The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1904-08-19

the OWi ana tne hdtsiSSHaNS -"
the Prairie.
Offic;al Prairie Dog Exterminator IS
the title given by the Legislature OF
Kansas to D. E. Lantz of Manhattan
Kan. Mr.. Lantz's duties are to devise
means Of killing off the millions Oh
prairie dogs that infest the western
part of the State.
Ever since Western Kansas was set
tied the prairie dog has been a PIC
turesque pest. He has devastated mil
lions of acres of land and has been
the indirect means of killing hundreds
of head of valuable livestock.
He has been hunted and scalded,
poisoned and conjured. but he has
lived merri:y through it all, and null
tiplied at rate that even the prollnc
Belgian hare cannot equal. Finally,
after two years Of experiment. the
State Agricultural College hit on
poison which. when properly and tact
fully used-for the prairie dog Is
keen rascal and not easily deceived
is warranted to lay low the hardest
dog that ever barked defiance to MS
foes.
This poison Is thoroughly mixed
with grain, but the same kind must
never be used twice. else the dogs
that escaped the first bait will ignore
the second. A spoonful of IT. Is put
at the entrance of every hole. The
unsuspecting dog, coming out to iced.
Ands his meal awaiting him. Altar
guilelessly partaking of it. he bur
riedly retreats to his burrow, to die
alone. A dead prairie dog Is never
found on top of the ground.
Mr.. Lantz reports that during the
past two years the State has con-
sumed about 1900 pounds Of strych-
nine and over half ton of potassium
cyanide in manufacturing the poison.
From 100000 to 100000 acres of land
formerly infested with the prairie
dogs have been entirely reclaimed,
while a partial destruction of them
has been accomplished over a much
larger area, including some of the best
alfalfa ranches in the State.
ONLY since alfalfa growing reached
its present proportions in Western
Kansas has the prairie dog problem
been such a grave one. Prior to that
the land was hardly worth the trouble
of driving out the invaders.
It ia impossible even to estimate
accurately the vast number of dogs
that form a single town. On ranch
in Scott County owned by c. 5. Gilbert
of Wichita there is a single town
which covers $50 acres. The houses
average 700 to the acre, and each
house ia known to contain not less
man Ave dogs. This would bring the
total population of this single town
I'm to something like 1925 900 dogs, to
saw nothing Of a full complement of
owls and rattlesnakes.
That prairie dogs, rattlesnakes and
owls live together in the same holes
ia wall known. The assertion ia often
made that they are a happy family,
pursuing a peaceful live-and-let-live
nolicy and doing cooperative house
keepins on an ideal basis.
This is far from being the case. The
dogs and the owls live In peace to-
eether though the owl Is a lazy fellow
and the dogs have to do all the work.
But the snakes are interlopers, hated
and feared alike by owl and dog, get
ting their living by the offspring of
their hosts. and doing absolutely moth
ing in return for the favors shown
them
OF all the inhabitants of these popu-
1ous cities the dogs come first, and do
all the work. digging out the holes,