Weekly journal-miner., 1911-08-09
QFrOm Thursesy's Daily.)


 Returning to Prescott after an absence of more than twenty years, I find that in building up its wonder ful new city which might very justly be termed HThe Mountain Gem of the Southwest" its citizens have seemingly disregarded the valuable services rendered by the native pre- dseeous birds and mammals of Yavapai county.
 For instance, a price is placed upon the heads of certain animals, which feed largely, if not almost ex- clusively, on prairie dogs, pocket gophers, ground squirrels and numer- ous noxious insects. A bounty of $1 is paid on the pelt of each skunk under the mistaken idea that each individual is liable to communicate hydrophobia.
 Occasionally skunks of certain To- cslities, may be affected with hydro phobia, as is the case with dogs, eats, wolves and many other species of mammals. These cases, however, are extremely rare in the aggregate, few people having witnessed a single case within their lifetime.
 Among those eonversant with the habits of these animals, it is well known that skunks destroy noxious forms of mammal and insect life, which ruin crops of farm products, forage and young orchard. In some states, where these services are ap- preeiated, the animals are protected under the statutes. Now that agri- cultural possibilities have been proven in this county and dry farming is succeeding, it might be well to take a step forward and prevent further destruction of these valuable allies of the ranchmen.
 This attitude toward the skunk is not strange, when it is taken into consideration that hawks and owls are also looked upon as enemies of the ranchmen. If the truth were known, two or three of hawks and one of owls. out of seventy-five species which inhabit the United States, are injurious to poultry and wild game. Hawks and owls are complementary one to the other, asI the hawk hunts by day and the owl by night. The one feeding on chip hunks, prairie dogs and other diurnal rodents, while the other destroys pocket gOphers, rabbits, mice and other forms which have erepuseular habits.
 With the exception of the destruc- tive Cooper hawk, sharp-shinned hawk and great horned owl species, which all ranehers and sportsmen should learn to distinguish. I may safely say that the rapaciOus birds are among the most, if not the most valuable birds that wage war against The foes of the agrieulturalist.
 The skunk, alleged a chicken thief and distributor of hydrophobia, really renders important service by destroy Ing immense numbers of mice and other rodents, white grubs, grasshop- pers, criekets, cut-worms, hornets, wasps and other noxious forms. Al though it prefers these kinds of food, like the opossum, it will east almost any form of animal matter and also at times certain wild fruits and Der ries. It is said to be fond of eggs and young chickens, but have known a mother skunk to make her nest and rear her young in the inner walls of chicken yard and neither egg nor fowl was molested. If per mitted, they would undoubtedly as sist the local rsnehmen in destroying young prairie dogs, as they do in other localities.
 Nature has nicely adjusted the inter-relation of animal and plant life and it is only when nfan inter feres that things go astray.
 This is well exemplified in Yavapai county by the appalling increase in numbers of prairie dogs, gophers and other injurious mammals which owe this increase to the destruction by man of predaceous animals, such as skunks, badgers, coyotes, weasels and foxes.