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Show A WAR OF EXTERMINATION President Paxam Shows how to Fight the Farmers' Pests With the Mate offering a bounty for ground squirrels and other farmers' pests und the county commissioners furnishing poison at half price to aid In the work of extermination, there ought to bo a great reduction In the number of these destructive animals this season. Now Is the time to do tho work, as the opening of spring weather will bring them out In great numbers. A recent number of the Juab Times has an excellent artlclo from President Puxnian on the proper way to prepare and use poison for this purpose, and we reprint It for tho benefit ben-efit of our farmers: Thero Is every Judication of much damage being done this season by the ground squirrels, unless there is soiie concerted action to exterminate the pest. This busy little creature seemed to multiply very rapidly last year, and many thousand of them went Into "winter quarters" upon our farms late In 1910. The few fine days Just past have brought many of them Into evidence evi-dence and as the season advances wo may expect to see some of the fields fairly alive with them, and many crops will be devastated during the summer months If the farmers are not active In. the fight against them. Some may think It Is hopeless to wage war against them, for In some Instances they seem to multiply faster because of the attention given them. If tlu-lr habits are studied and an Intelligent In-telligent tight waged against them about nine-tenths can bo externilned and that, too, early In the year, before much damage Is done. Kansas proclaimed war on the prairie dog and In 1904 practically exterminated ex-terminated them all over an area of 700,000 acres at tho cost of about $1,000. During the following two year! three-fifths of the whole Infected area of that Mate was reclaimed from this pest by Intelligent and organized work. Now for the tactics of war: The following has been most effectual. Dissolve Dis-solve 1V ounces of strychnine sulphate (powdered or soluble) In a quart of hot water. Add a quart of syrup, molasses, sorgum, or brown sugar syrup and a teaspoonful of oil of anise. Thoroughly Thorough-ly heat and mix the liquid. While hot pour It over a bushel of wheat and mix completely. Then stir in two or more pounds of fine corn-meal, Just enough to take up the extra moisture. There should be enough moisture only to completely wet every kernel of grain and no more. Care should be taken that there Is no leakage from the vessel In which the wheat is mixed, lot the poisoned grain stand a day or more. It will not hurt It to keep It for somo time. Tho best time to apply It or feed It to the squirrels Is early In the morning of a bright, warm day, Immediately after a cold or stormy day, the object ob-ject being to catch them when hungry, and early enough In the year that they cannot get much vegetation. Use a teaspoonful of the wheat to each hole rtcupled by the squirrels, putting It near tho mouth of the burrow, In two or three little bunches. No good to put out the poison In very cold or wet weather. A bushel of wheat will poison 1.000 to 1.200 boles. If this method Is adopted by every farmer and the crusade persisted In, the country will be rid of the pests, and our crops preserved, at a very smalt cost. J. W. PAX MAN. |