DESTROYING GOPHERS. Methods Recommended by the Department of Agriculture, Pocket gophers would be most for- idable animals were they enlarged the size of the prehistoric dinosaur. 1eir teeth are huge in proportion to eir heads and their bifurcated front aws are strong, sharp as eagle talons id extraording ol long. The gopher ywever is a little animal; yet because his abundance and exceeding in- istry, he becomes more than a nuls- ice—a menace in fact—to many farm g communities Pocket gophers infest all; the States | 1d Territories west of the 1d parts of Illinois, 2 db n a, Georgla, and the greater exico. All the species live undgr ‘ound in ramifying tunnels, and all ‘Ing to the surface quantities of earth, hich is heaped up in the of ounds, The habits of these animals ‘e everywhere much the same Throughout their range pocket goph.- *s are very destructive to crops, much ore so than moles. They eat the roots ! fruit trees and in this way some- mes ruin whole orchards. oth root and tops of clov rasses, grains, and vege specially harmful to x ther tuberous crops, In 11 this, they throw up innun sounds of earth in meadows, pas nd gre fields, which cover and troy more of the crop than is {ther eaten by the animals or killed part of shape itatoes addition nerable ture de GUY ELLIOTT MITCHELL. the the all by animalg should be) first application of | are active, destroyed the poison, Trapping Pocket Gophers. Trapping is a successful method when followed intelligently and persist ently. It is especially adapted to small fields, orchards, and gardens, only a few of the animals are present; mut in the case of large areas that are badly infested, the method involves too~much labor. . | For trapping, an ordinary No, O steel trap may be employed but there are number of special gopher traps on the market that are better adapted for general use, In using the ordinary steel trap, the first is to make an opening into the main tunnel, The trap should then be sunken so that the jaws are level with the bottom of the runway and ightly covered with green clover or a Or grass, or even taken that these the pan, or trigger. tired. The holes shoul enough to be covered the light. Carbon Bisulphid. en empl and step ' 10080 8( do receive the 1 80 as almost to ex THE POCKET GOPHER. by having the roots cut off, These mounds also prevent close mowing, so that much of the hay crop is lost while the pebbles they contain often break or injure farm machinery. The loss due to gop her mounds in the clover tad alfalfa fields in some of the West. ra stateg has been conservativel yiated at one-tenth of the gophers abound they are by test formidable of the farmer's anim-| Ll enemies Pocket gophers may be destroyed by gMson, by traps, and by the use of car- pon bisulphid. Poisoning Pocket Gophers, Poisoning with inine is the most effective means known for killing these little animals, and, as it involves the least expenditure of money labor, the Biological Survey recor tends it for general use, As a rodent poison to be used by farmers, st i aine has several advantages. [Its act lon is sure, its deadly claracter | known to most persons, and its bitter laste is an additional safeguard against mistaking it for a harmless drug Btrychnia sulphate is the most conven fent form of the poison, since it Is| treely soluble in hot water and in the | natural julce of vegetables used as bail. Yo disguise its bittermess se that ro flents may not be deterred from eating the baits, sugar Is often employed, or the strychnine may be mixed with its own bulk of commercial saccharine A sugar syrup poisoned with strych hine may be used with excellent re- sults. It is prepared as follows: Dissolve an ounce of strychnia sul phate in a pint of boiling water. Add a pint of thick sugar syrup, and stir thoroughly. The syrup is usually sec ted by adding a few drops of oll of anise, but this not essential, If preserved in a closed vessel, the syrup will keep indefinitely The above quantity is sufficient to poison a half bushel of shelled corn or other grain (corn recommended), the cereal being steeped in hot water and allowed to soak over night. It is then drained and soaked for several hours fn the poisoned syrup. Before using, corn meal may be added to take up the excess of moisture. Dry crystals of strychnine also may be used. They are introduced by means of a knife, into small pleces of potato, carrot, or sweet potato, or into entire raising or dried prunes. A sin- gle large crystal (or several small ones) is enough for each bait. Ralsins are especially recommended because they are easily handled and centain enough sugar te disguise the bitter ness of the pelson, The prepared baltg are placed In the underground runways of the gephers and are conveniently handled with a spoon. A stout dibble Is used to make holes into the