COPY 
United States Department of Agriculture 
Bureau of Biological Survey 
Washington, D. C. 
June 11, 1923 
Mr • C» S • Judo., 
Executive Officer, Board of Co 
Agriculture and Forestry, 
Honolulu, Hawaii 
Hit* 
issionexs of 
Dear Mr. Judd: 
Owing to my absence from Washington during a large 
part of the time since its arrival, your letter of April 5 
has awaited a reply until now. Mr. Reno, who has had ex¬ 
perience in the control of rodent pests has returned to the 
United States. Doctor Alexander Wef more, who is still in 
charge of the Hawaiian Island expedition and will probably 
not return until late in August, has had no experience in 
work of that character, and I doubt if he could, be of any 
practical service in the control of the goats on the islands 
which you mention. 
The work of the Biological Survey against animal pests 
has been devoted practically all to the destruction of wild 
rodents and predatory animals. We have had no practical^ex¬ 
perience in handling goats or other domestic animals. If 
goats exist in such enormous numbers as indicated by the fact 
that approximately 14,000 of them could be eorraled in a derive, 
it occurs to me uhat the value of their skins might/ be suffi¬ 
cient to make it commercially worth while for men to hunt them. 
Of course I am not informed as to the facts in the case, and 
this is merely a suggestion* If the goat pes u is of su^ii- 
ciant importance to warrant the expenditure of the money, the 
Biological Survey might loan to your Department one of its field 
experts to go to the islands for a certain period. Tais, however, 
would necessitate that he be transferred from the Departmental 
payroll to that of the islands, and the expenses of the trip to 
he*met by your Commission. 
It appears to me that by taking advantage of the country, 
a certain number of trap corrals constructed of woven, wire, 
might he built in which goats could be driven or enticed by the 
use of food and then killed for their skins. If the^ skins are 
not of sufficient value then it might oe quite feasiole to poison 
them on a tremendous scale by placing poisoned food for them near 
watering places or other localities to which they resort. With 
the goats reduced to a small number of scattered animals, their 
final destruction might depend upon shooting. 
