$iiippfiff ,1'Ad s.' , .' 'lt 1 Lflff tffl yv uj i j- fees- : ol fr 3 ' J ,'S w 7' 2 t HI a I'AOB 8. Tin: nK.vn nri.Mrn.v. iiKxn, qui:.. avki.vi:siuv i-KunrAitv g.t, 11)10. 11 The Jack Rabbit Situation in the Western States (My It. A. WAItl, L S. MIoIokImI A-sMnnt.) children, livestock nnd Irresponsible persons. Community poison corrals cation lias proven a failure .. .i.-M li nn i roiitnhln way of 'should lie erected on thosfe plncos a wiiv "T. Since the arrival of farmers In tho numbers and have been on the In Went, tnnk rnlililtu Imvn nhnu'ii n Lrrnnt rrpnM per since fondness for nil crowlni? crops. At I'siihII l)n jack rabbit become times thoy have become exceedingly abundant In Texas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Novadn, California and Ore gon, During tlicso periods of abun danco the damngo rabbits do to agrl culture Is onormoim and In somo lo calities has resulted In the entlro de struction of crops, During the past three winters rabbit Investigations for the IllciloKlcul Survef of the De partment of Agriculture, I have wit nessed tho complete devastation of crops and forage plants In puttlons of four of our western states namel), jiI.'Uio, California, Nevada and Ore gon. The oxtcnt of this damage would scorn unbelievable to those not fa miliar with existing conditions. With In a ten mile radius of one small Ida ho town during the year of 19? 3 over $r,0,000 worth of crops, most of It orchard stock, was destroyed by rab bits, Ono man cntrncted his nur sery stock for $5000 onlj to los', every troo by rabbit damage. An other orchard lost n arras of four year old apples trct-s and 10 acres of pear trees. The owner1, estlmato of this loss was $2.", 000. Numerous Hlmllar canon could be cited and Is worthy of nolo that most of the or nhnrds that milTered severe losses wore fenced with "rabbit proof" fonco. Drifted snow and defective workmanship on tho fi-nres admitted the rabbits In large numbers. In tho dry fnrmlng sections I tmo seen homesteaders who have lost all crops three yenrs In succession. One of tho most sevoro cases of completo devastation by Jack rabbits Is In tho Stato of Oregon. I visited a Miiull volley In a neighboring county whero l after a careful examination o the range, I found tho bunch gr.isn en tliely gono and the Migo .irusu ti!,i jio I ot fn'lago to tho tics, l'rr.cti.. nlly nil of the crops have been eaten nnd tho situation Is really pitiful. Most of tho homesteaders have loft the country anil those that hao re mained will have to choose between (itnrvatlon nnd leaving also. Thnao poor poople havo not tho money to purchnso fencing nnd tho destruction of tho rnbblts will bo necessary for them to succeed Having depleted their nnturnl food supply the great hordes of rabbits have left this dos olnto valley and have migrated across to tho hay and stock raising sections In tho neighboring vnllov where thoy nro at work on hay stacks. At a small drive near Silver l.nke on De cember 1!), 11116, 00 people killed 0000 Jack rabbits In the drive nnd tho consensus of opinion was tint for ovory 10 rabbits driven Into tin corral 2 escaped diirlngt he driving. Tho following week the snme ground was again driven and .1100 more kil led. This drive covered about I sections and the present Infestation la general over an urea many siiuuro miles In extent. Losses jiim Ilcjuy. In the course of the conccrteil poisoning experiment which no havo been conducting In Crook county. I havo conservative dninngo reports from 11 poisoning organizations showing Hint during tho year Just closed 12!) farmers lost $18,000 worth of crops. No attempt has been made tho damage to range though nil stockmen complain bltyerly of this loss. From those llgures It ap pears that tho annual Iosh for tho entire county must exceed $1(10,000. It Is very evident that the Jack rab bit situation Is worthy or sorlous con ulderatloii and that systematic meas ures should bo nkon to reduce this dnmago. For yearn tho Illolnglcnl Survey tins been conducting careful experi ments in tho control of those miiitiata inJiirloiiH to agriculture. Tho results of these Investigation!) havo been gratifying and largo areas have been