REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 19 



to the country's meat supply. At present these lands, which include 

 an area of over 250,000,000 acres, are not supporting the number 

 of animals that formerly grazed upon them. By the application 

 of a system of control and development similar to that used on the 

 National Forests, it would be possible greatly to increase the number 

 of meat-producing animals upon the public ranges. 



Destruction of forage by rodents. — The grazing value of the 

 western stock ranges is much reduced by the depredations of prairie 

 dogs and ground squirrels. More than 22,000,000 acres in 12 States 

 are infested with prairie dogs. These rodents often completely de- 

 stroy the forage plants over considerable areas and cause enormous 

 damage to grain and other crops. Ground squirrels occur in large 

 numbers in 18 States. While they are less destructive to forage 

 plants than prairie dogs, they consume large quantities of forage 

 and grain. In North Dakota alone the annual loss to farmers from 

 the destruction of grain by ground squirrels is estimated at over 

 $3,000,000. The Bureau of Biological Survey has developed new 

 methods of poisoning these pests at a cost of approximately 5 cents 

 per acre. This is less than the grazing value of the land for a single 

 year. The bureau practically has eradicated prairie dogs from more 

 than 2,000,000 acres of public lands and ground squirrels from 500,000 

 acres. The complete elimination of them should enable the ranges 

 and farms of the West to carry a million cattle and a million sheep 

 more than at present. 



Predatory animals. — The annual losses of live stock in the United 

 States, mainly upon the public domain, from the depredations of 

 such animals as wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, and bears exceeds 

 $12,000,000. Wolves and coyotes are subject to epidemics of rabies 

 and, therefore, are peculiarly a menace to domestic animals and 

 human beings. There was a serious outbreak of this disease among 

 coyotes during the past year. It was prevalent in several States in 

 the Northwest and was especially disturbing in Nevada. 



Congress appropriated $200,000 for the destruction of predatory 

 wild animals during the past year. The sum of $250,000 is available 

 for this purpose during the fiscal year 1917. A force of hunters 

 and trappers has been' organized in the infested States, and 543 

 wolves, 19,170 coyotes, and many other predatory animals have been 

 destroyed. As a single wolf has been known to kill more than $3,000 



