280 ANNUAL EEPOIITS OF DEPARTMENT GF AGEICULTUEE. 



representatives of tlie bureau and furnished cooperating farmers at 

 cost through local oi'ganizations. In this way 1,349 tons of poisoned 

 gi-ain were prepared and distributed during the year, and nearly 

 110-000 farmers took part in the campaign. 



Through the plan inaugurated by the bureau of cooperative pur- 

 cluise of poison supplies the saving in the squirrel campaign, as 

 well as in the destruction of other rodents, has been very great, as 

 illustrated in Idaho, where it amounted to about $18,500. 



During the year ground squirrels were poisoned and mostly de- 

 stroyed on more than 1,294,000 acres of public domain and on more 

 than 13,465,000 acres of private lands. This resulted in materially 

 increasing the percentage of crops harvested in all the States where 

 work was conducted and in increasing the forage output on the pub- 

 lic domain. 



JACK RABBITS AND COTTONTAILS. 



As in previous years, work was done to control the losses of crops, 

 including wheat, barle}-, oats, beans, alfalfa, and others, from jack 

 rabbits, particularly in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico. Ore- 

 gon, Utah, and Washington. Wherever market and other conditions 

 were favorable, jack rabbits were killed by drives and by trapping 

 in order that they might be sold for food. In this way two counties 

 in Utah, under the direction of a representative of the bureau, mar- 

 keted 6,500 of these animals, besides the large numbers marketed in- 

 dependently. Effort is being made to develop the utilization of the 

 meat and skins of these animals through standardized methods of 

 dressing and marketing. In many places where it was impracticable 

 to kill jack rabbits for market purposes extended poisoning opera- 

 tions were conducted, as in Idaho, Avhere in this way 40,000 of these 

 animals were killed in one county. 



In addition to damage by jack rabbits, complaints have been re- 

 ceived by the bureau of depredations by cottontails among fruit 

 trees, and in truck and other agricultural crops. Complaints of 

 losses from this source have been more numerous from the Eastern 

 States, where demonstrations have been given to teach fanxi^rs the 

 most practicable means of protecting their crops from these animals. 



POCKET GOPHERS. 



Pocket gophers are exceedingly injurious to root crops, peanuts, 

 beans, alfalfa, hay meadoAvs, grazing lands, and orchards. The seri- 

 ousness of their clepredations is indicated by an estimate made by a 

 competent official of the Kansas Agricultural College that during 

 1918 the}' destro3^ed one-tenth of the alfalfa crop in that State. The 

 alfalfa crop of Kansas for that year was valued at $50,000,000, so 

 that the damage by pocket gophers to this crop alone amounted to 

 about $5,000,000. In view of the fact that these animals also do 

 extensive damage to orchard and other crops, the injurious character 

 of this pest is evident. Pocket gophers have a wide distribution in 

 practically all of the States from the Mississippi River to the Pacific 

 coast. On some of the most productive grazing lands on the na- 

 tional forests they seriously reduce the forage production. Methods 

 of destroying these animals adapted to use in extensive community 

 campaigns have been much improved during the year. 



Pocket gophers not only damage established crops, but frequently 

 interfere with the introduction of new and valuable crops. This was 



