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BULLETIN No. 31 Second Series 8KPTEMBEU, 1916 (Published by direction of Hon. MARTIN BURRELL, Minister of Agriculture, Ottawa, Ont. \~'\''Ki tt. a- '/? OTTAWA, September 22, iniC. The Honourable, The Minister of A(n"iculture, Ottawa, Out. Sir, — I have the honour to transmit herewith the manuscript of Second Series Bulletin No. 31, entitled " Gopher Destruction." This pest bus done and is doinu a great deal of destruction in our Western Provinces. While we have heretofore published considerable lite'ature on the .subject, wo have never brought out a bulletin on gopher destruction as couipleto and authoritative as the present. The itiforniution contained herein is, in my opinion, the best available at the present time, and was compiled by myself from material submitted by the Superintendents of our prairi" farms and from other sources. I would recommend that this bulletin be published at an earlv date. I have the honour to \te, sir, Your obedient servant, J. H. GRISDALE. Director, Dominion Experimental Farms. 9517 GOPHER DESTRUCTION. INTUODl'CTlON. Amo,.ff tho wor.t rnrmi... ..f tlu- furin.T on th. i.rairi.H iu tl.n pr..vi.>.-,.. .,f }.Un\- ,„!,. Sa^k,.fl>..wan. nnd AUhtU ar- t»... various «,«•«!.■« of k..,.1,. r. Tl...*. Krou.u H,.,irn.l. .nak.. tl.-ir hon,.-. in l.-l. , hurrow-.l ,l,rn„K'h th. -nft H..il ..f ,1... pnur.n. nn.l liv.- ...1 tlw hrrbaifo in fli« "I'lr.- "r I.-«h ii-»r n..i(fhl.c.urlHH)d. VAIllKTIKM OK IIOI'IIKR. Two ,v,H. of ,ru,,l...r ar .nmonly foun.l on th. ('a..a.liau pruiru... th- or.linary ,..„her iCMlus Rir,,ar,lso„i). an.l tho xnol.. or r^.-'kc- ^'oph.r; wlul. a .h,r.l ,W s.,u.rr..l ,ail ^oplaT (rUrllus Fra,dU,n\ h.^n^nU ll.e mon- l.n->,v -ountry and doe., n. a ruli', rolatively :*niaU damnRf. lUMVIK CMSKn IIV COI'IIEBS. Th.-e rodent, are cx.-oodin^ly difficult to k...,. in chcok. and they work eaeh year immen^o .• .u,,'e to the erop. of the farmers in these p.airu province... T..v,m« m hoU-s in the ground. Tnound. of earth from the diRRinR of which dot the pra.rj. wherever one goe.. sleeping all the -vinter. and awaking .n the .pr.n« to ecd on the tender ^ceu youn« plant* in th. field, and garden., they do an .nealculahlo amoun^ <,f dumago ever>- year, and thousand, of acre., which would ot.erw.e be h.ghly productive, are rendered of «mall value becau.e of their r'.predat.ons every spring. The ed-e. of fields, especially when situated .u ar un.med or range land arc otten eleaned"haro of young plant, when they nro juat»... Yi'"t of fiwlil not attackwl l»y guph«ri». 110 bush. 40 .. to- lb. 41 .. Yield per aero on iMirt of Huld attacked by gopber.!. I.oKH [iiT acre euu^fd by ^opb.TH. "ifbush. 22 .. 14 lb. 20 M llbuBh. 18 ., 21 The i]Htiiiiir<' ru« i" u«Uttll.v griiitf*t in » niwrwly «fttk'il tliatrii't wheru tht' nrru» uniicr cultivutidii nii' ■iciitlrpid iiml nfti'i. limilril in una. 'I'ln' littli> imsU nf- fxtrcnu'ly fond ioii;il appan iit U!«'l«'««n<'** of apjilyinir ixiinon. nit thi* hiiliit of coininjr lontf di-tuncf-t to Hp|H-ti/im: { liiKo ground i* ovtrloolnil and tho farniin- naturally ••onu's to llu> concdu-ion that the jn isWT, ool "Ik-lv to lio much trouolo wilh K'ophcrs cominil from adjoinini; land thut is in crop, NATURAL KNKMIK!). The natural ewmicA of tli'- (foplicr art' I'oyoti'.^, l)adir«'rn, likunk^, weasplH, snakes, hawks, and owln. .Many Koplifr-. I'^iH-i'ially on the want*- land.