The daily sentinel., 1907-12-31
KILLING THE Dogs OF The PRAIRIE
a Receipt That Never Fails to do
,he Work. Given by Professor
OF the State Agricultural
College.

10 the man who wishes to rid ..
his fields or pastures of prairie =
dogs. the winter months are =
golden. The natural habits of =
the animal, food conditions. and 4.
man occupations, make this =
the best opportunity to apply =
poisons effectively. =
. 8 80,
The Following formula is used ex-
tensively with excellent results. The
polsoh may be made in any quantity
desired, the only requirement herr
that the ingredients be used in Tho
proportions given:
Strichnia sulfate .1L oupcas
fotassium cyanide ounce
Oll of anise. l teasnoonf,,I
Syrup ,''.
Wheat hlst 80.
dissolve the strychnia sulfate in.
thnee-Iourths Of pint of boiling wa
Ter. Dissolve the potassium in the
mixing vessel and add the potassium
cyanide. Stir thorougly Then pour
IN the solution of strychnia sulfate
SURFING meanwhile. Add the oil Of
anlse The poisohs will not dissolve
together and when they are mixed
lhe cyanide tends to make the strv-
chnine go to the bottom. This
makes 1t necessary to keep the mix
ture thoroughly stirred before pour-
ing 1t over the wheat
me wheat should be put in a tight
vessel OF some kind and the mixed
poisons poured over il. Stir the wheat
thoroughly till every grain is well
iholstehed. Then sprinkle in very
SLOWLY a pound or two of fine corn
meal stirring the wheat at the same
time, so that each kernel receives n
llght coating. Only sufficient meal
should be used to exactly take up the
extra moisture.
The Kind of syrup used is immater-
4ai. It's chief Office Is to make the
poison stick to the wheat. 1t NAV
De sugar syrup, sorgum, or molasses.
10 apply the poison, select a warm
bright day after storm or a cold
SPELL because the dogs come out Mt
these times and are hungry The
poison Is most effective II taken fresh
FOR the cyanide tends to evaporate
and much of the strychnine will be
lost in a storm.
The wheat can be most readily
handled in an old pan and distribu-
ted with an old spoon. Scatter about
teaspoohful in and around the
mouth Of each hole that is occupied
by dogs. To aid in the work and
prevent the omission of holes, the
ground may be marked off in strips
or blocks by the use of sticks with
pieces of muslin tied to them for
markers.
The above amount of poison will
be sufficient for a thousand or twelve
hundred holes. 1t has been estima-
ted that there are about twenty-five
holes to the acre on the average, and
sometimes the number runs to one
hundred. The poison estimated OIL.
this basis, will be sufficient for from
twenty to forty acres.
1t will not be possible to kill all
the dog at one application and the
ground should be gone over again in
about two weeks.
in fbhef hef9pthf 9pthff,h hfffiiesdI ffiisd sffaefRp BEGINS
gregate in centers, and may be killed
with more poison or by fumigation
with pintsch oil.
The poisons used here are among
he most powerful known to man
Kind, and every precaution possible |
should be taken to prevent poisoning |
o either man or beast None but old
which may be destroyed or
Kept for this use alone. should be
Employed. On the other hand there
S much needless fear on the part of
many people who are unfamiliar with
his kind of work. The sases of poi
ioning on record are exceedingly rare
No cases have been reported of in
ury to stock grazing in the fields
where the dogs were being poisoned,
ior of injury to human beings while
loing, the work. Still, the utmost
.are must be used, for the substan-
.es are deadly in nature.
S. ARTHUR JOHNSON
Associate Professor of Entomology.
Colorado Agricultural College, Fort
Collins, Colo.