16 FARMERS' BULLETIN 826. 



amounted to six head valued at $250. It is estimated that $5 ex- 

 pended in 1917 for regrubbing will finish the work. 



On the Fishlake National Forest the grubbing of 55 acres of lark- 

 spur, at a cost of $228, only partly completed the project. Twenty- 

 nine acres remain to be grubbed, at an estimated cost of $145. The 

 cost of going over the entire 84 acres a second time will be $75, mak- 

 ing a total cost of about $450 for eradication. During 1915, 23 head 

 of cattle, valued at $1,200, died from larkspur poisoning. 



On the Durango National Forest the annual losses of stock from 

 larkspur poisoning on the ranges from which the larkspur was 

 grubbed in 1915 and 1916 exceeded $1,000 in value. The cost of 

 grubbing out the larkspur was $350. 



During the season of 1916 four larkspur-infested ranges on the 

 Fishlake National Forest, one range on the Palisade, one on the 

 Ruby, and one on the Sevier were studied to determine the best 

 means of remedying the trouble. All larkspur areas were mapped, 

 the acreage determined, and the number of plants per acre and the 

 cost of eradication carefully estimated. On the Fishlake it was 

 found that grubbing would be the most effective and practical 

 method on three of the ranges. In each of these cases the poison 

 areas could be grubbed for a sum ranging from $700 to $1,500 less 

 than that represented by the annual loss in cattle. On the fourth 

 range a combination of grubbing and fencing was recommended. 

 This range was found to have 920 acres of larkspur, responsible for 

 an average annual loss of 30 head of cattle, valued at $1,500. Ninety 

 per cent of the losses occur on approximately 200 acres which can 

 be grubbed for approximately $900, or $450 less than the value of 

 the stock lost annually. The average annual loss on the remaining 

 720 acres amounts to only three head, valued at $150, while the 

 estimated cost of eradication is $3,500. A drift fence of approxi- 

 mately four miles, estimated to cost $500, will not only keep the 

 cattle from the poison on this 720 acres, but in addition will im- 

 prove range management as a whole on the range unit involved. 

 Consequently the recommendation in this case is to grub the larkspur 

 from the 200 acres and construct the fence to protect against loss 

 on the remaining 720 acres a plan clearly practical as a business 

 proposition. 



On the Ruby National Forest, in eastern Nevada, an area of ap- 

 proximately 10 acres of larkspur causes an average annual loss of 

 10 head of cattle. The cost of grubbing out this larkspur is esti- 

 mated at $60, less than one-eighth of the value of the cattle lost 

 annually. 



During the season of 1916 at least 60 head of cattle, valued at 

 about $3,000, died of larkspur poisoning on the range examined on 