runways. Having lo oated the runways by use of the dibble, it is moved from side to side to make the soll firm about the hole, and then withdrawn. A plece of the poisoned potato or ralsin or a teaspoonful of the polsoned corn Is dropped into the hole which Is left open. Some farmers prefer to cover the holes, but the exper fence of the Agriculture Department is against such practice By this method little labor Is neces. sary, and the operator soon acquires skill In finding the runways, The bait should be placed in the main runways and not In the short laterals near the mounds. If placed in the laterals, the animals are likely to ocever it with soll or throw it out witheut finding it. A skiliful Sot aan SP ver. 3 to 40 acres of y Infested land In A day, snd, If nd Te In carefully strych _—. ry is y estl-] entire crop. | in many of the fertile valleys where | far the| “ling premises, and the work | or the soil dry, the gases are dissipated so rapidly that a large quantity of the uid is required to kill the animals and the method becomes too expensive, If, however, the burrows are simple and and the soil molst, bisulphid may be {used successfully. For pocket gophers an ounce of the liquid for each burrow is sufficient. The carbon bisulphid is poured over a bunch of cotton, rags, other waste material and this quickly pushed into the burrow, which should be closed at once, Co-Operation Necessary. Any farmer may readily rid his prem- ises of gophers by the use of poison or traps Unless, however, the entire {community unites In active and intelli or | gent co-operation on the destr ction of | Il bel the area wi n neighbor of destruc tion must be repeated Cooperation only will effect a radical cure. animals, the cleared | sooner or later invaded fror where | | laboratory, A helps to explain why i aro When | were drawn ug | TYPHOID FEVER ON THE FARM. C. J. Blanchard, U, Survey. “More than 40 pér cent. of the farm wells so far examined in this State have been found to be polluted.” This is a significant statement made lirector of S. Geological a State in have joard of Health which several thousand It rate in the well waters been examined, the death phold fever is greater country than in the city, It is a populs notion that a vacation in the country safeguard agal all the diseases to which the heir; physicians recognize th they send patients the city. The untry stionably the ideal ; the ilar cry “back to nature” { of justification, Is of people g cor from ty of city folk is a awa life is pom unqus nea who umed this yphoid an Index to Water Purity. r experienc ) } ~ own 5, the | has phoid fever is | in many In some cases this con has been malin that it is acces 5 one of t! 41 lition tained for so many years d by the comm @ ordinary incidents of life nd becomes a matter of general oom- mt only during periods of especial virulence The facts are, that there comparative few farm wells cated at points not subject to contamination Farmer's Swear by Their Wells, It is commonly observed that nearly every farmer believes in the purity of his well water, especially if the well has been in use for generations The fact that his grandfather believed the water to be pure is sufficient os! dence for him to defend the well, even though his family be Mevastated by typ hoid fever. It is sometimes the 3 that a well Is used even after its te and odor ought to be sufficient to iemonstrate that it is poliuted. notable instance occurred not long since, in w! a certain farmer could not use the water from his well if it by a pump, but If a Unsafe Location For Farm Well tion of gophers over a considerable area are attempted, be given to waste lands along fences, streams, publie highways, and rail roads. Buch places are favorite haunts of the animals, because In them are found loose, sandy soll, moisture, and succulent roots for food, It fa from such resorts that adjoining farms are often restocked with pocket gophers, Sr —————— There are 21,000 colored school teachers in the United States—7,700 men and 13,300 women. a ———— Blind horses never err In choosing their diet when grazing. Their sense of smell guides them infallibly in the selection of food. — The caaba, or sacred stone of Mecoa, recovered every year with damash sent by the Sultan or Khedive, A single covering has, on occasion, cost ——————— done at » time when the pocket gophers careful attention must | Farm Well Located on High Ground and Free From Contamina- co-operative efforts for the extermina-! well sweep wore used and the water taken from the surface, no disagree able features were noted. It was found upon examination that the sink drain | which had been in use for generations passed close to the well and a large part of Yhe drainage emptied into It. This organic matter settled to the bot. tom of the well and became