58 



of the former is bad drainage and the latter are probably pro- 

 duced as a result of the decomposition of the organic matter in 

 the soil. 



The ''injurious factor" tends to exert itself during the rains 

 and especially in low places where water tends to accumulate. 



The cure for the trouble, suggested by the Indian study, is 

 soil-aeration and the removal of excessive organic matter from 

 the soil surface. The experiments showed that when the soil 

 was well drained, with less water and a larger air-space, the in- 

 jurious factor was practically inoperative and was gradually 

 neutralized by merely keeping the surface soil exposed to the air 

 and clear of dead sal leaves. 



The diagnosis of the Maui trouble by Mr. Lyon and his pre- 

 scribed remedy, soil drainage, are so similar to those relating 

 to the trouble in India that it would appear that the cause of the 

 trouble is significantly the same. 



FIGHTING RABIES IN FAR WEST. 



(The following article, furnished by the U. S. forest service, 

 was received just too late to be printed, in connection with the 

 editorial reference to precautions against rabies here, in the 

 January number. Under date of January 14 a San Francisco 

 despatch reports the danger from coyotes infected with rabies 

 as having become acute in California, with the beasts attacking 

 farmers and school children, and schools having to be closed, 

 in counties bordering upon Oregon and Nevada.) 



The Department of Agriculture is taking action, through the 

 biological survey and the forest service, to combat a serious wave 

 of rabies infection of wild and domestic animals that is in danger 

 of becoming widespread in the far West. The fact that the 

 extensive dissemination of the disease is taking place through the 

 agency of coyotes makes the situation a difficult one to meet. 



Outbreaks of rabies among coyotes have been noted from 

 time to time for several years in parts of Washington, Oregon 

 and northern Idaho, and the forest service undertook last year to 

 aid in bringing the disease under control by employing hunters 

 to make war on coyotes in the national forests of some infected 

 localities. Since, however, the coyotes breed in the foothills and 

 around the outskirts of the forests, a more comprehensive cam- 

 paign is called for. 



The eradication of coyotes in sparsely settled or rough coun- 

 try is said to be an exceedingly difficult task. Inasmuch as these 

 animals are always a source of considerable losses to the live- 

 stock industry of the West, Congress last year provided a special 

 fund of $125,000 to be spent by the biological survey for the 

 eradication of predatory animals both in the national forests and 

 on the public domain, and from this fund a special allotment has 

 now been made to provide for fighting the rabies. 



