724 



THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



the grasshoppers were called, "ratones" or rats and "ardillos" or 

 squirrels came in for the greatest share of complaints. Not all of the 

 missions suffered as severely as did those in the Los Angeles, Ventura, 

 Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Monterey districts. The regions 

 mentioned have been noted for years for the large numbers of squirrels 

 and it was here, too, that the most flourishing of the missions were to 

 be found. The same rule applied in that day as now. Localities had 

 their range stock to protect against the ravages of predatory animals, 

 and breaking the soil entailed the destruction of cover for the lesser 

 enemies, such as snakes and predatory birds, but it produced a new 

 foraging ground for the squirrel; his food supply was more readily 

 obtainable, his efficiency had to be increased only to guard against the 

 foe, and more time could be devoted to this in view of the lesser effort 

 necessary in seeking food. Not only were facilities for obtaining food 

 bettered, but a variety of products was forthcoming, spreading over a 

 greater period of time in the year. Range stock were beginning to 

 compete for natural food, which to a limited degree forced a seeking 

 for more suitable fields from which to garner a harvest. 



Fig. 46. County Horticultural Commissioner weighing out 

 poisoned grain at central mixing depot preparatory to distrib- 

 uting it to centers throughout the county. 



Another enemy who softened in his persecutions was the Indian. 

 If we can take the statisticians and historians of the missions at their 

 word, we learn that crops raised at the missions, range and domestic 

 stock, furnished a new and plenteous food for the Indian just as did 

 the newly cultivated fields for the ground squirrel. Indians no longer 

 hunted them extensively for food and presumably this was true in so 

 far as the utilization of their hides for bodily protection was concerned. 

 Hides of domestic stock and the newer types of cloth served the purpose 

 more satisfactorily. 



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