Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-01-08

fornia Arizona, New Mexico. Texas. Oregon, Wash
ngton, Idaho and Colorado all suffer heavily from
their depredations. The western farmers have
long made on the jack rabbit after their own
fashion. They have shot him, chased him with
dogs, and in sections they regularly organize
great drives in which whole communities partici-
pate and rabbits are killed by the thousand
But none of these measures have been syste-
matte enough to eXtermnate the jack rabbit in
region that really suits him. 1t remained for the
biological survey to work a method of poison
ing with solution of strychnine applied to alfalfa
leaves and grain. which is now being demonstrated
taking it up with will. One man sent in photo
graph showing pile of 967 jack rabbits killed in
night with four ounces of strychnine Not
the feet and prolific jack rabbit can stand up
against that kind of warfare.
There is one phase of this campaign of destrue-
ton which deserves more attention than it is get
ting While tons of grain saved by destroying
these rodents tons of meat wasted, for the
casses. being poisoned left to rot the ground
Now, the jack rabbit is edible animal. He has
long been despised by westerners because
choice game has been abundant in the west, but
recently jack rabbits being used more and more
for food. Not long agosa large shipment Of them
from Texas was received and sold in the Center
market in Washington. The prairie dog is also edi-
BILE. . He feeds only upon vegetable matter, and
when young is said to be very toothsome. Nothing
but his name, (which is wholly a msnomer, has
stood between him and popularity article of
diet.
In addition to the jack rabbit and prairie dog
the most important rodent pests which the biologi
cal survey is trying to exterminate are the ground
squirrel, the pocket gopher and the wood rats cot
rats and field mice.
The ground squirrel is especially abundant in
California. Some years ago great campaign of de-
struction carried against them in the vicin-
ity of San Francisco because they had become
riers of the deadly bubonic plague; but in the rural
districts they still abundant and destructive.
They at present doing great deal o. damage
in the California almond orchards The pocket go
pher farther east and is especially destruct
i've in Iowa, and field mice also do most of their
damage in the east. Although their ra~ages
not spectacular those of the western rodents,
they destroy enormous quantities of food. Iowa
paid out S77 900 in bounies for the destruction OF
pocket gophers in year. In Frederick county.
Virginia. last year field mice did 100000 worth OF
damage to orchards alone.
The mole is another creature which is hing
great damage in California, Oregon and Washing
ton, where an especially large and destructive
riety is indigenous. Although it feeds chiefly on
insects, the mole does great damage by un6erDrin
ing the crops with its tunnels.
The biological survey has discovered fact
which promises the speedy reduction Of the num-
Der of moles, however. Moleskin has always been
imported into this country from Europe the fur of
the native moles being considered worthless. But
the government naturasts find that the fur Of this
large western mole Is of excellent quality, and
a large number of western farmers expect to get
even with the mole for the damage he has done by
literally taking it out of his hide" -.- s..