The Holbrook news., 1912-05-24

lNCE the LranSIOrmdC1On OL
 prairie into grain fields by a
 host of eager farmers, nearly all 0 the wild creatures have disap-
 peared. To the old-time ranch er, riding home from the distant post office at sundown, the careless coyote, IS it sinks across the crop-dividing lane, seems last link with bygone era, and its evening serenade becomes 2 howl of sympathetic protest against the roar of gasoline engines. For the coyote is not panic-stricken by advanc- Ing tides of hyper-civilized life like its large congener the wolf, but adapts Itself to altered conditions, and prob ably finds in the latest boom of the poultry yard some compensation for the disappearance of sheep, writes B. s. Cameron in Country Life. I have somewhere read that the cat which can strike an octave is the only musi- cion among mammals, but think the coyote can excel the tabby in this re- spect- It can do anything 1t likes with It's voice and, with the ease of light operatic soprano, can shriek in altis- simo or rattle out staccato at top speed, besides barking and bowling in all the variations peculiar to dog of It's size. When several coyotes affect orchestral combination the effect Is lndescribable.
 Recent systematists assign eight species of coyotes to the United States, and four more to Mexico, but m the present account refer only to canis latrano. Coyotes, like foxes, diff fer very much in size, but an average male coyote in Montana weighs 25 pounds and stands about twenty-five nches at the shoulder, with a total ength from tip to tip of A inches. of which the tail occupies 15 inches. The prevailing hue of our coyote is ash color, which darkens oa the back ow- Ing to the profusion of black hairs, and turns gradually to reddish yellow 1t all the extremities, excepting the dp of the tail, which is usually black, but occasionally white.
 Aid to Farmers.
 If the farmers are wise, the coyote will date a new lease of life from the new agriculture; for where there are DO sheep, the quondam foe becomes a valued friend and ally to keep down the hordes of jack-rabbits, gophers, prairie dogs, feld-mice and other pests which destroy the crops Owing to an epidemic among the once abundant cottontail-rabbits, coyotes, in default of carrion, subsist during the winter chiefly upon mice Among the latter are included the voles (Microtus), which are very destructive, and Gas ably demonstrated by MT. Stanley E. Piper of the Biological society," so pro- life that, in the absence of natural checks, they might multiply to a plague every four or five years. The Nevada vole plague within recent memory forbids a doubt that unless the threatened extermination of hawks, owls and coyotes can be avert ed, the result must be disastrous to the farmer, yet The declines" q quote the eminent naturalist, Dr. A. K. Fish CT, Yearbook, United States depart ment of agricultural ''to give a mere pittance in return for value received, and visits indiscriminate persecution on the humble and faithful workers that have helped to save his harvest or orchard" That coyotes may devel- op into confirmed poultry thieves is lndisputable, but in my experience these crafty robbers of the henroost are either females with hungry pups dependent on them, or individuals of feeble type, whom age or injury pre- cludes from hunting in a wider field. The raids are made at night or early dawn, and it is thus a simple matter to safeguard the birds by shutting them up when they retire to roost Turkeys, however, must be excepted, their vagrant habit rendering them an easy prey. Coyotes with a taste for chicken know by instinct when the homestead is untenanted or insecurely watched, and the persecuted beast forthwith becomes extremely bold. At the time of writing, a neighbor (Mrs. Haeen) happened to be alone on her ranch in the early morning hours with out companions other than her little girl and an old blind dog. Hearing a terrible outcry among her fowls, she rushed to the barn where they were gathered for the night, and surprised a coyote in the middle of its gory work. One headless bullet already stained the ground, and a second was iust saved from a similar fate by her sudden appearance, which alarmed the murderous brute, causing 1t to re- treat without it's booty. Meanwhile