The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1910-04-12
OF INTEREST TO FARMERS
A Sensible Treatise on the Practical,
Effective and Safe Use of a Poi.
son, the Result of Care
full Research.

age which is done by such little ami
mails as field mice. prairie dogs, ground
squirrels, pocket gophers, and other
rodent pests. Yet it has been one OF
the most serious and most difficult
problems that farmers have had to
solve, and the Department of Agricul
ture, with it's hundreds of experts, has
been trying to devise some plan by
which the rodents could be killed Off
Private individuals, withthought of the
wealth which would be theirs if they
could work out some scheme which
would eXterminate rodents, have put
their wits to work, and attempted to
solve the problem. Farmers organiza-
tions have tried every plan suggested to
them, but have found them impractical
or unsatisfactory. The little animals
have been protected by old Mother Ma
ture, who has endowed them with ex-
traordinary keen instinct, and so far
it has been the farmers who have lost
in the battle for supremacy.
Entire Crops Have Been Ruined.
The pest problem is growing prob
lem. They are continually growing,
multiplying Where there were mil
lions of the rodents a few years ago,
there are hundreds of millions now.
The rich productive fields of our fer
tile western states offer them an ideal
home Plenty of food, with great va
riety, is always at hand, and they are
thriving on the 'fat of the land" Some
times as much as three-fourths of crop
has been destroyed by gOphers, while
in few instances, the entire crop has
been ruined in very short time by
swarms of the rodents.
The Entire West Is Infected.
Different sections are infested with
different pests. In the Southwestern
part of the United States prairie dogs
work untold damage to the growing
crops BY instinct, the prairie dog is
a social animal. always living in col
Onies which vary in extent from a few
acres to hundreds of square miles.
New Mexico. part of Kansas, Colo
RADIO, Oklahoma, Arizona, Utah and
Texas are literally alive with prairie
dogs Thrty-twO of these little ami
mails will eat as much grass as one
sheep, SO it can easily be figured how
much damage they will do in one sea-
son. Estimates show that the grass
consumed in Texas alone would sup
port over 1858 900 head of cattle, while
from one-half TO three-quarters of the
crops are destroyed by these rodents.
Is it any wonder Mr. Farmer has been
trying to find some method of Kidding
his lands of these pests?
Losses by Gophers Are Enormous.
Pocket gophers work farther north
than prairie dogs, but like them, they
are fast workers, and great eaters.
Like the busy little bee, they are sell
dom quiet, and have a keen instinct
which warns them instantly of danger,
making their determination extremely
difficult. Not only are they ravenous
eaters, but by burrowing under the
ground, they destroy even more than
they eat Meadows, pastures, and
corn-fields are thrown up by their bur-
rowing, and much of the farmers hard
work is lost. Great damage is done to
farm machinery by the stones and peb-
bles found in the mounds, and orchards
are often destroyed.
Bubonic Plague Danger.
In California, Washington and Ore
gon, ground squirrels are especially
troublesome, and infiict a loss of mil
lions of dollars. Squirrels are very
hard to poison, for their appetite is
changeable, and bait must be carefully
prepared to allay their suspicious. 1t
must also be pleasing to their palate,
or they will pass it by in their search
for food. For this reason, the poison
ing of ground squirrels needs careful
study, and must be scientifically treat
ed. 1t has recently been found that
the squirrels in California are the
means of carrying plague infection, and
hence their immediate determination
is demanded for sanitary reasons.
Farmers Have Tried Everything.
How have the farmers been fighting
the rodents? Well, they have tried
every plan recommended, for you know
the drowning man will always grasp at
straw. Trapping has been tried but
owing to the great amount of work
necessary to attend to the traps it has
not been successful Farmers have Of
fered bounties for the bodies of dead
rodents. Children have made pastime
profitable by shooting the pests, and
still they have increased so rapidly
that farmers have become discouraged.
Poisoning is acknowledged by all to be
the most effective means of killing
them off, but even this plan haD not
worked out as we'll as might be ex-
pected.
Waste Using Poison Is Enormous.
Of all the poisons used, strychnine
has been tested and found to possess
more advantages than any other. It is
a most deadly poison, acting surely
and quickly. While it has a very bit
ter taste, yet rodents reject bait con-