372 



THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



on government lands, the revised formula, now recommended and distributed to the 

 farmers by Mr. Jacobseu at each meeting, is as follows : 



GOVERNMENT FORMULA. 



Barley — clean grain 16 quarts 



Strychnine (powdered alkaloid) 1 ounce 



Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) 1 ounce 



Thin starch paste 3 Pj nt 



Heavy corn sirup i pint 



Glycerin 1 tablespoonful 



Saccharin 1-10 °" nce 



Mix thoroughly 1 ounce of powdered strychnine (alkaloid) and 1 ounce of common 

 baking soda. Sift this into J pint of thin, hot starch paste and stir to a smooth 

 creamy mass. (The starch paste is made by dissolving 1 heaping tablespoonful of 

 dry gloss starch in a little cold water, which is then added to 3 pint of boiling water. 

 Boil and stir constantly until a clear thin paste is formed.) Add J pint of heavy corn 

 sirup and 1 tablespoonful of glycerin and stir thoroughly. Add 1-10 ounce of sac- 

 charin and stir thoroughly. Pour this mixture over 16 quarts of clean barley and 

 mix well so that each grain is coated. 



For mixing small quantities an ordinary galvanized washtub is convenient. For 

 larger quantities a tight, smooth box may be used, and the mixing may be done 

 with a spade. 



Each quart of the poisoned grain is sufficient for 40 to 50 baits. This quantity 

 scattered along squirrel trails, or on clean, hard places on the surface about the 

 holes, will not endanger stock. 



N. B. Strychnine in any form other than the powdered strychnine alkaloid is not 



effective In the above formula. 



Caution. All poison containers and all utensils used in the preparation of poisons 

 should be kept -plainly lulu led arid out of reach of children, irresponsible persons, and 

 live stock. 



Fig. 122. Squirrel holes as they appear in the banks of most any 

 county road. The squirrels devastate the adjoining fields, and in 

 the rainy season the holes In the bank become a menace to the road. 

 (Original.) 



The Biological Survey recommends grain poisoning for the dry season, especially 

 after the grain has been harvested, and carbon-bisulphide in the wet season, either 

 pumped into the burrows or on saturated waste balls, which are thrown into the 

 holes. All of the waste balls thrown into a colony are iguited at once by the last 