domed of harmful rodents. Consid erable work has been done on tho Jack rabbit problems nnd extensive experiments In the eradication of this pest havo boun and nro being con dueled. The various agencies which dew tioy rabbits nro: (1) natural ono lilies, (2) illaease and sevoro win tois, CD driving, (I) shooting, (R) trapping, (ii) hounding, (7) imiUou lng. KtpurlmontH destroy rabbits by liiiuMMilntlon with an Infectious dhjonso have thus far fulled uotwlth HtrndliiK ruiuorn to the contrary. Tim State Livestock Hniiltarv Hoard In lUU'-l.t uxpiirlmonted with a rab bit Infection called "hiiuIIIim" that had been mod In the Australian plnguos, but when usod under Held eonilltliiiis. the disease did not soniii triinttiriiMiHbln. Natural Kucmle. In oastern, southern mi Cuutr.il Oregon tho Jack rabbit has mivoriU natural eueinliw. These Include most of tho largo hawkH mid owls, tingle bob-cuts, coyotes and foxes. Th mnnller hnwkH and owl occaslonaltv destroy tho young rr.bbltn I'n'or' uuately In iniinv of the sortie. i wHuru thowe valuable birds a 'id mam mnlH are needed, thov nro being rutliliwely killed. It Is In fact the ab sence, of these elllclent allies that has helped to brill about (be present Iiiftwtatlou of JsrW rubWU I1Imjim Severe winter coinbl i-d vM rnvnitos of the rnbblt iI'hm " h do more than all els "'' Brant miinber of rsbhlf ", ' of lOOii wu extreme' ". Doitthorii Idaho. Km ' very cold and light ruin f " ' oral dn-8 followed hv m ' ' snow, thon the i.i.- low oro nnd rulr'd oral weokn. The riiih' to have died lr the " utnblo ruli uipm " iiumt that tUe t " ' ulr was foul from "' ' los. For four v4i' rabbits wro eomiw-" and no exec iUium1 Ju 1910 they in'"r'.' exctedinglv abundant, a fata! disease or epidemic breaks out among mem and thev totalis disappear from vast areas. It appeara that this relief Is only temporary for I know oi locali ties heavily Infested where the dla ease killed large numbers several vears ago. The exact nature of the illep In not well known. The throat and lungs of diseased rabbits seem much Infiamed, the vlcra ex ceedingly moist, and the flesh and skin drv According f Major uen dlre, this disease Is reported to oj cur with some regularity In southern Idaho and we havo blnce found this m li nnrtlallv true. .Mr. Krelile of our bureau notes that following an epidemic, the Utters Increase In le for a short period and then decline to normal. Drlilii',' ..iiiin,' tho lark rabbits at present w'th the possible exception of the r. nilml tnr market nuri)Oet the most generally npplicnblo niet'iol oi destroying them is by the use of poisons. Tor sexernl wlntors pat the illologlcal Snno) has been epprl mentlng with rabbit poisons. Var ious baits, such as oats, bran, nlfalia. crushed barley, cabbages, carrots, i o,.nUo nnininM. raisins. Drilli - en sprouts, wheat heads, poisoned sa't nnd poisoned water have been expei -mented with. , The most effectual poisons which wo find It practicable to uso at pres ent are iroltonpd oats and pnone.l chopped alfalfa In our expel.' - the best time for rabbit polenn proves to be during the cold w.n" mnnths. when the rabbit's 'ii ituril food sunul.v Is scarce nnd tin" irt congrogated In large numbers, .ibn'it runnhm. hav fields or In partliil il I favorable portions of their n.i'urii domain. The use of substantial p s on corrals about 40 feet square wp'.i In which the poison Is expose" Is recommended when concorted in" bit poison Is undertaken on n large ale Tho results obtained by tho eee of those poisons at tho hands of the far mers has In most Instating bean (mile satisfactory. In the Crook r,-i... ,. nrtP,l .neverv winter count wotk one man ri'iu.u m... .B . ..p. ... . . -" - -- : - In lumvlh nfestei' localities as a 300 with 0 miarts of poisoned oats, mcaimrc . ,.,, , t,ii, i- ti-IMi ? i l.