Show r TO DESTROY PESTS Common Pocket Gop Gophers ers Cause Great Loss to Crops WORK INJURY IN MANY WAYS Y Rodents Eat Growing Grain Cause Loss of Hay in Digging Burrows Ruin Gardens and Damage Trees in Orchards Prepared b by the United States Department Department Depart Depart- ment of or Agriculture Pouched rats commonly called pocket gophers are among the most serious of rodent pests In most of the states west of the tho Mississippi river The They occur also in In parts of Georgia Alabama and Florida In the greater grenter i part of Illinois and in southern Wis Wis- I Pocket gophers do harm In n many ways They eat ent growing grain and cover much of ot It with soil solI They cause loss of hay In digging burrows by throwing up mounds which prevent I close mowing These mounds also injure In In- jure lure much machIner machinery Their burrows admit surface water and aid It to wash washout washout washout out deep gullies on sloping lands By piercing dams and embankments the tunnels cause costly breaks The ani- ani l f 0 I IJ J j ir i. i i I Convenient Probes for Locating Pocket Pocket- Gopher Runs orals coals ruin gardens and injure field crops Besides all this the they kill trees In orchards and forest plantings by gnawing off the roots Two practical methods of killing pocket gophers are always possible- possible trapping and poisoning The first method Is slow but very effective on small areas oreas or where but few pocket gophers are present the tho other Is the better plan on large lorge fields and for co co- work on adjacent farms While WhIlo the or ordinary steel trap may be used successfully for pocket gophers much better results can be obtained with the special traps for these animals animals animals ani ani- mals commonly on the market marlet In Irrl Irrigated districts where water Is available flooding the land will drive out the time animals and they may be killed by men and dogs Fumigation of the burrows with carbon or with sulphur smoke often recommended recommended mended as ns a n means menns of destroying pocket pock pock- et gophers has hns been found extremely nn uncertain and costly Poison Polson for Pocket Gophers To poison polson pocket gophers cut sweet potatoes or parsnips Into pieces whose largest diameter Is less than an on Inch Wash and drain four quarters of ot cut baits Place In a metal pan and from froma a 11 pepperbox slowly sift over the dampened dampened dam dam- baits one-eighth one ounce of powdered powdered pow pow- dered strychnine alkaloid and ond on one one- tenth as much saccharine well shaken together or ground together in a mortar martar mol mar tar stirring is to distribute the poison polson evenly Tunnels of pocket et gophers which are usually from three to eight Inches below tho the surface of the ground may maybe maybe maybe be readily located by means of n fl probe Any blacksmith can make one by affixing n a metal point to a n shovel or spade handle and attaching an Iron foot rest about 15 or 10 16 Inches above the tho point By forcing this Instrument Into the soil near the pocket gopher workings or r n a foot or two back of fresh mounds ono one can feed the tho open tunnel as ns the point breaks Into It The hole may be enlarged and Its sides made firm by pressing the soil laterally laterally laterally later later- ally with tho the probe A bait or two should be dropped Into the tunnel and the probe hole holo covered Care should be taken to place the baits in the main tunnels rather than In the short laterals laterals laterals later later- als leading lending to mounds Different forms of probes have haye been used successfully by tho the biological survey In Its demonstration demonstration demon demon- work Two of the better kinds are arc Illustrated |