The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1908-01-25
Poisoning Prairie Dogs.

To the man who wishes to rid his
fields or pastures of prairie dops, the
winter months are golden. The nat
ural habits of the animal, food con-
ditiOns, and mans occupations, make
this the best opportunity to apply
pOisons effectively.
The following formula is used ex-
tensively with excellent results. The
poison may be made In any quantity
desired, the only requirement being
that the ingredients be used in the
proportion given:
Strychnia sulfate.l IL ounces
Potassium cyanide II ounce
Oil of anise ....-..-.,.a1 teaspoOnful
Syrup p.....-...,.,...,.-....l.. Il quart
Wheat t.,.....-.... ................. / bushel
Dissolve the ,stryclinia sulfate i'll
three-fourths of pint of boiling VIA
ter. Dissolve the potassium in the
mixing vessel and add the potassium
cyanide. stir thoroughly. Then pour
in the solution of strychnia sulfate,
stirring meanwhile. Add the oil of
anise. The poisons will not dissolve
together, and when they are mixed
the cyanide tends to make the
strychnine go to the bottom. This
makes 1t necessary to keep the mix
ture thoroughly stirred before pour
ing it over the wheat.
The wheat should be put in u tight
vessel of some kind and the mixed
poisons poured over it. Stir the
wheat thoroughly till every. grain is
well moistened. Then sprinkle in
very slowly pound or two of fine
corn meal, stirring the wheat at the
same time, so that each kernel re-
ceives u light coating. Only suffi-
cient meal should be used to exactly
take up the extra moisture.
The kind of syrup used is imma-
terial. Its chief office is to make
the poison stick to the wheat. 1t
may be sugar syrup, sorghum or mo-
lasses.
To apply the poison, select warm,
bright day after storm or cold spell,
because the dogs come out at these
times and are hungry. The poison is
most effective II taken fresh. for the
cyanide tends to evaporate and much
d the strychnine will be lost in "a
Aorm.
fThe wheat can be most readily
ha6dled N ~ old pail and distrib-
q Nibh. N .csutd spesss -fssxtter-
about teaspoonful In and around
the mouth of each hole that is occu-
pied by dogs. To aid in the work
and prevent the omission of holes,
the ground may be marked of 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 esti-
mated that there are about twenty
five holes to the acre on the average,
and sometimes the number runs to
one hundred. The poison, estimated
on this basis, will be sufficient for
from twenty to forty acres.
1t will not be possible to kill all
the dogs at one application, and the
ground should be gone over again in
about two weeks.
When the breeding season begins
in the spring, the dogs tend to con-
gregate in centers, and may be killed
with more poison or by fumigation
with pintsch oil.
The pOisons used here are among
the most powerful known to man
kind, and every precaution possible
should be taken to prevent poisoning
to either man or beast. None but
old vessels, which may be destroyed
or kept for this use alone, should be
employed. On the other hand, there
is much needless fenr on the part of
many people who are unfamiliar
with this kind of work. The cases OF
poisoning on record are exceedingly
rare. No cases have been reported
Of injury to stock grazing in the
fields where the dogs were being poi
soned, nor Of injury to human beings
while doing the work. Still, the ut
most care must be used, for the sub
stances are deadly in nature.-S.
Arthur Johnson, Associate Professor
of Entomology, Colorado Agricnl-
tural College, Fort Collins.
The Roosevelt -Brownson Incident.