East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1913-06-26
INVESTIGATION SHOWS RABBIT
INVASION OVERDRAWN
(Continued from page one.l


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area but think that the best means
of keeping them down would be to
inoculate them with some fatal dis
ease.
Mr.. Tallman's Story.
Mr.. Tallman made the trim to Hold
man by auto accompanied by Sec
retary r. w. Ritner Roy Alexander,
Ray Augustus and Folsom Tallman.
Each was armed with 80 rifle At
Holdman they We're Joined by Fred
McRae and proceeded on down the
canyon. I'VE drove about five miles
below Holdman," said Mr.. Tallman
In speaking of the trip" and then,
dismounting from the car. spread out
and went on afoot about three miles
we did not jump up many rabbits.
Certainly there are not enough there
to make good hunting. AS we get
into the sagebrush land. we saw more
but during the entire trip only sue
seeded in shooting about Z or 9 apiece.
During the afternoon we gathered at
the water hole, where. according to
reports. thousands of rabbits collect
ed during the heat of the day. About
the hole and in an area of several city
, blocks Immediately surrounding we
| counted six.
sees No Damaged Grain.
II examined some of the fields of
grain and found some of the crops in
poor condition but did not notice any
evidence of depredations by rabbits
However, Mr.. McRae told me that
! over in another canyon and farther
/ down, some of the ranchers had been
damaged and he mentioned several
names with the amount of acreage
damaged. I do not think the total
amount is over 500 acres and it cer-
| tainly does not even approximate the
amount reported
II learned that the rabbits every
year do some damage to the outly-
ing farmers and Mr.. McRae. Ora
Holdman and others told me that
there are more rabbits in that vicin-
ity this year than ever before. They
think that, If nothing is done to
check their natural increase there will
be so many in a few years that they
will work out from the sagebrush
lands on to the farming lands.
asked them if they though the people
of Pendleton could assist them by
holding a drive but they agreed with
me that such method is impractic-
able and if held at this time. would
do more damage than the rabbits are
doing because of the necessity of the
drivers traversing the grain fields
They seemed to think that efforts
should be made to poison them or in
troduce a fatal disease among them
and I promised to take the matter ur
with the bureau of animal industry al
once
''In view of what I saw and learn
ed there. I think that the published
stories about enormous losses to Una
tilla county farmers to be unwarrant
ed by the facts and I feel that the
county has been given a great dea
of very unfavorable advertising"
Weeds the Real Menace.
Mr.. Tallman went on to say tina
from what he observed he was con
u vinced that the Russian thistle ant
the Jim Hill mustard and not rabbit
we're doing the greatest damage to th
; crops in the Holdman country. II
this statement John Vert concurs Mr.
Vert who owns about a Thousand
acres belond Holdman accompanie'
George Robbins on trip of inspec
ton Tuesday and stated today that n
considered weeds the greatest menac
to the successful farming of the coun
try. 1--WE drove beyond Holdman sew
eral miles" he said, "and In an
$ around my place saw no evidences
rabbits. As we proceeded farthe
= west and got onto the sagebrush land
: we encountered many rabbits and
s believe there are thousands of ther
in that vicinity
!, what would you estimate the am
s cunt of acreage damaged by rabbits?
: he was asked.
"From what I saw and heard fror
, others. / should say that a very. yer
e liberal estimate would be from SO
= to 1000 acres" he answered. at
not the rabbits that are doing tn
great damage" he went on to sa!
'It is the Russian thistle and the Jir
: Hill mustard and unless the count
V court or the farmers take means I
4 eradicate these weeds. they will tax
a the country. They have already de
\ stroyed a number of fields. Their
= has been a great deal said about tn
!, Hoops field of 200 acres wiped ou
s by rabbits I want to say that tn
4 damage done to that field by rabbit
= is not material for rabbits or no rah
n bits the grain had been choked ou
x BY weeds"