VARIOUS PESTS 243 



Woodchucks or Ground-hogs 



These animals are readily trapped at the mouths of their burrows. 

 They are also easily killed by the vapor of bisulfid of carbon, the liquid 

 being poured on a handful of moss, cotton, or other absorbent material, 

 and pushed down the burrow, all openings being at once closed. The 

 vapor is heavier than air, and will settle to the bottom, where it will 

 kill any animal present. 



Pocket-gophers 



These pests are readily destroyed by poisoned grain, corn being espe- 

 cially recommended for the purpose, although various other materials 

 may be employed. A dibble, made by adding a metal point to a spade 

 handle, is used to make holes in the runways, into which the poisoned 

 bait is dropped. " A skillful operator," writes D. E. Lantz, " can go 

 over twenty to forty acres of badly infested land in a day, and, if the 

 work is done carefully, at a time when the pocket-gophers are active, 

 all the animals should be destroyed by the first application of poison." 

 The pests may also be destroyed by trapping and by fumigation with 

 carbon bisulfid. 



Wolves and Coyotes 



These animals are most easily destroyed by hunting out the breed- 

 ing-places in early spring and killing the litters of pups. They may 

 also be poisoned and trapped. 



Muskrats 



Powdered strychnia sulfate sweetened with powdered sugar or 

 commercial saccharin and sprinkled over freshly cut pieces of apple, 

 carrot, or ripe squash has proved effective. Crystals of the same poison 

 may be inserted in the bait with a knife. 



„. , . Pestiferous Birds 



Bird poisons. 



1. Place a shallow box on the end of a pole, and put it four or five 

 feet from the ground to keep the poison out of the way of domestic 

 fowls. In the box sprinkle corn-meal and a very little strychnine, 

 which mixture the birds eat. It will not hurt dogs or cats to eat the 



