COMMON MAMMALS OF WESTERN MONTANA. 



15 



Place the flour in a bowl and add one-third cup of cold water, 

 stirring until no lumps remain. Then stir in the other two-thirds 

 cup of cold water and heat to boiling' point over a slow fire, stirring 

 constantly. Remove the paste from the stove, mix in the powdered 

 strychnine alkaloid, and pour the poisoned paste over the groats, 

 mixing until every kernel is evenly coated. Spread and dry the 

 poison, and it may be either used at once or kept indefinitely. A gal- 

 vanized iron washtub is an excellent receptacle in which to mix 

 poisons. A heavy round-bottomed china or earthen cup and a round- 

 headed iron bolt about 5 inches long make a good substitute for mor- 

 tar and pestle with which to powder strychnine crystals. 



The addition of a quarter ounce of powdered dry extract of 

 licorice and 2 teaspoonfuls of strawberry or raspberry sirup (such 

 as is used at soda fountains) will aid to disguise the bitterness of 

 the strychnine and will improve the taste of the bait, but these two 

 ingredients are not necessarv. 



Poisoned wheat may be prepared in the same way, except that only 

 two-thirds as much flour paste is needed, for the glossy outer coat- 

 ing of the kernels does not absorb moisture as readily as do groats. 



Stir the starch, dissolved in one-half cup of cold water, into 1} 

 pints of boiling water, thus making a smooth paste of medium thick- 

 ness, and into this stir the powdered strychnine. Then mix it thor- 

 oughly with the oatmeal, forming a stiff dough. Press this dough 

 into sheets one-fourth inch thick and cut it into one-half inch squares. 

 After these have been dried in the sun — not in an oven — they will 

 become hard and will keep indefinitely. This formula should make 

 about 3.000 or 3.500 biscuits, each of which will contain enough 

 poison to kill a squirrel. A little crushed starch or flour will pre- 

 vent the dough from sticking to hands and utensils. In preparing 

 small quantities of biscuits a flat board may be used to press the 

 dough into sheets and a knife to cut it into squares. But where the 

 baits are to be manufactured in bulk a rotary confectioner's or drug- 

 gist's cutter will facilitate the work. 



A teaspoonful of loose grain, or two of the poisoned biscuits, 

 should be placed at the entrance of each occupied squirrel hole. It 

 will thus be more available for the squirrels and less likely to attract 

 the attention of birds than if scattered broadcast. Poisoned baits 



FORMULA II. POISONED BISCUITS. 



Oatmeal (rolled oats) 



Strychnine alkaloid (powdered) 



Gloss starch 



Water 



2i heaping tablespoonfuls. 

 1 quart. 



4 quarts. 

 _i ounce. 



PUTTING OUT THE POISON. 



iS4 



