Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Methods lock ;; would be most for miable animals were they -enlarged to the size of the pchistoric dinosaur. Their teeth are huge in proportion to ilitir he#ds awl their bifureated front claws are strong, sharp as eagle talons u id traordinarlly long. The gopher however is a little anim: yet because of his abundance and exceeding in dustry, he becomes more than a nuis ance-a menace in fact-to many farm ing communities. Pocket gophers infest all the States and Territories west of the Mississippi, and parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, Flor ida, Georgia, and the greater part of Mexico. All the species live under ground in ramifying tunnels, and all bring to the surface quantities of earth, which is heaped up in the shape of mounds. The habits of these animals are everywhere much the same. Throughout their range pocket goph ers are very destructive to crops, much more so than moles. They eat the roots of fruit trees and in this way some times ruin whole orchards. They eat both root and tops of clover, alfalfa, grasses, grains, and vegetables, and are especially harmful to potatoes and other tuberous crops. In addition to all this, they throw up innumerable mounds of earth in meadows, pastures, and grain fields, which cover and de stroy far more of the crop than is either eaten by the animals or killed THE POCKE by having the roots cut off. These mounds also prevent close mowing, so that much of the hay crop is lost, while the pebbles they contain often break or injure farm machinery. The loss due to gopher mounds in the clover and alfalfa fields in some of the West ern states has been conservatively esti-I mated at one-tenth of the entire crop. In many of the fertile valleys where gophers abound they are by far the most formidable of the farmer's anlin al enemies, Pocket gophers may be destroyed by poison, by traps, and by the use of car bon bisulphid. Poisoning Pocket Gophers. Poisoning with strychnine is the most effective means known for killing these little animals, and, as it involves the least expenditure of money and labor, the Biological Survey recom mends it for general use, As a rodent poison to be used by farmers, strych nine has several advantages. Its act ion is sure, its deadly character is known to most persons, and its bitter taste is an additionalsafeguardagainst mistaking it for a harmless drug. Strychnia sulphate is the most conven ient form of the poison, since it is freely soluble in hot water and in the natural juice of vegetables used as bait. To disguise its bitterness so that ro dents may not be deterred from eating the baits, sugar is often employed, or the strychnine may be mixed with its own bulk of commercial saccharine. A sugar syrup poisoned with strych nine may be used with excellent re suits. It is prep~ared as follows: Dissolve an ounce of strychnia sul phate in a pint of boiling water. Add a pint of thick sugar syrup, and stir thoroughly. The syrup is usually scented by adding a few drops of oil of anise, but this is not essential. If preserved in a closed vessel, the syrup will keep indefinitely. The above quantity is sufficient to poison a half bushel of shelled corn or other grain (corn recommended), the cereal being steeped in hot water and allowed to soak over night. It is then drained and soaked for several hours in the poisoned syrup. Before using. corn meal may be added to take up the excess of moisture. Dry crystals of strychnine also may be used. They are introduced by means of a knife, into small pieces of potato, carrot, or sweet potato, or into entire raisins or dried prunes. A sin gle large crystal (or several small ones) is enough for each bait. Raisins are especially recommended because they are easily handled and contain enough sugar to disguise the bitter ness of the poison. The prepared baits are placed in the underground runways of the gophers and are conveniently handled with a spoon. A stout dibble is used to make holes into the runways. Having lo cated the runways by use of the dibble, it is moved from side to side to make the soil firm about the hole, and then withdrawn. A piece of the poisoned potato or raisin or a teaspoonful of the poisoned corn dropped into the hole which is left olpen. Some farmers arefer to cover the holes, but the exper ience of the Agriculture Department is against such practice. By this method little labor is neces sary, and the operator soon acquires skill in finding the runways. The bait should be placed in the main runways and not in the short laterals near the mounds. If placed in the laterals, the arimals are likely to cover it with soil or throw it out without finding it. A skillful operator can go over 20 to 40 acres of badly infested land in a day, and, if the work is carefully clon at a+ime when the pocket ge8 DEST2OYING GOPHEPS. !ecommended by the Department of A. GUY LLLIOTT MITCHELL. are active, all the animals should *be! destroyed by the first application of the poison. Trapping Pocket Gophers. Trapping is a successful metnod when followed intelligently and persist ently. It is especially adapted to small fields, orchards, and gardens, where only a few of the animals are present: but in the case of large areas that are badly infested, the method involves too much labor. For trapping, an ordinary No. 0 steel trap may be employed but there are a number of special gopher traps on the market that are better adapted for general use. In using the ordinary steel trap, the first step is to make an opening into the main tunnel. The trap should then be sunken so that the jaws are level with the bottom of the runway and lightly covered with green clover or alfalfa or grass, or even loose soil, care being taken that these do not clog under the pan, or trigger. No bait is required. The holes should be just large enough to receive the trap and should be covered so as almost to ex clude the light. Carbon Bisulphid. Carbon bisulphid has been employed for killing pocket gophers, and under favorable