! Two
Till! T I M K H II K 11 A I) 1) II U It N H , If A It N lfl Y OOUN T Y , O It K (ION
Getting Rid of the Rodent Pests
(Tho following nrttolo appeared In
a recon t isauu of the Country Gentle
ainn. ' It is of particular interest nt
.hlu tlmu whllo tho proposition nf
rabbit bount)' and control uro under
onsldoratlon and Ihuroforu 1h copied,
Tho story. 1h too long for Insertion
complete in ono Ihhiio, thuroforo the
pocond installment will bo published
auxt weeks)
(ly K. V. Wilcox) ,
Whon I.owlu Carroll In describing
thu Jnbberwock referred to "tho tooth
sculps. Tho law was in offont only thruu inches In diameter mid three
olghtoon lnontlm, hut 71,71!'.l coyolou to ton Inches beneath tho iiurfuco
were killed under It. Then tho Jack of tho ground. The gopher In look
rnhhltH began to multiply ttlarmlngiy. lug for roots to oat. Alfalfa root
Uy 1 S y H tho farmers complalnud that ami carrotu eomo In hnmly. Provided
Jack rabbits woro canning far more
harm than tho coyotes had done. A
bounty of twenty coutii each wan then
olTored for rnhhltH.
Likewise tho hawks and owl foil
wl h lur-llnnd pouchuj In hlti cheolu,
tho gopher can collect booty till ho
Iiah u load and (lion go to IiIh storo-
Iiouho. In tho 'course of a yoar a'
slnglo gopher may tunnel a network
too occnHtonally took n chicken to
give variety to their regular ration
of prnlrlo dogs and. rabbits. . Thon
thoro were tho foxes, tikunkH and
that bite, thu elawH that scratch," ho, badgers. Tholr grcatoct mlnfortuno
jlrobably did not have in mind tho ! wan that they woro film. And no
n'nlrio dog, tho vurlouH UIiuIh of man Hhot or trapped .thorn for tholr
ground squlrrols, tho pocket gophers,) furs. Now, this wan till very lino for
.no kangaroo rats and tho Jack rub-1 the pralrlo dogH and Jack rnhhltH.
1-ltii. Hut all tho teeth of every ono 1 The badger no longer disturbed tholr
of thexo animals aro busy gnawing unlet uuhterrnuenn homes, and hawku
at tho farmer's crops, and all tholr und coyote no longer Hiiappod thorn
luwH ure Industriously tunneling un
urgrauttd npurtmouts or countruct-
'.ng nests In which to rear tho coming out of tho wny tho only limit to tho
uudor tho curso of man because; they of pnHsugoH under a Hold of Hovoral
unemtloiis of prarlo dogo and tholr
numerous relatives to fatten ontho
..omlng crops of the farm.
These' aro not posts that have re
cently boon brought In from foreign
.ountrlua. They are not tho kind that
roruohow munugod to got by tho im
migration Inspector. They aro nut
ifu Americans, ovory ono of them.
U'.toh. 1 lot u and there along tho tun
iioIh ho comes to tho nurl'nco to throw '
out Iooho null, thus making moundii
all over tho field. Othorwlso thoy
almost novtir mIiow thoiiiHolvtm, I
have many times found on rolling
up my blankets in tho morning, that!
u gopher Iiiih tunneled uudor mo
whllo I slept,
Forage At Night
' A curious little animal with long
tall and long hind legs and known'us
tho kangaroo rut has In recuiit years
become a ncourge in tho Houthwenl. I
i Thev dlu tin und eat or carry away i
the amount of available food on,,.,, i.,iu nt umtii im taut n vim rnn I
- - i
up when they ventured out nfter
forage. With tholr natural onumloH
number of these rodents was set by
furms and ruuges and thoy promptly
started out to nttaln thin limit.
Thus wo littvo gradually loarnod i
ed tho nnltnitls which held tho ro
in u roundabout wny that having kill
dents In check, wo must ourselves do
tho work which thoso carnivorous
Thoy woro menllouod by tho earliest anlmulu formerly did for un namely,
-.xplorors who crossed tho Croat) kill tho rodents. If wn look nt maps
i'lalns. lleroro agriculture hud ex-1 showing tho distribution of somo of
tondod west of 100th degreo U. these thoso rodout peits wn find that tho
rodents lived on tho louvui, stums, pocket gophers cover nil tho staton
iMtrm or roots mi native grnnnos anil west or lOOllt tregrco i mai grouuu
liter plants, but when in on began ; squirrels am oiiuulty ubiquitous ox
j plant garden aud Held cropB hero ' eept for tho western und of Wash-
and there In this range country. thp Ington, that tho Jack rabbit Iron T))) Jnck rftl)l , t,,(, ,,,, ()f
prarlo dogs, squirrels, ami rabhllK claims stuked nut nil over tho region) HnK(,irnH, ,y tny MU ,ml j K,t
fcoon noticed thul wheal, oats, barley, J except HttU patches or Montana, j ())(, Jum1 ((( (uHk ym H(,(J ,,,, ,ul.