*, are dextroyed hy hawks and owl-i. yet unfortunately, whenever one of thiiip birdn apiM>ar« nonr the average farm in tlie West, it is greeted with a shot, the farmer f-.rKetliiiK that the o.'ea,ioiinl theft from the barnyard liy these bird., is usually niueh more than otT-et by the number of gopherx killed by them. If it were not for the useless bird de.truciinn, many more Kophers, whose ravajres in the farmer's erops are much greater than those of the hawk in hi* barnyard, would bo killed. MKTIIOPM ir CONTRiil, OH EXTKIIM IS' \TloN. There ore many methods of destruetiori but only a few are practicable on the nveraife farm. These methods are. poisoninif, shootiiip, trappinif, snarinj,', drowning and sutfocUinR. roisoMNU. '''here are a number of patent gopher poisons on the market; very few of these, howe.er, are to be recommended, and the reparations is to demand a guarantee of eiTeetiveness oi- to buy subjet^t to analy.sis. Xevertl"'le»s, during the past few years certain of thesf parations tried out on the branch Farms and Stations have proven (juite satisfact A tried and proven TOeip<; that has been effective wherever proj^'rly handled is given below. One of the strong jxiints in favour of this reciix.' is its simjilicity, while its cheapness is also an important consideration. Hecipi' fur VrvpariiKj W hiat for Poisoning Gophern. — Dis.solve one ounce of gtryohnino or sulphate of strychnine ir one quart of vinegar to which iu.s been added ono (piart of hot water. Stir with a stick until all the btrych:iiiie is dissolvein stand in tlu' solution for 9A hours and it uilv of the solution is then srill unabsorbed, add a haniifnl of shorts and stir the whole mi.\ture well. Put a tabh^spoontul of the moist grain well into tlie entrance of each gopher hole. 1 ■^U^ CttM«<> Kraiu. *.. that acci.l.-nt.il |K.i*.i.iii« of fiirin imiimiU, rhilJrni. uiio .>thrni may l'«> pr. voiitod. C'o»/.— Thi. .Mwt 1* not Kr<-at. Tho four (rulli.tm |.r.-|..ir«l «* iiidioatrd above ahouW h.- .-iiouirh to tn-at half a ^e.■tiou nf Inn.l ati.l i.l-. tn „ .li.tan.v of a qiiart.T of a mil.- „r mor.. o,. the outM.U' of t!..' »um.-. Tho ordinary r.-tail pric of .trylmim. .ulphal.' is ttliout ifl to fI.J.> ail ounce U/m n lo .i,././j/.— Tho tirn .indication should ho made as n a* tho miow i« of! tho Krouu.l in tlu- early Hprinu Tho p.pher* aro th.^n hunKO'. otluT food u .cnrce. „nd thoir nuniLor. aro only "l"-ut ono-ihird of what thoy would ho a few weeks lut-r. If an cffoctivo upplicntioix in rnadi- at thin time thoro i* pruct.oally no mr.ro tr..ulrlo durintt tho «'a.Hlea from tho ^h..ulaer hy mean, of a strap, and a dessert M"-"" «■'"' " 1"'|K h.ndl... Tho oiM.rutor walk* from end to end of the furm. ea.'h luno eovennK a strip uf nut more than twenty live yards on either .ido of the lino he i. loUow.i.i.. n thi. way ho is able to see every hole. lie drops a H,>oonful of the poisoned gruiu well down each hole, thenby keeping it out of tho reach of prairie chicken^, and at the »am« time cnu-inK tho gophers to die in their holes, wh.^ro they aro not a menace to anything cUo. After tho farm has hecn thus covered, it is usually well to distribute the ,K,.son on a strip at least a hundred yards wido round the outside of the farm, in order to lessen tho danger of inroads by gophers from adjacent land. Danu,rs and Precaution*.— The unfortunate point in the uaing of poisoned grain is that it kill* many of ..ur native birds, and it i^ needlesi to say that in distributing the poison r.ro should be taken to prevent domestic animals getting enough to hurt them Ihr amount that would kill a gopher would not bo eiiougl to kill a d, mcstio hen. but o, ■■ scarcely cares to take chance.. This ri.k can be minimized by placnig the poisoned bait, as indicated above, as far down the entrance to the holes as possible with tho long-handled spoon mentioned. (Iran p<.i8oned and put out as indicated, has been distributed by us in fields where horses, cattle, sheep and swine have been pasturinr, at the time and no loss duo to poison has resulted up to the present. We have not tested th^ advisability of distri- buting poisoned grain in poultry yards, but believe the w.otice would be dangerous to the poultry. Another method of poisoning that has been used with veiy good results in North Dakota is as follows: — (1) ,Mix thoroughly one ouf-e strychnine alkaloid, (powdered), and one ounce baking soda. (■') Sift this into three quarters pint of thin, hot starch paste, and stir to a »rcamy mass The starch paste is made by dissolving one heaping tablespoonfnl of dry gloss starch in a little cold water, which is then added to three quarters pint of boiling water. Boil and stir constantly until a clear thin paste is formed. (:i) Adil iitu' iiuartiT pint hi'iiv.v I'orti •.vriip iiinl ii t.ilil.'