THE GROUND SQUIRRELS OP CALIFORNIA. 



749 



"an act to establish a uniform system of county and township govern- 

 ments," the general permanent powers of a county board of super- 

 visors included the authority "to provide for the destruction of gophers, 

 squirrels, other wild animals, noxious weeds and insects injurious to 

 fruit or fruit trees, or vines, or vegetable or plant life." 1 



From this time on we have the regnum of county ordinances and 

 bounty acts. All bounty acts that were passed by the legislature to 

 affect certain counties had been repealed by the legislature by this 



Fig. 52. Central mixing depot of county horticultural commis- 

 sioner preparing poisoned grain on a large scale. Numerous large 

 mixing boxes are provided, each serving as its own drying tray. 

 Large batches are mixed in this type of box. 



time, hence there were no conflicting regulations in force. Some coun- 

 ties never adopted the ordinance scheme to create inspection districts, 

 usually allowing bounties to prevail or passing and repealing bounty 

 acts from time to time. Evidently it was deemed better by the super- 

 visors to spread their patronage more widely and evenly over the county 

 by paying a bounty than to tie it all up in a few inspectors as it actually 

 resolved itself in a very short time. 



The duties of squirrel inspectors became rather honorary in nature, 

 with as little actual work or activity as possible. The old saying that 

 "the inspector did most of the field work at the county seat or about the 

 country store," held good in many instances, and not very long ago an 

 authentic report was received to the effect that the inspector hired by 

 the county to look after the squirrel menace was haying for the chairman 

 of the board of supervisors, although paid from county funds. An 

 unfortunate circumstance arose in many counties wherever funds were 

 running short, for just as with bounties, the squirrel inspector expense 

 was among the foremost, if not the first, to be clipped off. When the 

 position of inspector became a pension its value to the community was 



*See footnote, p. 729. 



157 