Ufnlfti. carrots and corn tasted much! Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Cnl-' , ' '.,.,- m.,tVu forrtnlnir nml von
utter than gramn grass, sagebrush Ifnrnla, und that the prnlrlo dog has. W0IMir W,ro ci, Uu ,my of them
plant thmn. Vegetable gardening Is
MUlto Impossible when kangaroo rntsi
are numnrouii. Ilurrowit have boon
found with ncvor.il bushels of sued
stored away (or winter uso.
In this rogues gallery of rodonts
I must also nuorvo u place for the
Jack rabbit. Klvo of thoso rahbltn
will oat us much ah a sheep and do it
oftonor. Thoy do not burrow, but
mtiku tholr nosts In the grass under
weeds or low brush. Thoy oat any
thing green or succulent, including
nlfalfn, grain, garden vcgetahloh,
grapevines nnd young fruit trees
nml nfninria roots.
jrious toll or garden und Held crops
Mil they began to Increase In mini
'ors, at llrst slowly and later at a
nto'ro alarming rate, until thoy he
camu u verltnblo plague. What wnH
tho main cnuse of the Increase of
these pesky creatures? Man, directly
fatul Indirectly. Man raised an abund
ance of succulent nnd savory food
for them, and man killed thulr on
wmles. Then tho prttrlo dogs and
ground squirrels nnd Jack rabbits hud towns vatylug In extent from it few
.a r 1 ....
squaiteg on tne wuuiu uroni imnm . , lllVt, )U..n concealed during the
day.
Thoo rodent peats not only took it area and most, of tho mountain sen
tloirbul has refused to visit Califor
nia nnd tho rest of thu J'aclllc Coast.
Hut perhaps someone Inquires how
big this rodent problem Is. Well,
In order to underMand hotter the, (f yo Mi()Hl( ru(U, w a)1 rHporl
nature and extent of tho problom of
extermination before us, It may bo
well to take a hasty look at the hab
its and family life of four or flvo of
the chief Injurious rodents or tho
Wos,t. Tho pralrlo .dog, "fat und
greasy citizen" of the plains Is it soc-
way.
Hut these mothodit would really
try thu patience of Job. Just picture
yoursolf a farmor out tut tho limit
less roaches of tho Great Plains In it
thlrty-mllo wind, trying to persuade a
poisonous gitH to go down Into a
pralrlo-dog hole. As a rulo these
gnicioiiH Irritated the farmer about us
much as the pralrlo dog.
Thu hooks say that cnrbon-hlsul-phldo
gits Is heavier than air and
will all sink Into the rodent burrows.
Hut the wind whirls Homo of iUibout
and you somehow munngo to Inhale
enough to have it maddening head
ache thu next day.
Then tho farmer tried poisoned
halts, In these halts he used strych
nine arsenic, cyanide of potash, bar
ium enrbounte, c .rroslvo sublimate
and phosphorus. !l i olod tho kind
or rood prererred l v the pralrio dog,
tho various kinds of ground squirrels
und thu pocket gopher, und also tho
Jack rabbit. Then the halt had to ho
Inllltratod or coated with the poison
und so scattered as not to endanger i
livestock und birds. It wan round '
that he kernrtls or wheat, bnrlny and '
oats woro most enticing to prairie
T'Ogs and ground squirrels, that car
rots, apples and raisins suited tho
pocket gopher, whllo alfalfa would
gut thu attention of Jack rabbits.
(Concludedo Next Week)
democrats nnd republicans of Ohio.
Family Jars tiro unethical In thoso
days oT political HOmppery und disillusionment.
Huttinhjy, August 121, JfniO
M A II Y O It I F F I N
ItrimliticHn OnadMulD
Ifor Mifteol BapcrinU'iidcat
-4 fr
it may bncomo uccensnry, even yet,
to build a splto fence betweon tho
In yea, town JJ BJJImO
1
I9ULER
NPAIN'rs
71 YEAR
I HIWM
Knutiiaco.
