Weekly journal-miner., 1921-11-09
PRAIRIE DOCS
 CLEANED OUT
Ratification of Prescott Farms Area by Biological Survey Nets Many Pests and Makes Potential Saving of $8,000
cFrom Saturdays pailyn

One of the largest prairie dog campaigns ever put on in Yavapai county has just been completed on the Prescott Farms. About 5000 acres have been practically cleaned of all dogs, meaning an annual say ing of $8,GOO for the farmers of the project.
 The work, which was started late in September by Rodent Specialist i L. L. Laythe of the bureau of bio logical survey, was carried to very successful completion last week, through the helpful cooperation of all the farmers on the project. The farmers, though in the middle of a having season, gladly turned out to, help with the work as they all real ized1 the danger of destruction to | their crops if the work was not com pleted. As an example of the dam age that is done by the prairie dogs, on an area of 150 acres in alfalfa only 65 tons of hay were produced in one cutting, with a very good growing period. Under conditions free from dogs those same fields would have produced 120 tons. On the project where the farmers make four cuttings of hay a year, it is very easy to see what the loss IS. With hay at SIS per ton the loss per year through loss of crop only, in the above case amounts to $3,20O per year. On top of that loss must be figured the wear and tear on ma chinery and the inconvenience i'll getting over the fields.
 Owing to the abundance of feed on the range surrounding the project and on the project itself the work of poisoning was made more difficult. All of the hoies had to be baited with clean rolled barley. After a period of two days the holes were baited with the poisoned rolled bar ley. Several kinds of poisoned bait were used but the best results were secured with the poisoned barley by changing the standard formula a little. Two or three days after the holes were baited they were all filled with dirt, so that i'll the gassing operation the workers could tell which holes the dogs were actually working in. Two days more were allowed for the dogs which remained after the poisoning to dig out Then the open holes were treated with carbon disulphide and stopped up again. Unless the ground is dry the gassing operation makes a 100 per cent kill.
 In the completion or the work 930 quarts of clean bait, 6l5 quarts of poisoned grain, and 37O quarts of carbon disulphide were used.
 Next spring the bureau of biologi- cal survey plans to start a larger campaign with the aim of eventually extcrminating every prairie dog in the county. With the present appro- pration it is impossible to furnish all the poison necessary to rid the large ranges of the pests but for value received the small expense necessary to cover cost of poison is very good investment. Enough poison is always furnished the small farms 10 clear them and for the large ranges the bureau furnished enough free poison to clear two sec tions of land.
 For any details or further informa- ton on the campaign to be put on in the spring, a good idea would be to write the bureau of biological sur vev at Phoenix and make arrange ments for getting your land cleared of the pests as early as possible.