BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 537 



Valley for the purpose of finding a bait for use in the winter or wet 

 season as effective as the strychnine-barley bait in the dry season — 

 so far, however, without success, 



RODENTS IN RELATION TO REFORESTATION. 



Cooperative Avork with the Forest Service was continued during 

 the 3'ear to devise methods of preventing the destruction of seeds in 

 reforesting enterprises in the National Forests. Experiments were 

 conducted in the Black Hills Forest of South Dakota, the Pike 

 Forest of Colorado, the Pecos Forest of New Mexico, and the Co- 

 conino Forest of Arizona. The only practicable means to insure the 

 safety of newly grown or planted seed was found to be the destruc- 

 tion of the small rodents infesting the tract. This is best done by 

 means of poisoned bait prior to the seeding. Whether the same 

 methods and same bait will prove as efficacious elsewhere as in the 

 Kocky jSIountain regions remains to be determined, but it is believed 

 that by the methods set forth in Circular No. 78, " Seed Eating 

 Mammals in Relation to Forestry," the loss during reforesting oper- 

 ations in the Rocky Mountain region can be reduced to a minimum. 



PRAIRIE DOGS. 



Prairie dogs still continue to be a pest in certain States, and in 

 regions where new land is being brought under cultivation some- 

 times render successful crop raising by fanners of small means im- 

 possible. They also indirectly cause great loss to stockmen by eating 

 forage plants and thus limiting the number of cattle that can be car- 

 ried on a given range. In cooperation with the Forest Service it is 

 hoped eventually to exterminate these pests within the National 

 Forests. Until, however, the several States take concerted action 

 looking to the destruction of all prairie dogs within their boundaries, 

 there can be no permanent dimiimtion of these pests and no final 

 abatement of the damage they cause. The preparation and sale to 

 the farmei's by the State experiment stations, or other authorized 

 agencies, of poisoned bait at cost would greatly stimulate the work 

 of ridding agricultural and pasture lands of. the rodents. During 

 the year demonstration work was carried on in Montana, VV3^oming, 

 California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Kansas with the starch-barley 

 preparation, which appeared to be exceedingly effective with these 

 animals even where there is green forage. Notwithstanding the fact 

 that the animals are partial to oats, in some cases barley has been 

 found to be a more effective vehicle for poison, as the hull which 

 carries the poison can not be so easily removed. 



MOLES. 



That moles do much damage to lawns has long been known, and 

 in addition farmers often charge them with the destruction of pota- 

 toes and other crops; but until recently the mole has not usually been 

 classed among noxious animals, since it has been assinned that its food 

 consists almost exclusively of insects and earthworms. Recent in- 

 vestigations show, however, that while the animal does much good 



