ARID AGRICULTURE. 287 



The boy should learn not to shoot himself, 

 his friends, nor the friends of his father's busi- 

 ness. If taught not to kill birds or other things 

 that are useful, the boy gets a first valuable les- 

 son in economics. With a gun and a little time, 

 a boy or two will exterminate many prairie-dogs 

 or other rodents, and his bag of rabbits, both 

 protects the crops and helps supply the table. The 

 boy learns the value of game, and if properly 

 taught, he learns to respect the laws for game 

 protection, and not to let his desire for sport 

 carry him beyond getting what can be readily 

 used. Train the boy never to point, even a toy 

 pistol, at .anything he does not intend to shoot ; 

 never to leave a gun loaded or carry it cocked ; 

 that a gun is always loaded until proved empty ; 

 that the empty gun is the one that is really 

 dangerous, and that the muzzle of a grin is its 

 dangerous end, and there will be little probabil- 

 ity of his meeting with any serious trouble. A 

 gun should be an interesting instrument to any 

 boy from ten years of age to eighty get him 

 one. It will make him happy it will help on 

 the ranch. 



The right kind of traps are effectual means 

 t eeping down some of the rodents. The boys 

 of the farm often do much good catching depre- 

 dating animals, and by the sale of skins or get- 

 ting the bounties paid by the State, some pocket 

 money is obtained. Small cyclone traps, at- 



