The Cook County news-herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Cook County, Minn.) 1909-current, 1915-10-07

prepared by the United States Depart
Ment of Agriculture.)
Field mice, under certain conditions,
| may become extraordinarily abundant,
and, as they are injurious to most
| crops, methods for controlling them
are of Importance. Unfortunately
most of their natural enemies are be-
ing destroyed or driven away from the
farms so that these mice are becom-
ing more and more of serious pest.
Altogether there are some fifty spe-
cies of field mice known to exist in
the United States, but for the farmer
who is concerned only with getting
rid of them there are only two classes
meadow mice and pine mice. The
runs of meadow mice are mainly on
the surface of the ground. under grass
or some sheltering litter. These runs
lead to shallow burrows which serve
as winter homes. In summer the mice
use surface nests of dead grass. The
young may be brought forth in either
Meadow mice destroy grass, GU;
down grain, clover and alfalfa, e:t
grain left standing in shocks, injurc
flowers and vegetables-in short, DE-:
harm in hundred ways. In the lowe
Humboldt valley in Nevada in 1907
1908 they totally ruined 5000 acres G.
alfalfa. Trees. and shrubbery are alse
attacked and large nurseries Of young
apple trees have been known to have
been almost wholly destroyed by the
mice cutting through the bark at or be-
low the surface Of the ground.
When the mice completely girdle a
shrub or young tree and eat through
the inner layer of the bark, the action
of the sun and wind soon complete the
destruction Of the tree or shrub. If
the injury is not too extensive, prompt
covering of the wounds will usually
save the tree. In any case of girdling,
heaping up fresh soil about the trunk
so as to cover the wounds and prevent
evaporation is recommended as the
simplest remedy. To save large, valu-
able trees, however, bridge grating is
often resorted to.
Pine mice ordinarily live In the
woods and are not, therefore, found on
the open plains, though they like land
that is not frequently cultivated. They
tunnel their way from fence rows,
hedges and woods into gardens and cul-
tivated fields, where they live on
seeds, roots and leaves. Like meadow
| mice, they also destroy fruit trees,
particularly in upland orchards. They
attack the trees below the surface, so
that their work is frequently not re-
| vealed until the tree is dead.
Means Of determination.
When the mice, both meadow and
pine, are in small numbers, trapping
is probably the easiest method of get
ting lid of them. From IL to 20 traps
to an acre may often be set with ad-
vantage in the mouse runs. Where
the mice are abundant or the areas
large, poisoning is a quicker means of
determination. The following formulas
are recommended in Farmers Bulletin
670 OF the United States department Of
| agriculture:
Dry Grain formula.
Nix thoroughly one ounce powdered
strychnine (alkaloid), one ounce DOW
| dered bicarboIate of soda and one
eighth ounce Tor less) Of saccharine.
Pu! the mixture in a, tin pepper box
and slft it gradually over so pounds of
crusb"d wheat or 40 pounds of crushed
oats n a metal tub, mixing the grain
constantly so that the poison will be
evenly distributed
Ory mixing, as ato-e described, has
eae advantage that the gram may be
Eepf any length of time without fer.
mentation. II it is desired to moisten
the grain to facilitate thorough mixing.
IL would be well to- use a thin starch
paste las described below, but with.
out strychntne) before applying tho
poison. The gtarch eoon nardens ano