.|>....iitiil ..t' ulyivriuc, tln-ti ■tir tlmroutflily. (») Ailil uiii! fiiflitli ourioo nm'fliuriiii' iiml -tir tli.pr.iuulily. Cii I'litir thin !>• imin •uluticpii ovrr twi'iiiy quurt>i nS fU.iu ont« and mix itnirniiiflily iw) thut riK'li trruin U cuntiMl. I'riptirc tin- in^iwiiincl tfraiii twnit.v to furty-i'ulit limir* iH'fiTi' Uitini?. For niixiiijt 'tuM t|uniitiliix mi ordinary ifalvanizi'il wa-»li luli i- ■•■'ti- Vfiiii'iit. Vxr larKcr quaiitili' i a tiiflit, -.iiio.,i!i hox may 1m> u-id, and th- mixing d.'iM- with a iii>iide. (I)) A tia^ixMiiil'ul i>( |r' iMiiiid "iit-i .-.liiiuld 1m' placrd in lai'ii K"pl» r ''"''' "i' ■liaii, liard ^'r.iUiid. l.llinit it ifaltir -ll-'htly t\* it falls (placfd in tlii< way il will 11..1 jMidaniftr thf xtixk and bird*). I>> not put tlw |)4)ii.i>m'd yrrain on tlii' li....r dirt ..f the iip.uinl nr .it tlir lioluM. Kaili nuart of tii.' poi-ioued uruin i.-. j'uffii'i.iit t.. mat al>iiiit .-ixt.N !iiil<><. In va»' iK.iKoiiinR in liiitiif carriid ..11 luar Imiidin*.'" wlii-rc i.niilfrv i^. kept, or if it \* d«'Hiri>d or uwomary to HVui put in a rai-in. aniu was then drupi«Ml in llio runway, which can readily bt' local, d by th.' ditlcr.n.'c in tho iirmnc. of fho .-..i.. Enlrani'c t.) the thor..\ii;ht'arc us.'d by th.- iv.ckct tf..phcr may be ma'.- by means of u slmrp, roun.l stick, tho ixiisoned raisin invrtcd. Biid the oiK"iiii({ c.vered. It wa-. imposnible to Hi>curo gatisfnctory results tr.nn this metli(Hl, as th.> |>..is,,n ■■.■.•me.l to,, fre.iuently t.) .ail to reach its destination, as the mounds still made their apiiearunce, though not in such lurifo numbers. OTIIEII MKTIIIIDS OK ;)KSTBL'CTION'. Tho methods of nhooting. trappini?, snaring, dro vning and suffocating arc n very effective, as ,hey take so much time, or are exptasive; but when it N kept i mind that an averairo popher litter is eijrht or ten, and thut one koj Kct can asily destroy two or three buihcls of grain, it will be seen that any m.jthod thai .epulis in the destruction of even one of these pests is to be recoramen vu SHOOTING. Shooting is an effective and somctimeg exciting method of destroying the gopher, but it is rather slow and, in comparison with tho poisoning method as outlino.1 ab.ive, very expensive. TRAPPING. Trapping is a method which should bo adopted where poisoning is not prac- ticable, as in poultry runs, or to destroy the wanderers that come in from b.yoiid the farm boundaries to the small fields about the house and gardens, after the main crop of gophers has bivn destroyed by poisoning. Traps must of cours be visited I««\uently for emptying and resetting, as new victims are caught; bu^ even so, a boy not otherwise employed can usefully occupy his time in looking after a fow v.o'en traps, placed in those parts of the farm where they will catch ipost jrophers. Bnya, 08 a rule, delipht in killing such farm pests, and a honus of one or two cents a head would save dollars on the crops, and add a little spice to the boy's life. The Mole or Pocket Oopher. — Moreover, in the case of the mole or pocket gopher, trapping seoma to be the best method of control. Since its burrows are entirely under- neath the surface, and since the point in the runway at which he comes to the surface to deposit the earth excavated in the construction of the runway is closed with earth, there are