I
PAINT
If there's a good reason for any
thlnjri then It's palntlnrc your
house with Rood jialnt.
I-'UIJiKU Paint Ih GOOD Paint.
II saves u preat dcul more than
It cost tetves you money In up
keep nnd adds to tho value of
four propeity.
nvMt I" FULbKIt Tulnt right
uwtiy.
W.P. Fuller & Co.
ma, apnnmnu.
of the county ngeiits for itU'J you
would coucludo that It Is one of the,
biggest agricultural problems west of
lUUlh degree hi Un II Is treated In
detail In thu report on almost every
county or tho Western States. It be
came necessary for thu Hurcau or
.t THE UNIVEHSAl CAR
. .. 1
1 s
unlmal living In colonies or dog J ,'o,okIcm, aurVl,y , nuik(J ril(,olll uV.
nothing to do but eat aud multiply
ftid they did both without much re-
..V p.$bw ohltl dVikl Hid
The l)o Tou tin
The natural onumles or these posts
aro coyotes, wolves, foKos, skunks,
weasel, badgers, owls, hawks, fal
cons, eagles and so on. The coynto
U extremely dluver In catching Jack
rabbits, pralrlo dogs and their conn-
is. In fact ho was so effective at the '
Job that thu Jack rabbits had reason
think twice as ofton of N'emesls In.
thu slinpo or a coyote us or a reast ,
In the form of alfalfa. The coyote ,
considered a young prnlrlo dog or
rabbit a very toothsome morsel, aud
ho, of course, had much to do with
setting n moderate maximum on tin
number or these rodents. The Mume .
may be said in a lesser degree ror,',l"ul", of "rt HUHUl HM0 0,,l ,,,h
uoIvoh. foxos, hawks, owls, wousels u1"1 thr,s" or four ft'"1 ,n ,,,l""l'l"r
und skunks. I Thu hole goes almost straight down
Tho br.dgei should receive special t0 omooii feot, und Ihon horl
niotitlon an 'a chnmplou exterminator , wiually about nit equal dlstnnco. Tito
rf pralrlo dogs nnd ground squirrels. I nWHtu ur1 H(,u 'w'u, "
I remember how In tho nlnotle.i tho'frwm u,u horizontal part oi mo our
budfjor cleaned up thousands of acres roW-
of "dog towns" and flqulrrol dons In! I'rulrlo dogs, llko most or nil of
tho Judith nnsln, Montana. Tho Cuu other uurrowlng rodents of the
rodents had bocomo n nuisance. Then' y,y,'lyM' Kut a,ol,K wuout water. Tor
un nrmy of badger camo in through t,,u IU0Mt nurt luo,r uW"fow, ur m,,0H
Judith Gup and proceeded Blowly to trom Wftt"r ano oi ,ourso thoy do not
'g out of tholr burrows and cat all tU dcwD "ugh to reach water. Thoy
tho prairie dogs and squlrrols In that Kl BUl'lcleitt wnter In tho groon veg
rcgion. I (ttatlon which thoy tat. It has been
It wait a stupdndons undertaking. '"Htlmutod that thirty-two pralrlo dogs
Them wert thousands of Inhiibltiul will eat au much gruus uu u shuop und
acres to thousands of square miles.
Dog towns twenty mile long nru not
rare anil In Texas there was a colony
which covered L'fi.000 square utiles.
In a dog town tho number of holes nu
itcru varlus from a few to moro than
two hundred. Not. all thu dugouts
are occupied. Now nnd then a snake
or burrowing owl cloans out a whole
family of dogs, but thu average num
ber an acre may he set nt twunty-llvo,
which would give thu great Titxns dog
town u population of 400,000,000.
Tho number ot young In each litter
Is about four, and thu young llrst
appear at thu mouth of the hurrowa
from May to Juno. Prnllo dogs nru
extremely Industrious. When thoy
are not eating they nru working on
the burrows, bringing out dirt nnd
stoniM. The mouth or oncii narrow
thus comus to bu In n craterlllie
burrows. And tho burrows or prairie
ixiga somullines go down us deup
twelve or fourteen fot Ifut thu
budgors with most uncanny porsover
niicrt coriicred ovory Inhabitant or
tlioio burrows In some blind passage
and then patiently tunneled their way
to thorn und atu thorn. Thu prnlrlo
dog tasted good to the badger wheth
er hu finally reached lilm at the
hroHhrant, lunch or dlnnor hour. It
took sovcral years to do the Job on
tho wholo urea, nnd then the bndgers
wont nwny looking ror other dog
towns.
