730 



THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



None of these items show any continuous expenditures but are merely 

 examples of years or parts of years, This went on spasmodically from 

 1869 until 1917, a period of almost fifty years. While no doubt 

 millions of squirrels were killed and millions of dollars saved, still one, 

 viewing California from an infestation angle during the spring and 

 early summer of 1917, surely would be convinced of the absolute failure 

 of bounties. 



The bounty laws were deficient in many respects. Whenever a price 

 is set upon the head of a ground squirrel there must be a goodly supply 

 of rodents in order to make the killing of them attractive from a 

 remunerative standpoint; otherwise the amount of the bounty must 

 be high enough to compensate for lack of numbers. This will lead to 

 a lack of uniformity in bounties in adjacent counties which in turn is 

 conducive to fraudulent claims. Unless the state of California would 

 be in a position to pay a state-wide bounty, slight possibility would 

 appear for the inauguration of uniform payment of bounty claims 

 among the counties. Bounties were collected in counties where the 

 squirrels were not even killed ; one county would demand the tails and 

 another the scalp, in which case two counties might pay the bill. An 

 experience in one of the northern counties where the Oregon ground 



Fig. 48. Burrow of Oregon ground squirrel, through 

 a depth of snow. Lack of food makes this a favorable - 

 time to institute control measures ; however, climatic 

 conditions makes it impractical. 



squirrel exists might be cited: Indians employed to irrigate alfalfa 

 fields, coming upon half-drowned or weakened squirrels, would turn 

 all females loose on dry ground, after having cut off the tail, in order 

 that bounty breeders might not be entirely exterminated. Further, 

 many of. the squaws had become proficient in making more than one 

 tail from the hide of a squirrel by taking the hide from the back, and 

 wrapping a cut portion o-f it about a small stick. The stubby tail -of 

 this particular species could be quite well -imitated. Without the per- 

 sistent application of the bounty for. a long continue^ period of years, 



138 