conditions its use is recom-: mended. If the burrows are extensive T GOPMER. or the soil dry, the gases are dissipated so rapidly that a large quantity of the liquid is required to kill the animals and the method becomes too expensive. If, however, the burrows are simple and and the soil moist, bisulphid may be used successfully. For pocket gophers an ounce of the liquid for each burrow is sufficient. The carbon blsulphid is poured over a bunch of cotton, rages, or other waste material and this quickly pushed into the burrow, which should be closed at once. Co-Operation Necessary. Any farmer may readily rid his prem ises of gophers by the use of poison or traps. Unless, however, the entire community unites in active and intelli gent co-operation on the destruction of the animals, the cleared area will be sooner or later invaded from neighbor ing premises. and the work of destruc tion must be repeated. Co-operation only will effect a radical cure. When Unsafe Location, For Farm OA Well. co-opeative ffortsfor th exem tion o gophrs ov rOcidrbl. ae areatemte, aflatninms sco-openrot efor ford t esterm tinco goperts over ajonigefable are are tmped careful attnon sto begen to3,0 wastensaog. ecs streams public highways, nd chooil of selie them becaulb in the r sulet oo for .Iti fo oTe recba wit cetn gofpecca, Threovre 21,000 coorewdt schooh eacer in the SUited ortKhes-ve.A ind orsnvering ras in ochoosigt thirdetwengazng0herse IN riculture. TYPHOID FEVER ON THE FA1I. C. J. Blanchard, U. S. Geoiogical Survey. "More than 40 per cent. of the farm wells so far examined in this State have been found to be polluted." This s a signiflcant statement made by the lirector of a State Board of Health laboratory, in which several thousand. well waters have been examined. It helps to explain why the death rate from typhoid fever is greater in the country than in the city. It is a popular notion of city folk that a vacation in the country is a safeguard against all the diseases to which the flesh is heir; physicians recognize this when they send their patients away from the city. The country life is unquestionably the ideal one; the popular cry "back to nature" has a large measure of justification, -et there are thousands of people who return from such -an outing consumed with typhoid fever. Why should this be true? Typhoid an Index to Water Purity. A century of experience has shown that the typhoid rate in any place is a good index of the purity of the water supply at that place. Therefore, when we find that the typhoid rate in the country is higher in the aggregate than in the city. -it .can be fairly assumed that country water supplies are not as safe as city -supplies, and this in spite of the fact that many of our city waters are notoriously bad. The state from which the above mentioned testi mony comes is a typical one so far as its proportion of rural pollution is con cerned and that there is no reason to believe that if the matter were investi gated in other states, the conditions of farm wells would be in any degree superior. In connection with its investigations of the character of water supplies, the United States Geological Survey has noted repeatedly that typhoid fever is continuously prevalent in many rural sections. In some cases this condition has been maintained for so many years that it is accepted by the communities as one of the ordinary incidents of life and becomes a matter of general com ment only during periods of especial virulence. The facts are, that there are comparatively few farm wells lo cated at points not subject to local contamination. Farmer's Swear by Their Wells. It is commonly observed that nearly every farmer believes in the purity ot his well water, especially if the well has been in use for generations. The fact that his grandfather believed the water to be pure is sufficient evi dence for him to defend the well, even though his -family be 'devastated by typhoid fever. It is sometimes the case that a well is used even after its taste and odor ought to be sufficient to demonstrate that it is polluted. A notable instance occurred not long since, in which a certain farmer could not use the water from his well if it were drawn up by a pumnp, but if a Farm Well Located on ,'~5: ~-High ~ Ground an A Free From Conitamina well sweep were used and the water taken from the surface, no disagree able features w ere noted. It was found upon examination that the sink drain which had been in use for generations passed close to the well and a large part of the drainage emptied into it. This organic matter settled to the bot tom of the well and became putrid. Whenever the pump was used the v ater containing this foul matter was drawn from the lower part of the well; while that obtained from the top by means of the well sweep was above the cotainatiou and (lid nor give evi dence of disagreeable odor or taste, although it contained in solution a large amount of filthy matter. The de plorable feature of this situation is that it requires in the majority of cases only the exercise of common sense in the selection of a point at which a safe well may be sunk. The accompanying illustrations show safe and unsafe well locations. Thmat showin the imnroner 1ocation s thoroughly typical of conditions which may be found repeatedly in rural dis tricts. It is probable that typhoid fever will prevail in the country as long as the habit is common of sinking: a well in a convenient, rather than in a safe place. Curing Persimmons. From a report recently prepared by David G. Fairchild, an explorer o tnie Department of Agriculture, it appears that persimmons as they are eateni in Japan are as firm in texture as a Northern Spy apple, free from as tringency, and of a delicious flavor. They are not allowed to ripen to th squashy consistency of the fruit as it is eaten in America. Investigations as to Japanese methods of curing per simmons show that the Japanese put the persimnmons in sake .Taues beer) casks as soon as the casks are emptied. The heads of these casks are immediately