Bisbee daily review., 1915-08-01
WAR IS SOON TO START ON
 PRAIRIE DOG PEST
It Will Be Carried on in the h. tereStS of Arizona and New Mexico StoCkmen Who Lose Heavily.

ALBUQUERQUE. July 31. - Five prairie dogs destroy enough grass to support a sheep twenty-five prairie dogs enough Co support a COW Think of twenty-five million prairie dogs, and figure out for yourself why these pro- life little rodents are no joke Co the stockmen of Arizona and New Mexi- co and why the United States Govern ment is hard after their little brown scalpe.
 Scientific prairie dog-hunting is the chosen calling of J. G. Crick of the U. s. Biological Survey, who has re- gently been in Albuquerque recruiting crew of able bodied young men Co begin war on the miltitudes Of prairie dogs which are injuring about 25.O0O acres of range on the Forest Wingate division of the Manzano National For est Mir Crick is working in co-opre- ration with Supervisor J. F. Mullen of the Forest Service and before snow flies he hopes to make room for more cattle and less prairie doge in this particular part of the Forest Win gate country Similar crews are al- ready at work on the Guadalupe diu- sion of the Alamo National Forest. in Southern New Mexico, and on the Sit greaves National Forest in Eastern Arizona.
 Mir Crick's work is applied biologi- cal science in the concrete. Accurate knowledge of just when, what, and how a prairie dog will eat, and just how much and what kind 6f poison it takes to kill him, is all taken ad- vantage of A crew of five men so over the dog-towns on saddle horses, carefully placing one tablespoonful of poison at each inhabited dog-hole, and working from a supply wagon which carries a special mixing tank for pre- pairing the poisoned grain. Every dos town is worked over three times, at intervals of several months. The first work is with strycmined wheat or oats, and generally gets 80 per cent of the dogs. The second work is with the same material and gene rally gets most of the survivors. The third work is with deadly carbon bisulphide gas and generally gets all the rest. lt is quite necessary to get them all, so that the work once done is done for good, or at least until the doge have had time Co move in from surrounding regions The cost of the work per acre Is carefully correlated with the value of the results, and is low enough to be paid for within a very few years by the increase in the carrying capacity of the range.
 Scientific precautions are used Go reduce to a minimum the loss of wild birds and game occasioned by scatter ing the poison. The quantity of poi soled grain placed at each hole is carefully limited Co the quantity which on the average, the dogs will clean up. Where possible, the kind of grain is selected with a view to choosing those kinds which the most beneficial native boirds will not eat. or course it is impossible to avoid destroying some birds
 Mr. Crick emphasizes the fact that in the long run, artificial poisoning can only serve as an aid to nature. Natures prairie dog killers are hawks and owls, and the public must learn to recognize this fact and encourage their work by allowing them to in- crease. Beneficial hawks and owls cost nothing Poisoning at best costs considerably. Beneficial hawks and owls work night and day, year in and year out; poisoning works only when there is an appropriation to carry it on Beneficial hawks and owls cover the whole country poisoning covers only restricted areas. But hawks and owls cannot keep down prairie dogs when every man or boy with a gun shoots them on sight at every possible occasion There is only one hawk, the sharp-skin, and only one owl, the great-horned. which does more harm than good Leave the rest of them alone including the so-called chicken hawk who lives largely on mice prairie dogs, gophers, and snakes and is the farmers best friend, even though he does very occasionally pick up a chicken.
 The Biological Survey at Washing ton or any Forest Officer will gladly furnish any person desiring to destroy prairie dogs with the proper formula for mixing the poison and directions