Meade County news., 1917-05-17

cans with the edges bent nearly togeth-
er will serve the same purpose.
Chopped alfalfa hay poisoned with
strychnine was successfully used to
destroy meadow mice in Nevada during
the serious outbreak Of the animals in
1907-S.
For poisoning mice in small areas, as
lawns, gardens, seedbeds, vegetable
pits, and the like, convenient bait
may be prepared from ordinary rolled
oats, as follows:
For Small Areas.-Dissolve one-six'
teenth Of an ounce of strychnine in one
pint of boiling water and pour it over
as much oatmeal (about two pounds)
as it will wet. Mix until all the grain
is moistened. Put it out, teaspoonful
at a place, under shelter of weed and
brush piles or wide boards.
The poisoned oatmeal is adapted for
killing either meadow or pine mice,
but for the latter, sweet potatoes, pre-
pared as follows, have proved even
more effective:
Potato FormuIa.-Cut sweet pota-
toes into pieces about as large as good
sized grapes. Place in metal pan or
tub and wet with water. Drain off the
water and with tin pepper box slow
ly sift over them powdered strychnine
(alkalold preferred), stirring constant
ly so that the poison Is evenly distrib-
uted. An ounce of strychnine should
poison bushel of the cut bait.
The bait, whether Of grain or pieces
of potato, may be dropped into the
pine mouse tunnels through the nat
ural openings or through holes made
with pieces of broom handle or other
stick. Bird life will not be endangered
by these bats.
White-Footed Mice.
White-footed mice, or deer mice, are
of many species and are present in al
most all parts Of the country. They
live in fields and woods, and while they
feed on grain to some extent they rare
ly are present on cultivated lands in
sufficient numbers to do serious harm.
Occasionally they invade greenhouses
or hotbeds and destroy seeds or sprout-
ing plants. In the seedbeds of nur-
serymen and especially in those Of the
forester who tries to grow conifers
they often do much injury. They are,
in fact, the most serious pests known
to the confer nurseries Of the United
States forest service.
In ordinary places whlte-footed mice
may be readily poisoned by the meth
ods recommended for meadow and pine
mice. Unfortunately, the seed Of the
pine is the favOrite food of those ami
mails and where it is planted in abun-
dance they refuse to take grain bats.
Crushed pine seeds poisoned with
strychnne by the ''wet-grain formula"
given above, has proved effective in
such places. Preliminary poisoning Of
these mice on areas to be seeded to
pine is highly recommended. For seed
beds, poisoning on surrounding areas
two or three times year will usually
prevent the approach Of mice and give
immunity to the planted seeds.
Cotton Rats.
In parts of the Southern states a
large native mouse or rat, commonly
known as the cotton rat, often becomes
a field pest.
Cotton rats damage growing crops to
some extent, but are especially destruc
tive to grain in shocks. In many OF
their habits they are similar to meadow
mice and they multiply fully as fast.
They chiefly inhabit weedy borders and
areas covered with old grass, where
they are sheltered from enemies. They
do not often attack the bark of trees
but, being larger than meadow mice
they are capable Of destroying much
more grain in short time. They de-
stroy melons and other truck crops
and have been a serious pest to date
growers in Arizona.
Cotton rats are easily poisoned by
the same methods recommended for
destroying meadow mice.