Chapter 2

[E]Crop Reporter, U. S. Dept. Agric. February, 1905.

It is evident that the discouraging condition of the sheep industry in the United States is not due to a lack of favorable climate nor to the absence of suitable pasturage. Neither is it due to low prices of wool and mutton. Indeed, in our markets mutton is coming to be more and more in favor, and this growing demand may be one of the causes for the present drain upon the flocks and the decrease in their numbers; but the chief discouragement of the industry undoubtedly lies in the depredations of worthless dogs and coyotes.

The dog question is a serious one, especially in thickly settled parts of the country, but the evil is best remedied by a resort to taxation. The tax on dogs should be sufficiently high to put most of the worthless ones out of existence.

MEANS OF DESTRUCTION.

The coyote problem is a serious one. Various methods of dealing with it have been in vogue since coyotes first began to like mutton. None of the methods have been entirely satisfactory, and some are signal failures. All of them combined have resulted in a partial check on the increase of coyotes in most parts of their range. Poison has probably killed the greatest number of adult animals, and in some parts of Mexico has almost destroyed some of the species, but no such success has attended its use in the United States.

POISONING.

Strychnine has always been a favorite weapon of hunters for wolf pelts and bounties. A half century ago hunters on the prairies killed the buffalo for its pelt, and added to their income by killing the wolves that followed the daily slaughter. A little strychnine inserted in the skinned carcass of a buffalo enabled them to secure many pelts of the gray wolf and occasionally one of the coyote; but not often the latter: he was regarded as much too shrewd to be taken by ordinary methods of poisoning. Resides, the pelt was small and not sufficiently valuable in comparison to warrant special efforts to secure it. Even in 1819 Thomas Say, who first gave a scientific name to a coyote, found this animal more abundant than the gray wolf.[F]Yet the number killed for their pelts has never been great.

[F]Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, p. 168, 1823.

As an illustration of the coyote's shrewdness in avoiding poisoned bails, a farmer in Oklahoma gave the writer the following experience: After butchering some hogs he poisoned a hogskin and left it with other offal for a coyote that nightly prowled about his premises. In the morning everything but the poisoned skin had been cleared away. He left it two more nights, but it remained untouched. Thinking that the animal would not eat the poisoned bait, he buriedit. That night the coyote dug up the pigskin and ate it, falling a victim to its deadly contents. Since then the farmer says he has never failed to poison coyotes when he buries the bait.

Another method of poisoning coyotes is to insert the strychnine in small chunks of meat that can be easily swallowed. Success by this method depends largely upon the condition of the animal as regards hunger, and may be helped by making what is known as a 'drag' in the neighborhood of the bait. A small animal—a bleeding dead rabbit is good—is dragged over the prairie and the morsels of bail left at intervals along the 'drag.' Two days previous to a general coyote hunt in Oklahoma a steer badly affected by 'lumpy jaw' was killed, opened, and left in the middle of the area to be hunted. During the first night coyotes howled all night in the vicinity of the carcass, but failed to touch it. The second day a hind quarter was separated from the carcass and dragged in a circuit of a mile or two, the drag coming hack to the carcass. During the following night the coyotes picked the bones of the carcass hare. Thus gorged with beef, they were in a condition favorable for their slaughter in the drive of the following day.

In the use of strychnine for wolves, the dry crystals of strychnia sulphate are generally preferred. They should be inserted in the bait with a knife blade, and the meat should be handled as little as possible. It should be remembered that if precautions are not taken there is a greater probability of killing dogs than wolves. The entire neighborhood should know of the intended attempt, and all valuable dogs should be confined until the operation is finished and uneaten baits disposed of.

TRAPPING.

Coyotes are not easily trapped. Some skill and a good knowledge of their habits are requisites for success. They travel in rather well-defined paths and usually hunt against the wind. Having a keen sense of smell, they easily detect the tracks of man, and if they have had previous experience of traps or guns they are suspicious of danger. In the wildest parts of the country remote from settlement they are more readily trapped. The chances for successful trapping decrease with their familiarity with man, so that there is little probability that the process will ever have much effect on their numbers.

The writer knows a Kansas trapper who is quite successful in capturing coyotes in a rather thickly settled part of that State. He steel traps and sets them along hedges in places where the animals are accustomed to pass through openings. No bait is used and the trap is partly concealed by dead leaves or grasses. He claims that both the direction of the wind and of the animal as it approaches the opening have much to do with the chance for success.

