The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-04-15

n Z.
means OF dynamite and otner = lgn
explosives was ATTEMPTED ne foxes
avoided the trees that had been So
carefully charged and the explosives
did not harm them.
The Mongoose, 3 Nuisance.
The mongoose is another creature
which individuals persist IN bring
ing UNLIMITED to these shores. For
this it is perhaps fair to hold Rud--
yard xipling largely responsible.
The mongoose he fmmortalized under
the name OF Rtkt-Ttki-Tayl in the
. Jungle Book is a very attractive
little hero, but no matter what the
mongoose may be in India, in Amer
lea he is nuisance When no snakes
are available to appefse his appetite
he does not scorn chickens, young
pigs, kids, lambs, puppies, kittens,
vegetables and fruits.
Despite Overwhelming evidence OF
the havoc he creates. however, ne
frequently appears as a pet in charge
OF those who should know better
One woman succeeded in getting her
specimen through the customs and
In safety to ia New York notel. There,
however, his presence became known
and In a few hours an inspector ap-
peared to carry on the obnoxious
visitor. Still the mongoose does get
in and does escape when he is in.
Cape Cod farmer whose poultry yard
suffered nightly raids laid in wait
for the Intruder and succeeded In
shooting an nimal the like OF which
neither ne nor his friends had seen
before. Ultimately the authorities
recognized 1t as a mongoose, but 70
this day no one knows what series
OF adventures led to his presence IN
Cape Cod.
His presence in this hemisphere at
all is due to the mistaken notion
that he would be invaluable in rid
ding the cane fields of the West IN
dies of rats In 1872 a Mr. Espent
introduced nine of the animals, four
males and five females into Jamaica
for this purpose. They increased
with such startling rapidly that
in 1890 a government commission
endeavored to find some way OF eX-
terminating the pests. Evidence col
lected at that time showed that the
harm the creatures did far outweigh
ed any benefit to the sugar and coffee
plantations. In the meantime at
tempts had been made to introduce
the mongoose into Hawaii, but tortu-
nately they were not successful.
Still another instance of the case
with which experiments of this kind
run away with the experimenters IS
the Australian rabbit. Rabbits were
provide sport for the earlier settlers.
1t proved expensive sport.
Millions Have Been Spent.
millions OF dollars says report
OF the Department of Agriculture,
nave ben spent for bounties, poisons
and various other methods OF de-
struction; thousands of miles OF RAD
bit fences have been built, and hun
dreds of schemes for destroying the
animals have been suggested, but
nothing has yet been found that Will
effectually exterminate the pest.
1t can in fact be safely asserted
that no one is able to predict accu-
ra1ely what will be the behavior OF
any form OF life wnen taken from
its accustomed environment anu n
placed in new surroundings but the
great majority OF the pests wnlcn
have been brought from Europe and
gained a foothold here have been
vastly more destructive in this coun-
try than they showed Themselves IN
their old home. They are freed from
their natural enemies who formerly
preyed upon them, they find a longer
summer and In consequence a longer
breeding season than they are &C
customed to- and the large scale on
which American agriculture Is con-
Quoted does not permit SO readily OF
restrictive measures as the l1nllteu
holdings and intensive CULTIVATION II
Europe. In the course of centuries
q q probable that nature, left to-
herself, would hnd means to reduce
their ravages to the original dimen-
sions but a century or two, mere
TRUE in the eyes of nature, is q long
time to the farmer who sees his crops
fan and his live stock sicken. For
this reason the governments of al
new countries are today extremely
wary of importations that may pro-
those that are hoped for. On the
other hand, the Old World is by no
means so receptive to pests that
reach it from the new Many die out
completely and few prove a serious
scourge. An important exception to
this, however is the phylloxera.
which has worked unto1I evil in the
vineyards OF Europe. The disease
was brought from America N a ship +
ment Of rooted vines to France in
1859. Since then it has proved it