The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-04-21

year later the hole is reopened and tht
 bones of the dead are carried out ant
 buried close under the sod and the holt
 is then used again by live dogs
 prairie dog is very industrious. H.
 does not stop work when he digs his
 own hole. He keeps on digging others
 That is why there are so many aban-
 doned holes in a prairie dog town. The
 hole in which he lives is from twenty tc
 thirty feet deep. It does not run to wa
 ter. A prairie dog does not need water
 He can live without 1t. The abandoned
 holes which the dogs make just because they have nothing else to do run from
 ten to fourteen feet in depth. These are I the holes that are occupied by rattle snakes and owls. Frequently the prai- Tie dog, rattlesnake and owl are de- clared to be chums. This is not true. They are mortal enemies. When rat | tlesnake, by mistake, gets into hole l occupied by prairie dog one of two l things happens. If the dog is in the hole he soon lands in the stomach of the snake. If he is out of the hole he 1 fills up the hole and smothers the snake to death The prairie dog treats N''N DNi usually wise guy. He knows the diff 1 ference between them and the ordinary fox or gray squirrel and takes the abandoned one. He is also shy of the rattlesnake and generally selects the abandoned hole that the rattler has overlooked
 Prairie dogs are good to eat, although not many people tackle them. They are a species bf a squirrel, The only differ ence between them and the ordinary fox or gray squirrel is that the latter live in holes in trees, while the former live in holes in. the ground. Both live on vegetation. One species takes to the woods where it can froIic around among the limbs and leaves; the other takes to the ground where it can do it's playing and work without fear of falling and breaking its neck. But the meat of the two species is exactly alike and tastes alike. The fox squirrel is eaten because it is called squirrel The prairie dog is not eaten because it Is called dog. Its name queers it as an article of food However, prairie dogs have been eaten and the food relished, too.
 In each of the histories of the expe- dition of Pike, Fremont and Long men, tion is made of prairie dogs on the west ern prairies and much is said of the tenderness of the meat and how palata- ble it was. In his story of his Santa Fe expedition in the 30s Kendall also speaks of eating prairie dog. He says the members of his party got tired of buffalo meat and decided to try a mess of prairie dog. It was such fine eating that the men never tasted buffalo meat during the remainder of the trip, but ate prairie dog three times a day. Not any of the present generation, though, is eating prairie dog. The name and the fact that prairie dogs are considered a pest has settled that question.
 Logan county leads all other counties of Kansas in prairie dog population. It has about 13, ,000, 900. Finney comes sec ond with 100000 and Cove third with 10,000,0 900. Scott county has about B., 500,000 Wallace 3,300,O00, Clark 250O,000, Trego 1,25o,OO0, Seward 100000, Co., 100000 and Stevens 900,000. Professor Lantz has furnished enough dope to kill off one-fifth of the acre. age during the past six months. He is curious to learn whether the districts which have been cleared will stay | cleared or whether they will fill up again this summer with young prairie | dogs. No effort will be made to use the | on an extensive scale during the spring, summer and autumn. The | dogs will not eat 1t. They can get 1 green grass and other fresh vegetable | matter. During the summer, however, | Pofessor Lantz will mix up lot of the stuff and have it ready for next winter. | If it is demonstrated that the districts cleared of dogs by the remedy stay | cleared, enough dope will be manufac- -ured next winter to kill off the dogs if, on the other hand, the dis | ricts fill up again Professor Lantz or some one else will have to adopt some ! other method of eXterminating them.
 No matter what is the final result of lis present remedy on prairie dogs, it will be used in the future to extermi late rats anyhow. Some of the big concerns of the state are Kansas City Journal.
 lsing 1t to rid their plants of rodents.-