Field naturalists of the Biological Survey usually have experienced little difficulty in securing coyotes in traps. A No. 3 steel trap is generally used. A suitable place is selected along a narrow path or trail and the trap sunk in the ground level with the surface and concealed with fine grass, leaves, or other material that will harmonize with the surroundings. At the same time care is taken that the material used shall leave the jaws of the trap free to spring clear of the covering.

The trap should be fastened to a bush or stake, or if these are not available, to a clog. For the last a pole lying on the ground is best, since it may be utilized without moving it or disturbing the surroundings. If the trap is anchored to a bush or small tree the chain must be securely fastened with snap or wire. A stout stake over which the ring will not slip, driven out of sight into the ground, is better. Every part of the trap and chain is covered, and the ground left in as natural and undisturbed condition as possible.

Any kind of fresh meat will do for bait—rabbits and other small rodents are often used, but larger baits seem to be more attractive. it is also of advantage after setting the trap to make a 'drag' of the bait for a quarter to a half mile, at the end of a rope from the saddle horn, and finally to fasten it to a bush or stake close to the trap, or cut it in bits and scatter all around the trap so that not all can be reached by the coyote without walking over the trap. The skill of the trapper and the situation of the trap will determine the best arrangement. The suspicion of the coyote is lessened apparently after following the bloody trail of a well-planned drag.

Before setting the traps many trappers rub their feet and hands on a skin or some strong-smelling meat or carcass to conceal the human odor. Oil of anise or rhodium is sometimes used for the same purpose. Any strong odor is likely to attract the attention of the coyote and allay suspicion. Care must be taken not to spit on the ground or kneel or throw down any clothing in the vicinity of the trap. A good plan is to set a line of traps and leave them for a day or two, and then go the rounds with a horse and drag, and bait the traps without dismounting.

HUNTING.

Many ranchmen find dogs an efficient help in guarding against coyote depredations. For this purpose the small varieties are useless, since the coyotes do not fear them. Beagles and larger foxhounds are too slow. Staghounds, Russian wolfhounds, greyhounds, and their crosses are to be preferred: and at least three are needed to successfully chase and safely kill a coyote. These dogs soon learn to hunt wolves, and are seldom known to harm sheep. Ranches on which they are kept are comparatively free from depredations of wildanimals, while others within a few miles are by do means exempt. Of course, the keeping of these dogs on small farms would hardly be practicable.

In the open country where there are few fences, hunting the coyote with horse and dogs is an exciting sport. Fox chasing, although less meritorious in purpose, may have some advantages as sport, because the quarry is not always in sight and the skill of the hounds is pitted against the cunning of the fox. In the chase of the wolf, as in coursing hares, the race is straight away and without cover; and when the quarry is overtaken the fight is won only because of the overpowering numbers of the pursuers. The ordinary greyhound can easily overtake a coyote, but is usually unable to kill it alone.

Coyote drives, in which an entire community engage, have become a popular feature of rural sport in some parts of the country. Such drives have been held in Kansas, Colorado. Idaho. Oklahoma, and Texas; but the methods employed depend largely on the local topography. The writer was present at the second annual wolf hunt which took place November 24, 1904, in the large Pasture Reserve near Chattanooga, Okla.

On Thanksgiving morning the weather was perfect, and a large number of people from the surrounding country collected in the village of Chattanooga. A little before noon the men who were to drive the wolves rode out of town and headed for their positions in the Pasture. As there were less than 150 men, the area covered by the drive was not so large as had been planned. The drivers were separated into three divisions. The south division, which was under the immediate charge of the commander of the hunt, Mr. J. W. Williams, proceeded about 7 miles south of Chattanooga. The eastern and the western divisions were under the charge of other captains and had their stations about 4 miles to the southeast and southwest of the town. The area covered by the drive was somewhat over 6 miles square.

On the north side were the spectators, occupying a position about a mile and a half from the town and extending over nearly 2 miles of front, from which the land sloped gently to the south. The spectators came from town in every sort of farm vehicle and numbered fully 500.

In front of the line of vehicles some 50 men on horseback held in reserve nearly 100 dogs, mostly greyhounds. Guns of all kinds were ruled out of the final 'round-up,' and only lariats, dogs, and clubs were permitted as weapons.