replaced and the pack age made air-tight. !n fron 5 to 15 days, according to weather conditions, the persimmons are cured and can be removed and marketed, keeping in a firm, edible condition for a long period. Forcing Rhubarb. Experiments have shown that the most satisfactory results in cultivating rhubarb, are attained by growing the roots from seed and forcing when the plants are one year old. Drying the roots has been found to have the same effect as freezing. Either drying or freezing serves the same purpose as a long rest, which is otherwise required. and the product is more vigorous. a 1^ FORCEDAND UNFORCED RHUBARB When thus grown in darkness tne leaf blade is greatly reduced, the green color is wholly absent. the tex ture is more crisp and delicate, due to a lessened development of woody fiber, the skin is much thinner than when grown in light, the water con tent is increased 6 to 10 per cent., and the flavor is generally improved. Rhubarb thus grown commands a fancy price. Strong Light Injurious to Plants. Strong light has been found in some instances to hinder the growth of pol len tubes of plants. This is thought to be the reason why tomatoes and cucumbers do not bear fruit in mid summer in Arizona. Strong direct sun light in. summer also prevents the plant leaves from assuming the usual green color. Thus, strawberry plants in Arizona are yellow for about three months in summer even when grown under shade of cheese cloth. When grown on the north side of a dense shade of sorghum or cotton the plants remain green and dense all summer and are probably the most vigorous in the garden. Telephones in the Forests. The usefulness of the telephone be comes more and more apparent as its territory of operation is extended into remote corners of the globe. Nowadays. the traveler in the heavily wooded sec tions of the north country is amazed when be sees how the march of pro gress has extended in the shape of telephones in the forest. L~seful as the telephone is in thc city. where the steps it saves could some times be compensated for by the use of the automobile, the electric car, or the fast express, it is far more useful in the forest, where are none of these conveniences, and where the canoe ot bateau is the common vehicle of travel. In logging operations the telephone now plays a most important part. The dams along the river are built not only to hold water against a time of drought but also to control the flood, so that the river flow may be properly regu lated. To this end a considerable crew of men is kept at the dams all the time, to open or close the gates on short notice. Before the telephones came into use, instructions to the dam crew were conveyed up or down the river by relays of men, stationed at frequent in tervals along the banks, and the mes sage was shouted from one to another. The telephone lines are being ex tended every year, and it will not be long before telephones are almost as common in the- woodIs as they are in the city. Recently the telephone has been called into use to aid the wood wardens in fire fighting in the northern and western forests. Fooled by Cleveland's Double. A large man with an impassive face: and bearing a striking resemblance to, an ex-president of the United States walked into the Great Northern Hotel, Chicago, Tuesday evening and regis tered as follows on the hotel book: "Grover Cleveland, Princeton, N. J.' Two or three bell boys fell over one another in an andeavor to pick up the guest's bagg'age and the clerk smiled hospitably and searched for his best room. This was a luxurious apart ment with a double bath. The guest accepted it, took his key, and then, turning to the register scratched off his signature and wrote: "F. L. MacElroy, Lafayette, Ind." "Just a bet," he explained to the astonished clerk. "I manage to double my salary this way. I have tried it successfully on every hotel from Newv York to San Francisco. I'm a travel ling man." Mr. 3lacElroy secured a more modest apartment. after which he went out to collect his bet. James Lick, founder of the great Lick Observ'atory on MIount Hamilton, not far from San Jose, California, was in early life a poor Pennsylvania Dutch piano-maker. Because of the growing scarcity of good match timber, matches are being made In vast numbers of paper rolled ial11y and dipped in war or stearine. MINERA. Only Sure Cure. iEMWY Positve and Permanent 11E M Absolutely Parm $1.00 Package curesany orda O300acmeculresia case or money refunded Sent postpaidon receipt of price. AGENTS WANT ED. Liberal terms. C:leral Heave Remedy Co., 444 4th Ave., Ptr, Pa. FAT PEOPLE I Will SendYou a TrialTreatmentFree ncan reduce your wegt Thee to Five Pounds a Weeok and turn ill health into robust health, men tal sluggishness into activity, and relieve that feeling of fullnessand oppression by producing healthy dideution and asoiiliatof. 'No distasteful dieting or starvation, no exercising, no nauseating drugs or sickening rIc pills that ruir the stomach. 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Great herds of elephants range th Abyssinian country drained by th Upper Nile. Menelik, the King o6 Abyssinia, recently sent President Roosevelt one of the longest elephant tusks in existence. I CURE I WM Sho ~s I was helpless and No truss could hold. I fooled them all and send the cure free by I since cured thousands Conings.ox m7, W PAGE POULTRY FE Page Woven Wire Fence Co Try "Opp4 If you like it, pay for it after tr don't like it, stop it at our exp OPPORTUNITY class of people who are interested and agricultural progress and prosy It is inspiring, hopeful, encouragir Iportunities awaiting energy and ai cultural regions of the West, the ina of the East, in the Northwest, th everywhere, earnestly espousing 1 fearlessly exposing fraud and dish< Carefully edited, beautifullyi on fine paper, a dollar magazin< only 50 cents a year. Intense13 woman, old or young, filled from inspiring and encouraging article terest to all the famnily. 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