-a. .lt.lail MI1IJLI1FTI nttlirv llillll niiivu " Pleasant diversion, i imvo buohuoui -------- - i.ti viti drlvos here as man as 9000 Jack rniibltn Iiiip been killed In a (lav Although 1'iouannda of the pests aio killed In this manner, the spasmod'c efforts In connection with the man agement or drives and other factors have provc-i this an ineffectual meth od of destroMng Jack rabbits over nrco areas. I have known or tt few ureas driven over which remained freo of rabbits for a short period, but usually the rodents swarm In and Infest the e. eared areas. As It takes from 200 to 100 people to conduct n successful drive, driving can only bo resorted to when no other farm work enn be done. Trapping. Trapping about hay stacks and reg ular feeding grounds with the var ious forms of fonco traps effects tho capture of large numbers of jack rnbblts. It U not so effective on a largo scalo as poisoning however. Hounding. Somo ranchers kept large packs of greyhounds, Ilualxan wolf hounds nnd fox hounds to catch the rabbits. Owing to tho abundanco of the ro dents, tho dogs soon loso Interest In tho sport and this method of crndl- iunrts and one organization killed 210 with 12 quarts, un mo oiner hand some of those who do not fol low directions concerning tho pro portion and distribution of poisoned onts havo had poor results. Work of this nature cannot bo accomplish ed without careful study nnd a couplo years more exnorlenco will be necos- l snry before tho people will learn the most successful method or distribut ing the poison. In order to obtain a maximum ef ficiency economically In co-operntlvo poisoning, the following plan Is ad vised. Tho Infested communities should form community poisoning or grnlzatlons, the oxpenso to bo pro rated accordingly. Ono man should bo put In charge of tho poison prep aration who will mnke systematic poisoning IiIb (nislncsB nnd who will havo authority to order n gonoral poisoning when conditions nro fnvor nblo. Poison should bo prepared nt n contra! location time eliminating to n largo extent tho danger nttendnnt upon Its uso. Great enro should bo taken to prevent accidents nnd all equipment and utenslla used In tho preparation of poisons should bo kept plainly labeled and out of reach of The Sifn of Bettor Quality Hosiery DYE When you buy hosiery whut do yon look for? Do you compare various grades? The Armor Plate Hosiery will staud the closest investigation. HARMS NOT DYE will assure you of a fast color in every pair of hosiery. Drop in and let us talk this brand of hosiery to you. SHUEY'S Oregon Transfer Company OFKICK 1.00 CAMS' COUS'KIt Miotic Muck lot Mining Household Coal nnd Wood (iiMids Our HHH.'lnlty Light and Heavy Freight NXl'HKSS ANI lt.ti.(ii: Al'TO TKITCK MOVINti ANVWUUUK youu iiACG.uiK ciu-:cui:i AT uomk u-hnrn the Jack rnbblts nro known to be more numerous nnd tho entire locality should uu poisoned intoiu L'pnth Including school sections, rocky sage brush plains, Juniper cov ered buttes anil other areas ot unin habited land. A good plan Is to halt tho rabbits to 'corrals several days previous to poisoning by exposing it few forkfuls of clean nlfatfa hay and tii in get intr rations to rceuing mere regular!) In this way n larger num ber of rabbits enn bo killed with a smaller amount of poison thnu If It wore distributed haphazardly through sngo brush or on fields. En closed hay stacks nro Ideal bait spots for tho exposure of poisons. The personnl equntlon enters Into the work here. The careful poison mixer I v in not oxposo poisons on windy, ire stormy, or warm nlchts when rabbits .. .. . ." remain In tho brush, but he will visit tho bait spots In the evening proceed ing tho poisoning nnd make sure the rabbits nro feeding on tho baits. Tracks on tho snow nro a poor Indi cation of the number of rabbits pres ent as 10 rnbblts In n night can track up a smnll nren so that tho uninitiat ed would estlmato that at least 75 rabbits had visited the spot. If the rabbits nro going to visit tho corrals on a certain night a large proportion of thorn will bo feeding there about dusk. Then and only then Bhould poison bo exposed. If tho rabbit problem Is worthy of serious consid eration It Is nlto worthy of careful study and tho application of business liko methods. It Is only by such sys tematic, effort as this supported by every person concerned that good re sults can be obtained. Arrangements should ho mado to purchase atrych nlno In 100 ounce lots thus obtaining same nt minimum cost. This plan tins been successfully fol lowed In several