The line of spectators was formed at 1 o'clock, but it was fully an hour before the driving divisions were heard or seen. In the south a beautiful mirage occupied the distant valley a white sheet of water bordered by trees. It was on the surface of this mimic lakethat we first saw the riders galloping by twos. Soon after we faintly heard their distant shouts; and when the shouts began to come clearer, the coyotes also came up the valley by ones and twos, and at length by threes and fours before the swiftly moving horsemen.

When the first wolf was still a half mile distant, the dogs were released and riders and dogs dashed to the front to head off the animals. Hemmed in in front and rear, they broke to the right and to the left, and many made good their escape through the thinner lines of the east and the west divisions.

The sport was fast and furious for a short time, but when a little Later the dead and captured wolves were brought together in the town, they were found to number only eleven in all. Two of them were roped by cowboys during the drive and killed with pistols. Two were dragged to death at the end of lariats. Seven were caught by the dogs in the round-up, and two of these were brought in alive. Many escaped, but it is impossible to estimate the number.

Such hunts have considerable influence in decreasing the number of coyotes and also afford an agreeable break in the monotony of frontier life. Their purpose, however, is never admitted to be that of sport, but to kill coyotes.

BOUNTIES.

Activity in the warfare against the coyote has been considerably stimulated by the payment of bounties from the public treasury of the States and counties. Nearly all the States in which coyotes occur have been for years maintaining such bounty systems. In some parts of the West these are supplemented by rewards from stock associations or ranch owners. The bounties from public funds have ranged from 25 cents to $5 for each animal killed, but supplementary payments sometimes make them as high as $15.

The subject of bounties in general has been already discussed by Dr. T. S. Palmer, of the Biological Survey.[G]Doctor Palmer refers to the California coyote act of 1891, which was practically in force only eighteen months, but which cost the State $187,485. As the bounty was $5 per scalp, this represented the destruction of 37,493 coyotes. Kansas, with a county bounty of $1 per animal, succeeds in destroying about 20,000 each year. In addition to the bounty, the pelt of an adult coyote is worth from 50 cents to $1.50, according to its condition. However, most of the killing is accomplished in spring, when the female and her young are dug out of dens and the pelage of the adults is not in prime condition.

[G]Extermination of Noxious Animals by Bounties. Yearbook U. S. Dept of Agr., 1896, pp. 55-68.

Doctor Palmer rightly concludes that in practice bounties for the destruction of noxious animals, paid from public funds, are usuallyobjectionable. Probably those on wolves and coyotes have been more nearly justified than those on any other animals. While it is certain that the larger wolves have greatly diminished in numbers under the system, forces far more potent than mere rewards have operated against them. Chief of these has been the encroachment of civilization. Coyotes have in some places held their ground under bounties, and possibly might have been held in check nearly as well under the operation of the same forces that helped to decimate the timber wolves. But the observed effect on the coyote of contact with settlements hardly justifies such a conclusion. That the bounties in some places have done effective work is undoubted; the question is as to whether the results have been commensurate with the expenditures. However, the principal objection to bounties is the ethical one, that they lead to fraudulent practices.

PROTECTION AGAINST COYOTES.

The discussion of the various means of destroying coyotes, and the evident futility, thus far, of all of them combined to completely check the increase of the species, leads naturally to the consideration of means of preventing their depredations. Could domestic animals be entirely protected, the coyotes would return to their original beneficial occupation as scavengers and destroyers of noxious rodents.

The plan that at once suggests itself is that of fencing against them. This means of protection from wild animals has been long in vogue in the Australian colonies and in South Africa. In Australia rabbits, dingoes, and some species of kangaroos are successfully kept out of pastures and crops by the use of wire nettings. In Cape Colony jackals, particularly the red jackal (Canis mesomelas), are a great hindrance to sheep and ostrich farming, and the success attending the use of wire netting in Australia led to the introduction of similar fencing into South Africa. The result has been highly gratifying. While the cost of the fencing is high, the advantages from its use have been regarded as more than compensating for the outlay. Mr. T. T. Hoole, president of the Upper Albany (Cape Colony) Farmer's Association, in a paper read at a meeting of that society[H]gives details of ten years' experience with jackal-proof fencing. Among its advantages to sheep growers he names:

1. Decreased cost of herding.2. Increased value of the wool, about 3 cents per pound.3. Increased number of lambs reared.4. Increased value, owing to early maturity and condition of stock.5. Less liability to contagion from scab.6. Reduced death rate.7. Additional security of the flock.8. Improved condition of pasturage as against deterioration.

