course of his duties while he was in charge of the Veterinary Dispensary,
Kumta, the writer's attention was repeatedly drawn towards the emaciated condi-
tion in a considerable proportion of the cattle inhabiting the coastal tract of North
Kanara District. From enquiries it transpired that the tick was mainly responsible
for this condition; the opinion prevalent amongst the local residents seemed to
describe the damage to the fact that the tick sucked up gradually the blood of
cattle and made them useless for purposes of work or for milking. They believed
that its ravages have told upon the existing mongrel breed and helped to degene-
rate it to the extreme and as a result there was no encouragement for cattle
breeding.

In the present publication an endeavour has been made to present what facts
the writer has been able to collect concerning the different aspects of tick infesta-
tion considered in relation to the local conditions of the tract to which these facts
relate. A few suggestions are offered upon what has appeared to the writer the
most feasible methods of control of this pest. It is hoped that these suggestions
will be found generally applicable to other localities in India, where, as the writer's
enquiries have revealed, tick infestation constitutes perhaps one of the ever serious
scourges that the livestock owner has to contend with.

It is also hoped that the information embodied in this paper will constitute an
addition to the tick literature in India.

                  * Paper read at the 17th Indian Science Congress, Allahabad, 1930.

                                                        ( 301 )