The times-herald. [volume] (Burns, Harney County, Or.) 1896-1929, 1920-08-21

rabbits began TO multiply alarmlngly.
BY 1898 the farmers complained that
jack rabbits were causing far moro
harm than the coyotes had done. A
bounty of twenty cents each was then
offered for rabbits.
Likewise the hawks and owls fell
under the curse OF man because they
too occasionally took chicken 10
give variety TO their regular ration
OF prairie dogs and rabbits. Then
there we're tho foxes. skunks and
badgers. Their greatest misfortune
was that they wore furs. And no
man shot or trapped them for thoir
furs. Now. this was oil very fine for
the prairie dogs and Jack rabbits.
Tho badger no longer disturbed their
quiet subterrnnean homes. and hawks
and coyote. no longer snapped them
up whom they vcntured out after
forage with their natural enemies
out OF the way the only limit To the
number OF these rodents was set by
the amount of available food on
farms and ravges and they promptly
started out to attain this limit.
Thus We have gradually learned
cd the animals which held the ro-
In a roundabout way that having kill
dents In check. we must ourselves do
the work which these carnivorous
animals formerly did for us---nameiy.
Nil the rodents. II We look at maps
showing the distribution OF some OF
these rodent pests we ind that the
pocket gophers cover all the states
west OF io0th degree l.. that ground
squirrels are equally ubiquitous ex-
cept for the western end OF Wash
ington. that the jack rabbit has
claims stakod out all over the region
except little patches OF Montana.
Idaho. Washington. oregon aud Cal
itornla. aud that the prairie dog has
sauatteJ ON IA. whole Great Plains
area and most OF the mountain sec
tion. but has refused to visit Califor-
MIA and the rest OF the Pacific Coast.
In order TO understand better the
nature and extent OF the problem OF
determination before US. II may be
well to take hasty look at the hab-
It's aud family life OF four or five Of
the chief injurious rodents Of the
West. The prairie dog. fiat and
greasy citizen" OF the plains is n soc
isi animal living In colonies or dog
towns varying In extent from "A few
acres To thousands OF square miles
Dog towns twenty mile long are not
rare and IN Texas there was colony
which covered $4,000 square miles.
In dog town the number OF holes an
acre varies from a few To more than
two hundred Not all the dugoa,s
are occupied. Now aud then a snake
or burrowing owl cleans out a whole
family of dogs. but the average num-
bcr an acre may be Sc, nj twenty-five,
which would give the great Taxns dog
town population OF 400. 100000.
Tho number OF young IN each litter
is about four. and the young nrat
appear al the mouth OF the burrowa
from May TO June rragie dogs are
extremely industrious. When they
are not eating they are working on
the burrows. bringing out dirt and
atonea. The mouth OF each burrow
thus comes 10 b. In craterlikc /,
mound OF dirt about one foot high |
and three or four feet In diameter.
The hole goes almost straight down
ten 10 fourteen feet, and then hori-
about an equal distance. Tho
nests are In side chambers leading oil
from the horizontal part OF the bur
row.
Prairie dogs. like most or all OF
The other burrowing rodents OF the
west. get along without water. FOR
he most part their burrows are miles
rom water and of course they DO not
iig deep enough to reach water. They
get sufficient water In the green veg
station which they eat. II has been
'stimated that thirty-two prairie dogs
viii eat as much grass as u sheep and
,G6 az much as a COW.
Ground squirrels are essentially
pocket editions OF prairie dogs.
slightly smaller but OF much the
same habits, they are likewise social
md live In colonies. The burrows.
which may have only one or two OPP
,nings. or even four or iiye II the
amily II more consequential, descend
rom one and a half To four feet or
nore into the ground. after which the
'ooms are located along "A horizontal
uunel ten to fifty feet long. A litter
II ground squirrels varies from two
o fourteen, with an average OF about