1. Decreased cost of herding.

2. Increased value of the wool, about 3 cents per pound.

3. Increased number of lambs reared.

4. Increased value, owing to early maturity and condition of stock.

5. Less liability to contagion from scab.

6. Reduced death rate.

7. Additional security of the flock.

8. Improved condition of pasturage as against deterioration.

[H]Agr. Jour. Cape of Good Hope, vol. 25, pp. 560-563, 1904.

The last item alone he regards as more than repaying the entire cost of erection. Under the system of herding on the open veldt it becomes necessary to protect from wild animals by driving the sheep to a kraal for the night. In the vicinity of the kraal the ground is soon trodden bare, and deep parallel paths are worn in the surface. In a few years the torrential rains wash the paths into what are called 'sluits'—similar to the 'arroyos' of our own Southwest.

In the western part of the United States the practice of keeping sheep in vast herds has resulted in much deterioration of the ranges, due to overcrowding, and the cost of herding has absorbed much of the profits of sheep raising. The process of withdrawing lands for homesteads and the various reservations has diminished the free range and increased the crowding, until flock owners for their own protection have been compelled to purchase lands for range purposes. The day of free pasturage on public lands is fast passing, and with private ownership of ranges, fencing must be resorted to to confine the flocks. The additional expenditure necessary to make the fences proof against coyotes would be inconsiderable when all the advantages are properly weighed.

INVESTIGATIONS CONCERNING COYOTE-PROOF FENCING.

The Biological Survey has undertaken an investigation of the feasibility of successfully fencing against the coyote. If a coyote-proof fence of sufficient cheapness and durability to be practicable can be brought into general use for pasturage, there is no reason why the sheep industry in the west should not be revived and greatly extended. If such a fence should at the same time prove efficient against dogs, the benefit would extend to the whole country and result in an enormous increase of the productive resources of our farms. A coyote-proof fence would prove valuable, even if its use were restricted to corrals and small pastures for ewes during the lambing season.

The writer, under instruction from the Chief of the Biological Survey, spent several weeks in the field during October and November, 1904, making such investigations as were possible during the limited time at his disposal. For the purpose of testing the ability of coyotes to pass over or through fences a unique experiment was made. The place selected was Chattanooga, Comanche County, Okla. South of the town lies the great Pasture Reserve, a large area practically without fences to interfere with the chasing of wolves. Since coyotes were abundant and the cowboys skilled in their chase, it was not difficult to procure the needed animals in an uninjured condition.

The experiment was made with all the forms of fence that could possibly be obtained or built with the limited resources of a newcountry. A long lane was first built, with sides 7 feet high, made with poultry netting of a small mesh. Fourteen cross fences of heights from 30 to 66 inches and of various designs were built at intervals along the lane. They were arranged so that the coyotes, introduced at one end of the lane, should have presented to them gradually increasing difficulty in passing the fences. Two coyotes were released singly into the lane, and their progress and methods of passing the cross fences were carefully noted. One was badly frightened by the presence and noise of dogs and men, but the experiment with the other was not made in public.

The coyotes ran with their noses close to the ground and seemed to have no knowledge of jumping. Neither of them succeeded in getting over a fence more than 36 Inches in height. The method was one of climbing, assisted by the hind feet, rather than of jumping. All attempts to pass the obstructions began with efforts to get the muzzle through openings. If the entire head could be thrust through and there was enough room for the shoulders to spread out laterally, the whole wolf was able to follow. Both went through rectangular openings, 5 by 12 inches and 5 by 8 inches, but the larger animal failed to pass a mesh 5 by 6 inches. The smaller animal went through an opening 4 by 12 inches and another 5 by 6 inches. Had these openings been triangular in form the animal could not have passed through.

The following conclusions were drawn from the experiments:

1. Prairie coyotes will not willingly jump over a fence above 30 inches in height.

2. They will readily climb over fences built of horizontal rails or crossbars, especially in order to escape from captivity.

3. Barbed wires do not deter them from crawling through a fence to escape. Whether they would go through a closely built barbed wire fence to attack sheep or poultry is still an open question.

4. Woven wire fences should have meshes, when rectangular, less than 6 by 6 inches to keep out coyotes. For such fences triangular meshes are much better than square ones.

5. In fencing against coyotes with woven fences care must be used to see that there are no openings at the ground through which the animals can force themselves, since they are more likely to crawl under a fence than jump over it.

