

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 



IOWA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



To Governor William L. Harding and Members of the 

 Geological Board: 



Gentlemen : I submit herewith a bulletin on the Rodents of 

 Iowa which has been prepared b.y Mr. Dayton Stoner of the depart- 

 ment of Zoology of the University of Iowa. 



The rodents are the most numerous and the most wideh' dis- 

 tributed of all the orders of mammals, and since all of them are 

 either herbivorous or omnivorous in diet they are of considerable 

 importance to the agriculturist. Some of them are harmful and 

 some of them are helpful in relation to crop production. It is 

 necessar}^ therefore, that the farmer and gardener be able to 

 discriminate between those rodents which are his friends and those 

 Avhich are his foes. Of the thirty-one species of rodents of Iowa, 

 the most destructive species is the pocket gopher. Each year it 

 is responsible for a loss of half a million dollars to the crops of 

 the state. 



The bulletin of Mr. Stoner describes the various rodents which 

 are found in Iowa, their general characters, habits, distribution, 

 economic importance, and the best methods of control of the most 

 destructive species and the proper methods for encouragement of 

 the most beneficial species. 



Already the Iowa Geological Survey has published two bulletins 

 which deal Avith subjects of economic interest relating to the Nat- 

 ural History of the state. One of these describes the Grasses of 

 Iowa and the other the Weeds of Iowa. Both have been of great 

 service to the people of the state. It is with the hope that the 

 bulletin on the Rodents of Iowa will prove to be of equal value to 

 the citizens of Iowa that it is now presented with the recommen- 

 dation that it be published as Bulletin 5 of the Iowa Geological 

 Survey. 



I have the honor to be, 



Yours sincerely, 



George F. Kay, 



State Geologist. 



