420 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



5. Game and Bird Refuges, Smith Eiley in charge. Supervises 

 the maintenance of Federal big-game and bird refuges and the 

 warden service on them, and the production of hay and feeding of 

 elk on the winter Elk Refuge. 



6. Migratory-bird Treaty and Lacey Acts, G. A. Lawyer in charge. 

 Administers the laws for the protection of migratory game and 

 other birds, for the prevention of illegal interstate shipments of 

 game, and for the prevention of the importation of harmful species 

 of wild birds and animals. 



ECONOMIC INVESTIGATIONS. 



WILD ANIMAL PESTS. 



The national forests and other great areas of public lands in the 

 Western States are the main breeding places of wolves, coyotes, moun- 

 tain lions, and other stock-killing animals, and of prairie dogs, 

 ground squirrels, pocket gophers, and many other forage and crop 

 destroying rodents. For the purpose of reducing losses in live- 

 stock and forage on the public domain and to cooperate with the 

 States, local organizations, and individuals in campaigns for the 

 destruction of these wild animal pests on State and private lands an 

 appropriation of $440,121 was made available by Congress for the 

 year, of which $276,890 was used for the destruction of predatory 

 animals and $163,231 for work in rodent control. Twelve of the 

 public-land States made direct appropriations of cooperative funds 

 to use with the bureau for this fiscal year. Furthermore, seven 

 additional States provided cooperative funds without direct appro- 

 priations, which made a total of $844,000. Of this, approximately 

 $243,000 was for the destruction of predatory animals and more 

 than $601,000 for the rodent campaigns. From the beginning of 

 this work the survey has maintained that eventually it would be 

 practicable completely to destroy some of the worst of these animal 

 pests and thus forever eliminate the heavy losses they have been 

 causing. Through the campaigns against them prairie dogs have 

 been exterminated on considerable areas, and the large wolves, of 

 which 4,900 have been killed, are being so' reduced in numbers that 

 over most if not all of the West their end is in sight. 



The best evidence of the growing appreciation of the practical 

 value of campaigns against animal pests in the West was given 

 in the winter of 1923 by the legislatures of 13 States, which made 

 total appropriations of about $647,000 for cooperation in the work 

 during the following biennium. 



The results obtained in the campaigns against animal pests have 

 been possible only through the hearty cooperation of States, local 

 organizations, and individuals. In addition to funds contributed 

 more than 104,000 farmers and stockmen took an active personal part 

 in the rodent field work. Good progress was made at the Denver 

 laboratory in working out poison combinations to increase the effec- 

 tiveness of the field operations. Application has been made for a 

 patent in favor of the Department of Agriculture to cover a new 

 poison combination that in field tests has given remarkable results 

 with both predatory animals and rodents. 