In the experiments the animals, under some excitement, were attempting to escape from confinement. In the judgment of the writer, the experiments are insufficient to determine what a coyote would do if the conditions were reversed and, impelled only by the stimulus of hunger, he were attempting to enter an inclosure built of these fences. The barriers would surely be far more formidable. Experiments with certain types of fence, with sheep inclosed withinthem, and in a country with wolves as plentiful as they are at Chattanooga, would be far more conclusive in establishing a safe basis for practical recommendations to farmers.

The writer interviewed a number of farmers in Kansas who have had experience with poultry and farm animals in coyote-infested country. Several of them had for some years been using for corrals and small pastures woven wire fences, and had found those from 57 to 60 inches high entirely coyote-proof. These fences have triangular meshes and are of sufficient weight to be suitable for all kinds of stock. Such a fence, if set with the lower edge on the ground and anchored down where necessary, can safely be recommended as coyote-proof. Their cost, however, is possibly too great to bring them into general use for sheep pastures. Where land is valuable and pastures of the best, they will prove economical, for they have the merit of being both dog-proof and coyote-proof. Dogs, both large and small, that by chance get inside the inclosures are unable to get out, and have to be let out by the gate.

Between these rather expensive fences and the cheapest form that may be found efficient many grades may exist. In experiments to determine the efficiency of any form it is necessary to consider the familiarity of the animals with fences in general. In a new country a very simple fence might be ample at first to keep out wolves, but ultimately would prove insufficient.

Mr. T. T. Hoole, of Cape Colony, Africa, in the paper already quoted, gives the following experience in determining upon a jackal-proof fence:

My first importation of 2 foot 6 inch netting served its purpose for a year or more, when I found the jackals as troublesome as over. The addition of a single barbed wire assisted for a time: but after some years of experience and comparing notes. I found that nothing short of a 3-foot netting and four barbed wires would be effective. I have given the above particulars of my experience as a warning to the inexperienced, that half measures are simply a waste of money and that badly erected fences, although effective for a time, will end in disappointment and failure.

Mr. Hoole has 18 miles of the fence just described, while a neighboring stockman has 45 miles built. The cost, including labor, when built of the host material—sneezewood posts and kangaroo netting—was estimated at £106 per mile—about $500. This fence was designed for ostriches, cattle, springboks, and sheep: a fence intended for sheep alone could be built for less. Materials and labor are both much more expensive than in the United States. A fence similar to that described by Mr. Hoole could be built in most parts of the West for about $200 to $250 per mile.

A writer in the Nor' West Farmer states that when he first began sheep raising in Manitoba a 2-strand barbed wire fence was a complete barrier to the coyotes, but that in less than two years theybecame used to it and would go under or between the wires without hesitation. More strands were added without effect, until a woven wire fence was adopted, which proved satisfactory.

In South Africa three types of fence have been in use for protection against jackals, and each has advocates among the farmers. The cheapest is built of strands of barbed wire placed close together and stayed at intervals by light strips of wood fastened to the wires by staples. In the second form the staying is done by light, smooth wire woven in by machinery, involving more labor in the building. The third type is that recommended by Mr. Hoole. It is more expensive, but seems always to have stood the test of experience. The others have not always been satisfactory, but their advocates claim that the fault has been in construction and not in design. The jackals have entered the inclosures through openings at the ground.

Mr. J. H. Clarke, of Laytonville, Mendocino County. Cal., has for several years succeeded in fencing coyotes from his sheep range. In a letter to the Chief of the Biological Survey, dated March 1, 1905, he describes the fence and relates his experience:

