OCR Text |
Show HOW TO DESTROY GOPHERS Methods Recommended by the Agricultural Agri-cultural Department at Washington. Nearly ovory district west of tho Mississippi river Is moro or less ln-, ln-, . tested with tho P pocket gopher, so very dcstructlvo to crop3. Gophers Go-phers mny bo destroyed de-stroyed by poison, poi-son, by trnps and by tho uso of carbon blstil- phlde, Poisoning with strychnlno 11s tho most effective ef-fective means, as It may bo dono at tho lowest cost. As recommended recom-mended by tho United Stntes department de-partment of agriculture. Dissolve pno ounce of strychnine sulphnto In ono pint of boiling water, idd a pint of thick sugar syrup tnd stir. Preserve In a close vessel. This quantity Is sufficient to poison jne-haif bushel of shelled corn or Mlier grain. Steep tho corn in hot tvnter and allow It to soak ovor night. Then drain and allow It to soak for loveral hours in the potaon syrup. Corn may bo ruboed in meal to removo iio excess of moisture. This poisoned corn may bo Intro-luced Intro-luced Into tho runways by the uso of I dlpplo nnd a spoon. This dlpple, ihown in the sketch, may bo made Irora a spade handle with a metal joint and a strong bar upon which a place tho foot In forcing It into tho round. Tho bar should bo about 15 nehes from the point. A nolo Is made, t spoonful of poisoned corn dropped nto It nnd tho holo left open. Tho :orn, of course, must bo put in or near iho main runways. Trapping Is a good method If fol-owed fol-owed persistently. It is adapted to I'oi'KET aoi'iiEn and its uumiow. small fields, where only a few gophers lire present. A small steel trap muy bo employed, but thora nie a numbor of special gopher traps on the nur-kot. nur-kot. Those traps must be set In tho main gopher tunnel. Carbon bisulphide has been used extensively for killing gophers. If tho burrows aro largo In dry boII, howetor, tho gas evaporates so rapidly that much of tho liquid Is required to kill tho animals nnd tho methods Is expensive. expen-sive. If tho burrows are small In moist soil, nn ounce of tho liquid to each burrow Is sulllclent. Pour tho carbon bisulphide over a buncn of cotton cot-ton rags or other wasto material and push this quickly Into tho burrow and close the opening. All tho farmers In a community, says the Orango Judd Farmer, must cooperate In order to exterminate tho pocket gophor. Unless Un-less they are eradicated from the neighborhood they will soon com In and restock tho territory. |