Hut Just oh the prnlrlo dog con
ceived a greutur fondness for alfalfa
und wheat than for dry range grasses,
so the coyoto round young lainb.,
(hickonn and turknyn moro to Ills
liking than pralrlo dogs, Thus both
tho pralrlo dog und Him coyote bocuntu
unpopular, but tho coyote lnctirrod
tho greatcronmlt of man, fcnitlnrb
shot, poisoned, trupped und killed
coyotes, California, for example,
punned a law In 1801 offering a boun
ty of flvo 'dollars ouch for coypto
i'Cd riH much as n cow.
Ground squirrels aro essentially
pocket editions of pralrlo dogs,
.Slightly smaller but of much thu
same habits, thoy aro llkowlsu social
and live In colonial, Thu burrows,
which may have only ono or two op
enliiL's. or uvea four or flvu If tho
family Is moro consequential, descend I hydrocyanic-acid gns and carbon bo-
from one and u half to four fuul or
termination one of its major projects. ,
To this end cooperative ugrcumouts '
were reached with thu agricultural j
extension rvrvlcu In nil tho Wuitcru
Htntes except Texas und Oklahoma.
In Nevada thu work was assigned to
tho statu rubles commission and In j
California to the horticultural com-
mission, but both lltesu bodies cooper
ate with thu extension service, with J
the help or the state relations ser-
vice.
The work ot extermination began j
llrst in the stales worst affected.
Kansas In ID 01 passed a law provld-i
lug for the destruction tr pralrlo dogs
n;ul gophers. It was estimated at ;
that llino that dog towns covered j
. 000. 000 acres In thu statu. A situ- j
liar law was placed on the statute i
boohs or Nebraska In IDOtJ. The j
i constantly increasing damage rrom
rodents soon forced snino coucerii'd i
action toward their extermination In'
all thostates west or 100th degree U. !
In thin, as In all movements ro- r
quiring cooperative action, thu first'
mop was trom Individual Initiative. t
Farmers, In Bclfdcfvnuo, tried vuloua ,
methods of saving tholr crops from
destruction. They studied the habits
of pralrlo dogs and gophers to learn .
how thoy might ho attacked most sue-
cessfully. Farmers gavo thulr young
sons a small bounty for prnlrlo dogs (
und ground nnulrrelB. Tho boys be-l
came expert marksmen. In many
casos thu hoy brought In scalpH In
such numbers us to make tho farm
er wondor whoro tho bounty monoy
could ho found. Hut tho posts still
Increased In numhors. Two seemed
to spring up for each one Hint was
shot. Traps woro tried and othor
kinds of lioniemndo contrivances,
Fumigation by various methods was
attempted. In these experiments tho
farmers made use of sulphur fumes, ,
f
m 1
u
I
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rear. Large plate glass windows. Generous sized doors roomy scat,
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established Ford merits of dependability, with small cost for opera
tion rtnd upkeep. For business and professional men who drive it
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be left with-ui without delay.
BURNS GARAGE
BURNS, OREGON
3. ' - ' A u ' " I J
J
- - . - -
more into thu ground, after which tho
rooms are located along a horizontal
tunnel tun to fifty feet long. A litter
of ground squirrels varlus rrom two
to fourteen, with nn average of about
six. Thoso posts aro fond of almost
anything which tho farmer may grow.
Thoy can eat sagebrush und dry
range grass, hut they profor alfalfa,
grain und other crops, Thoy hnvo
u Imblt of biting off the wheat stoms
Just us thoy uro about to bond, eating
only tho tondor parts. Thus whole
fluids may bo mowed down,
Tho pockot gopher is an under
ground onppor of tlrolesn energy.
Thoy uro constantly extending tholr
mining tuunolB, which are about
' unltilililii TlimiHiinilH of HOiilrrnls
und pralrlo dogs wero killed In this,
JOHN OKMIIKKM.no.
IRRIGABLE and HAY LANDS
in the heart of Harney Valley
now offered at
$30.00 to $1 10.00 an acre
-a.
AH Within the Harney Valley Irrigation District
Large acreage cutting hay. All with Nwater rights.
Jovvoli'i', nnd Optloimi
liJnirrtwor.
Fine Wulch Itcpalrlng a Specialty.
PACIFIC LIVE STOCK COMPANY
Sales Office at Burns.