The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-11
1rAH,s Ar1,rAE roxs.
Aseut Tweuty Varieties suppessa 70 ne Hostile
60 uunsan HernEn-
From he WashsnOtoA Post.


Frors he washsnctoA Post.
In the forthcoming year book. to b published
three months hence, the Department Of Agricul-
ture win offer q novel contribution to natural
history. Tho topic will DO; animals Supposed
to De Foes OF Mankind" and Il will tell about
tho mammals and birds native to this country
which are supposed to DO hostile TO human bo-
ings and their industries.
1t cannot DO said that In tho United States
bounties have brought about the determination
Of asinele species OF animal in any State. Tho
rarity OF wolves east Of tho Mississippi River Is
rather due to the settlement of the country than
70 tho number killed for rewards. On the great
plains, where civilization has not enoroachod
upon natures domain to any great eXtont, the
yIISstsndias hish premium. paid sos i.issip:.
Almost undonstedly coyotes. which arc q
sSRfifn ; SES' during Ga t SS'I Last .b aes' yd inSFS sincS .h IN
bounty on them was withdrawn, so that there
osii 1sH 4, HSas oggt e. ss'% and q ' Rssa s'' cr as Svi &
~ aFgrogsting hundreds Of thousands OF dol.
which now pay more than ss per wolf scalp, and
Meanwhile in pomo parts Of the country
S NolysMs o and , SsSyoSsffS, t Are y I, 4 d So1 ~ ssOS od II
yorth o., sheep annually, AM in Nebraska tho
damage HossI d ons s e cs, J f. 1. rec zone o n at Sloo'H 100
operation Of ali the States. This lack Of agree
msnt on The subject q b0up.IeS in general
localities whore rewards are low arc shipped to
places where premiums are high, and thus
pieliSe sii % pay asS sGs aslr shss that q oSGiHan nyt b 1s se% to
It. At the present time the bounty on wolves
e enS s0S Sslns I psiS & from e. sl biss e IN RI t Iss,6 Is,ss sf
South Dakota. In North Dakota It is S2; II is $8
=, saa mDesss sp ,o sns w .SIm.1ss. 9 fSn. in I Iowa 4 Il, y g;
be claimed proftably in Iowa for coyotes killed
The wolf bounty in Nevada was 80 cents whom
9uently, Thousands of soalps were shipped from
More actually hSt i%poTiea fro ,nIs &e adaeo % sS % se eai,
ifornia found herself getting poorer at a dis
StS sinE e Fir sno rand the Of 6D Dasayn lay Sl E . FeS pc sss
part OF local authoritios, heads Of domestic
fowls, pertridEes. phoassnts, cuckoos. butcher
act" in Pennsylvania. The skins Of dogs and
for those Of wolves and coyotes. In tho case of
small animals the heads ara sometimes accepted
90 that the premiums are collected twice. Ono
county in North Dakota, waRinR war OH ground
and a year or two later ali four feet.
Ono interesting OBJECT of the bounty system Is
i 10 sedfou II e s saS t Ssssf N ind If 1 @sn Sn hn,i1es 1 "te
ing snakes for the sake of the premiums offered
There is no doubt that the same thing has been
done In this country with various animals for
which bountics wuro granted. For example,
the eggs Of hawks and owls have been
taken from tho nests and Matched under hens.
In Iowa q few years ago It was said to
be more. profitable to rear coyotes for tho
bounty than to raise sheep, and Kentucky and
New Mexico have recognized the possibility OF
breeding wolv yes by req uiring afiidavits showing
that tho animals had not been raised for the
sake OF rewards. British Columbia, by the way.
pays bountics for wolves. coyotes. and panthers,
but requires that the skulls shall DO presented
to tho curator Of the provincial museum for
scientific Identification.
The pocket gopher is one Of the worst enemies
man has to encounter in tho animal kingdom. 1t
does all Its work under ground, the lines Of it's
tunnels being marked by dead and dying plants.
Its burrow runs o foot or less below the surface,
and 10 dug. for the purpose OF getting ut the
roots on which 1t feeds. One may travel for
weeks In q region infested by gophers, and yet
stroy pnobserved. Tho buffalo in their
past abundance were not onetenth so
numerous. Gophers do mot disappear be.
fields. making havoc among the crops and kil-
ing the orchards. The little beast Is very brave.
not hesitat!ng to attack q man on slight provo
cation. When young 1t looks strikinyly like
Q baby, being hairless and pink, with q round
head and fat hands. 1t runs backward as rapidly
as forward through its tunnels, and its 60 nip
mont OF teeth Is so admirable that It ia able to
make Is, 200 cuts a minute.