The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-02-23

congress should have decided to wipe
out the biological survey from among
the bureaus of the agricultural de-
partment just at the moment that the
survey had issued one of the most
valuable reports recently put out from
the department. The report is that
of Vernon Bailey on wolf extermina-
ton in the west. This is a live SUBJ
ject with stock raisers of ali sorts, but
especially with the cattlemel. There
has been a good deal of discussion in
the past two years over the enormous
damage done by wolves and their
constant increase on the cattle ranges
This increase was laid largely by
many observers to the institution of
the forest reserves, which are suppos-
ed to furnish cover and breeding
place for the wolves and retreat for
them after their raids on the herds.
Whether this was true might be open
to argument, but there was no quest
ion about the damage the wolves were
doing The best estimates that could
DS Ildue pldCSu IIlS udAdSt W CdIIIC-
men alone in the four or five states
and territories along the eastern slope
of the Rocky mountains at $4,000, 900.
year.
MIR. Vernon Bailey's Work.
The biological survey of the depart
ment of agriculture took up the prob
lem about year ago, and sent Mr..
Bailey to study wolves on the ground
where they operated. He succeeded
in one season in doing what the ranch
men, the state bounties and the pro-
fessional trappers had failed to do in
a generation. He worked out sim
pie method of reducing the wolf popu-
lation, and the letters of the Cattle
men to the department of agriculture
say that the losses have easily been
them say the reduction is as much
as four-fifths, but the former figure is
the more conservative. This does not
count incidental saving in sheep, hors-
es and hogs and in game animals.
The wolf zone according to the re-
port, covers the whole of the west of
the center of Kansas and Nebraska,
the most of the area of the gulf states
and part of Florida. This is the range
| of the gray wolf, the most DESTRUCTIVE
of the several species. Within it the
| losses of the cattlemen from wolves
average about 10 per cent annually.
The several states pay from $4,000
| to 100000 each a year in state boun-
| ties, and in some of the states there
are as many as three bounties payable
on each VOLTA state bounty, coun-
| ty bounty and a bounty offered by the
ranchmen's association. Seeing that
| wolf pelt il first class condition is
| worth from 81 to Sc, and the bounty
sometimes runs as high as $40, wolf
| harvesting carried on judiciously is
rather lucrative profession. There
are many frauds in connection with
| it, and the floating class of hunters
and trappers who migrate to the point
where the bounties are highest make
| a good thing out of it. Some of them
il fact, boast of knowing where GER
| tain wolf families congregate. but re-
frain from killing the wolf pups, pre-
ferring to let them grow up for the
| higher bounty. The ranchmen them
selves say that their trappers are not
willing to clear out a wolf-ridden ter
ritory even when they can. as they
have 10 desire to work themselves
out of job.
| Mr.. Bailey did not start on the work
with any such financial considerations
to govern him, and worked out very
| simple method for clearing wolf-rid
/ den ranches. He studied the habits
of the animals and found that it was
easy to trail them to the breeding den
They hunt mostly at night, and conse
quently trails in the morning can be
followed direct to the dens and al
night by following the back trail. The
wolves breed mostly from March to
May and in this season it is compara
lively easy matter to locate the breed
ing dens and kill on the pups In addi