732 



THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



endorsed. Strychnine, saccharine and glycerin were to be purchased 

 in large quantities at wholesale price, thereby giving users of the product 

 a reduction in price amounting to a considerable sum for the counties 

 where the practice was followed. When a rancher must pay for what 

 he uses it is reasonable to believe that proper disposal of the article 

 will be made. This seems to be the only logical outcome of any plan 

 whereby the county desiring to assist in relieving the situation can 

 supplant the bounty or free poison system. 



What methods of control were in use at this time will follow, after 

 going back to some of the earlier methods in vogue. 



EARLY CONTROL. 



In the earliest recorded campaign at Santa Barbara nothing certain 

 is known of the methods used, and naturally we must wait until 

 information on methods is recorded in suitable form before we can 

 gain clues as to methods prevalent in early days. Drowning was 

 practiced wherever irrigation had been taken up, but its use against 

 squirrels was noted to be far less effective than on gophers. With 

 the assistance of dogs many could be killed wherever land could be 

 flooded. In 1861-62 a natural drowning occurred in parts of Cali- 

 fornia due to the exceptionally wet winter. In sandy lands some 

 went to the trouble of heaping a pile of dry sand over each burrow 

 so that when the occupant should try to dig out he would find sand 

 behind him as well as before him so packed as to suffocate him. This 

 idea is reputed to have come from the Indians, but was used in a 

 number of instances by intelligent landowners at a later date. 



It was noted that during dry years squirrels would flock to places 

 where vegetation abounded, or close to stream banks. The not uncom- 

 mon fallacy of today was extremely prevalent in early times, that 

 squirrels dug to water and during an excessively dry year the water 

 table or soil moisture of which the squirrels availed themselves receded 

 to such an extent that a new source of water must be sought. These 

 observations led to the idea of using poisoned water during a dry year, 

 which truly has proven efficacious in many localities. In 1866 we hear 

 of a peculiar report of damage in a cemetery at San Jose, where the 

 graves were being dug into and contents strewn about by squirrels. 

 The expedient used to dispatch the marauders by the observing care- 

 taker was water poisoned with strychnine. Notice having been taken 

 of the habit of drinking water out of cans after a rain, he supplied 

 fresh water for several days, then substituted poisoned water, after 

 which procedure the squirrels ceased to be a source of care. 



The technique of sound control measures was beginning to come to 

 the fore in the late '60s and early '70s. Many homemade remedies 

 and expedients that suggested themselves from experiences with rodent 

 pests of various kinds in former locations were placed in the farm 

 journals mainly to lend assistance to those just starting to farm or to 

 those whose experiences with rodent pests had been limited. Prior to 

 this time, agricultural journals had found more space for the pocket 

 gopher, seemingly because of his presence in garden plots and back- 

 yard orchards. Foolish systems of operation were put forth as well 

 as many that were not applicable to California digger squirrels, Many 



