402 Biology in America 



this tract. With the number which must have died in their 

 holes, there can be little question that more than 2,000 prairie- 

 dogs were destroyed in this experiment. 



"More than 3,500,000 acres of Government land have been 

 practically freed from these pests. ' ' 7 



, One of the worst poachers in the West is the jack rabbit, 

 which one may occasionally see from the railway, loping leis- 

 urely across the prairie, or sitting up on his haunches to gaze 

 with fearless curiosity at the passing train. Besides helping 

 himself liberally to the farmer's grain and hay, he varies his 

 diet now and then by nibbling a circular strip of bark from 

 the fruit trees, " girdling" and thereby killing them. A fa- 

 vorite pastime in the Southwest has been the rabbit drive. 

 On a given day a troop* of boys and men with dogs and 

 horses form a line about a given area and then riding to 



THE POCKET GOPHER 



One of our numerous mammal pests. From an illustration by E. T. 

 Seton. 



Courtesy of 'the U. S. Bureau of Biological Survey. 



and fro, with the aid of the dogs, proceed to "beat up" the 

 doomed rabbits, and gradually converging, drive them toward 

 the town where the residents are waiting to receive them, not 

 with open arms, but with clubs and shot guns. In this way, 

 not only is the neighborhood rid of a host of pests, but a large 

 supply of meat is provided. 



The trap is also an effective weapon in the campaign against 

 the furry pests of field and orchard. 



Through the watchful activity of the Bureau it is probable 

 that many another catastrophe similar to the introduction of 

 the English sparrow, gypsy moth, and Hessian fly has been 

 averted. Some years ago the mongoose applied for admis- 

 sion to the United States, and a few individuals did in fact 

 gain an entrance. The mongoose has been called the "cat 

 of Pharaoh" and strangely enough it has also been named 

 "Pharaoh's mouse." It is a traditional enemy of serpents 

 and "according to Aristotle and Pliny (it) first coats its body 



1 Keport of Chief of Bureau of Biological Survey, 1918, p. 4. 