no openings in the runway through which to introduce thi poison readily. His habits of life thus render him comparatively safe from the poisoning method described above, and compel the adoption of trapping as the means of control or extermination. The pocktt gopher digs a large number of runways which converge at Mangel Field showing deatruotion of crop around a Gopher Hole; Gopher in foreground. certain points. Traps should bo placed in the bottom of the runway at this point of convergence. A slight excavation is necessary so that the pan of the trap is level with the bottom of the runway. The chain is carried to tb" surface at the side of the runway and fastened to a small picket. The opening is then covered with a small hoard or shingle and earth is placed on top to exclude the light. Traps so sr t and attr^nded by a boy who makes regular rounds, will catch a large number daily, since manv diiTerent families use the same run. Characteristic attitude of the gopher. Placing x>oisoD in the gopher holes. The common Uopher of Wt-sterii Cauaiiu, /: DROWHIJJO. Drowning is not practicable on the average prairie farm, as it involves too mucli time and labour at a period wlien all available help is required for seeding and preparing the land. gUITOCATIMa. The various methods of suffocation by heavy gases are extremely difficult, and are therefore not much used. Gasoline has recently been tried in the Western States, with, it is reported, fair success. aOPHEIW ON VACANT LANDS. As gophers are found in large numbers on waste or unoccupied land, and since there are large areas of such land in the vicinity of most western farms, it becomM evident that it is not enough for a farmer to clear his own land of gophers, as a fresh colony will immediately take possession from the waste land near; the waste land as well as the farm itself must be attended to. CO-OPEKATION IN ATTACKS ON G0PHBB8. While in some districts, rural municipalities, farmers' unions, and even store- keepers, are co-operating, by the offering of prizes for the largest number of gophers killed in a certain period, and in this way hundreds of thousands are killed each spring yet in many districts nothing like this is done, and the necessary work is left . to individual effort. The offering of prizes to the young people of the community for this purpose would certainly greatly stimulate their efforts in this regard. Where communities have acted in unison in distributing poison the results have been more generally beneficial than when only occasional farmers are using gopher poison. Organizations such as the local Farmers' Union have in many instances set apart a day known as "Gopher Day," when the whole community declares war and makes a general attack on the gophers. This idea is worthy of adoption by all such organizations in the West, and, when adopted, will certainly result in very materially reducing the loss due to gophers. MUNICIPAL CONTBOIi. According to the Provincial Law, the Rural Municipalities and Local Improve- ment Districts in Alberta have the power to levy a tax of two and a half cents per acre on unoccupied lands, to be expended on poison and for labour in distribution. A somewhat similar law is on the statute books of Saskatchewan. It is possible something worth while could be done by the municipalities co- operating with the schools and allowing the children a bonus of. say, one cent per head for each gopher killed. Some municipalities in Saskatchewan adopted this method last year with great success. Another practicable plan would be for the municipality to supply each farmer with sufficier . poison for use on his own fields, and also on the prairie adjacent to them. The diimage to the crops might thus be considerably lessened. Ottawa Printed by J. Di L. TAOHft, printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 1916.