putrid. Whenever the pump was used the v ater containing this foul matter was drawn from the lower part of the well, while that obtained from the top by means of the well sweep was above the contamination and Aid not give evil dence of disagreeable odor or taste, although It contained in solution a large amount of filthy matter. The de- plorable feature of this situation is that {t requires in the majority of cases only the exercise of common gense In the selection of a point at which a safe well may be sunk. The accompanying illustrations show safe and unsafe well locations. That showing the improper location is by the Al thoroughly typical of conditions which may be found repeatedly in rural dis tricts, It is probable that typhoid fever will prevail in the country as long as the habit is common of sinking a well in a convenient, rather than in a safe place. Re Curing Persimmons. From a report recently prepared by David G. Fairchild, an explorer Department of Agriculture, it appears that persimmons as they are eaten in Japan are ag firm in texture as a Northern Spy apple, free from as- tringency, and of a delicious flavor They are not allowed to ripen to the squashy consistency of the fruit as it is eaten in America, Investigations as to Japanese methods of curing per simmons show that the Japanese put the persimmons In sake Japanese beer) casks as soon as the casks are emptied. The heads of these cas are immediately replaced y made airtight, In from 5 | days, according to weather condition the persimmons are cured and cg removed and marketed, keeping firm, edible condition for a long and the pa to Forcing Rhubarb. Experiments have shown \ most satisfactory results in cultivating rhubarb, tained by gre roots from and foreing are at seed their | rural | § unities ! lo- 11 local | grown ) shade of sorghum or remain green and and are probably in the garden. on - — Telephones in the Forests. The usefulness of the comes more and me api territory of operation is e emote corners of the gl the traveler in ti ns of the ne when he sees ress has exter phones in th Useful as the whe the telephone be i ar ire : is tended Bl as rca the shape one is in the city Ds saves could somq times be compensated for by the ust of the automobile, the electric car, or the fast express, it is far more useful in the forest, where are none of these onveniences, and where the canoe or bateau is the common vehicle of travel in logging operations the telephone now plays a most important part. The re Big to bold water against a time of drought but also to control the flood, so that the river flow may be properly ited. To this end a considerable crew f men is kept at the dams all the time, to open or the gates on short notice, Before the telephons came into use, instru crew close tions to the dam were conveyed up or down the river by relays of men, stationed at frequent in-| tervals along the banks, and the mes sage was shouted from one to another. | The telephone lines are being ex-| tended every year, and it will not be long before telephones are almost as ymmon in the woods as thev are in| the city. Recently the telephone has been called into use to ald the wood and western forests, ———— Fooled by Cleveland's Double. A large man with an impassive face and bearing a striking resemblance to | an ex-president of the United States | walked into the Great Northern Hotel, Chicago, Tuesday evening and regis tered as follows on the hotel bok 1 y “Grover Cleveland, Princeton, N, Two or three bell boys fell Woe one another In an endeavor to pick up| the guest's baggage and the clerk | smiled hospitably and searched for his | best room. This was a luxurious apart | ment with a double bath. The guest accepted it, took his key, and then, turning to the register scratched off his signature and wrote: “¥. IL. MacElroy, Lafayette, Ind.” “Just a bet,” he explained to the astonished clerk. “I manage to double my salary this way, I have tried it successfully on every hotel from New York to San Francisco, I'm a travel ling man." Mr. MacElroy secured a more modest apartment, after which he went out to collect his bet, —-— James Lick, founder of the great Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, not far from San Jose, California, was in early life a poor Pennsylvania Dutch plano-maker, tl Pecause of the growing scarcity of good match timber, matches are being made In vast numbers of paper rolled spirally asd dipped in wax or stearine of the} c) 15 | should every foot of lams along the river are built not only | regu- | wardens in fire fighting in the northern | Only Sure Cure. Positive and Permanent. Abwilusely Pure. $1.00 Package curesany ordina case, $3.00 Packagecures an case or money refunded, Bent postpaid on receipt of price. Acuwts WaNT- BO. 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