The fence, inclosing nearly 4,000 acres, consists of redwood pickets 6 feet long driven into the ground 1 foot and leaving spaces or cracks not over 4 inches wide; posts 8 feet long and driven 2 feet, projecting 1 foot above the pickets; two barbed wires stapled to the posts 5 inches above the pickets and the same distance apart. These should be on the outside of the posts. The pickets are driven evenly by using a slat as a guide at the bottom and a line at the top. One barbed wire is placed at the bottom on the outside to prevent digging. The pickets are fastened to a No. 9 cable wire with a No. 13 wrapping wire. The posts are set 12 feet apart, or less, according to the surface—at top and bottom of each rise or indentation.Where gulches or small streams are crossed boxes and gates are put in. Where larger streams are encountered a dam is first put in and the gate so swung as to rest on or against the dam head in the dry season.The cost of construction varied from $320 to $400 per mile. Galvanized wire was used, and of the barbed the thickest-set four-pointed wire obtainable. If four-point wire could be had, with sharp points set not over 2 inches apart, the top wire might be dispensed with.While this fence was begun in 1897, it was net finished until three years ago. It was partly experimental at first, and at the end of the second year only that portion of the range used for lambing was inclosed with a coyote-proof fence. We do not know that a coyote has ever scaled or jumped it. A very large coyote that got in through an accidentally 'propped' floodgate, though chased by dogs all day, could not be made to jump out, even when cornered. Considering the steep, wild, and broken nature of the country, with several 'slides' in the fence that could not be avoided when building, and which move and displace the fence during hard storms, it is net surprising that a few coyotes have gotten in. Fortunately, partition fences have aided in the capture of those before much damage was done. Two obstacles are encountered in keeping up this fence—trespassers, who cut or break a picket to get through, and slides.Coyotes are very persistent, and when they see young lambs on the opposite side will follow the fence for miles, trying to find a hole. * * * None have gotten in this season.When we began to fence against them the coyotes wore literally driving sheep out of the country. * * * Horses and cattle have taken their places, but return less than half the profit sheep did prior to the coyote's inroads. Excessive rains in winter and irregularity of landscape preclude the practicability of close herding. With us it was either abandon sheep or fence the pest out. Fortunately we adopted the latter.

Where gulches or small streams are crossed boxes and gates are put in. Where larger streams are encountered a dam is first put in and the gate so swung as to rest on or against the dam head in the dry season.

The cost of construction varied from $320 to $400 per mile. Galvanized wire was used, and of the barbed the thickest-set four-pointed wire obtainable. If four-point wire could be had, with sharp points set not over 2 inches apart, the top wire might be dispensed with.

While this fence was begun in 1897, it was net finished until three years ago. It was partly experimental at first, and at the end of the second year only that portion of the range used for lambing was inclosed with a coyote-proof fence. We do not know that a coyote has ever scaled or jumped it. A very large coyote that got in through an accidentally 'propped' floodgate, though chased by dogs all day, could not be made to jump out, even when cornered. Considering the steep, wild, and broken nature of the country, with several 'slides' in the fence that could not be avoided when building, and which move and displace the fence during hard storms, it is net surprising that a few coyotes have gotten in. Fortunately, partition fences have aided in the capture of those before much damage was done. Two obstacles are encountered in keeping up this fence—trespassers, who cut or break a picket to get through, and slides.

Coyotes are very persistent, and when they see young lambs on the opposite side will follow the fence for miles, trying to find a hole. * * * None have gotten in this season.

When we began to fence against them the coyotes wore literally driving sheep out of the country. * * * Horses and cattle have taken their places, but return less than half the profit sheep did prior to the coyote's inroads. Excessive rains in winter and irregularity of landscape preclude the practicability of close herding. With us it was either abandon sheep or fence the pest out. Fortunately we adopted the latter.

While the fence used by Mr. Clarke is expensive, the complete success of his experiment is of much interest. In most parts of the West woven wire would be cheaper than pickets and would require less labor in its erection. Where the land is as uneven as that just described, the use of woven wire may be impracticable.

Mr. D. W. Hilderbrand, of California, who has built coyote fences for ranchmen in the San Joaquin Valley, recommends a 3-inch mesh woven wire fence 36 to 40 inches in height, with two barbed wires on top, 5½ inches apart, and one at the bottom. He recommends that the posts be set 20 to 30 feet apart.

From data now available it seems reasonably certain that a fence constructed of woven wire with a triangular mesh not over 6 inches across, and of a height of 28 to 42 inches, supplemented by two or three tightly stretched barbed wires, would prove to be coyote-proof. It is difficult to make exact estimates of the cost. Woven fences differ in weight, price, and durability, and freight charges on materials depend on the distance from distributing points. The cost of posts and labor varies much. An estimate based on so many variable factors is of little value, but an average of $200 per mile would probably allow the use of the best materials.

Further experiments with wire fences will be made by the Biological Survey in cooperation with sheep growers in the West, and the results will be given to the public as early as practicable. The matter is one of great economic importance, and the Survey will welcome correspondence with persons interested in the subject.

Transcriber's NoteThe total number of coyotes in the table on page 10 was changed to match the sum of the numbers in the table. Cover image was produced from an image made available on The Internet Archive and placed in the Public Domain.

Transcriber's Note

The total number of coyotes in the table on page 10 was changed to match the sum of the numbers in the table. Cover image was produced from an image made available on The Internet Archive and placed in the Public Domain.

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