counties nnd Is es sentially tho same ns tho ono nt pres ent In uo In tho Crook county ex periment. Twonty of those commun ity poisoning associations havo been actively ongnged In Jack rnbblt pois oning. Somo of theso clubs have made good kills nnd considerable progress has boon made this winter. At tho end of tho Irst week In Febru ary, 19010 rnbblts had been poisoned In Crook count)'. With tho 3500 which tho Hlologlcal Survey hnvo kil ted at Its experiment station In Silver Lako a total of 22540 rnbblts havo been killed. A letter from tho Dakar Commercial Club states that by tho uso of Government formulas, sovcrnl thousand rabbits wcro killed this winter In that locality. Kut-N of i.lttlo Value. Tho press contains n good doal of rot these days concerning tho Jack rabbit situation wrltton by poorly In formed people who overlook the fact that for several years scientists havo boon carefully Investigating this prob lems Consldornblo has been written concornlng tho uso of rabbit fur nnd it Is populnrly supposed to bo of value In tho manufacture of fur felt hats. This Is true to a slight extent. How- ovor. nntlvo skins nro very Inferior for this purposo to thoso of European and Australian rnbblts which enn ho bought In this country for about 5 conts each, bo that manufacturers cannot pny over 1 or 2 conts for our native rnbblt polts. At this rate sav ing tho skins would hnrdly pay. It Is doubtful If success In rnbblt extermination on n largo Bcalo will ovor bo attained until all rabbit In fostod localities throughout tho stnto nro poisoning simultaneously. Such an Idoal condition will bo dllllcult to bring about and possibly this can on ly bo accomplished by tho passing of post laws. Only tempornry relief will ho cccurod by killing thorn In ono locality if tho land Is to be re Infested with rabblta from adjoining localities. Tho factor of weather con ditions Is a very Important ono In Contra! Oregon, though not so much so ns In tho eastern and soiithorn portions of tho Stnto whore moro se vere winter weather conditions pre vnll. It Is posBlblo that the mild winters may defent to somo oxtent our work In Crook county. After tho fnctor of wenther conditions Is tnkon Into consideration, tho success of community poisoning depends entire ly upon tho progrosslvcness of thoso concerned. Wo can only domonstrnto tho method, Its practicable applica tion ovor largo areas Is tho farroora' own problom, Ilowovor progress Is bolng mado and as this work will probably be necessary throughout tho next docado I feel that Its Inception at this par ticular porlod Is qiUte timely nnd will ovontunlly result In consldornblo bonolU to thoso concernod. Hi clos ing I wish to oxpross my appreciation for tho constant nnd olllclont nsslst nnco of County Agriculturist A. B. I.ovott. In the laborious task of ar ranging Cor meetings and getting far mers togethor In Crook county for tho purposo of systematic nnd con certed wnrforo against Jack rabbits fljy-rir f&mmm?mmmmifflmWMm! msi' ' ; '" ' fir ill YsySw "A-h-h! That's What I Call Real Coffee" Thousands of coffee connoisseurs have declared it the finest that money can buy ROYAL CLUB Super-Quality Coffee 1-lb.Tin 40c, 3 lbs. $1.10, 5 lbs. $1.75 The Coffee that's blended, ngcil and neu tralized from tho finest coffees thut money can buy. 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"Enclosed plonso nnd n money ord er for $1.C0, bo send mo your Ilul letln for ono year from Jnnuary 1, lUlC, to Jnnuary 1, 1917. Monoy wna samowhat' senrco article for mo during last month or two. If you stopped Tho'Dullotln coming to my 1. O. thoro would ho a row In your olllco nwhlle, ns I wnnt your paper and cannot bo without It". Tho nend Flour Mill Co. lias mado a careeful solectlon of Bultnulo soed fo- spring sowing. Thoroughly clean ed nnd of tho best quality. See list of varieties. Adv. A llllll llllll I CAPS mounting the arrival of our Spring Line of Hardeman's Hats and Caps. The latest shapes, colors and designs. A. L. FRENCH Men's Furnhhlngs E We Have Moved vumt m and look over a few nP SmSJSm be ,ey tvef Hoys' Blouses WU Dust Caps. 25c 10c i OUR NAME IS OUR GUARANTEE OUR NAME IS OUR GUARANTEE )