California ground squirrels - a bulletin dealing with life histories, habits and control of the ground squirrels of California - (by J. Grinnell, J, Dixon and others) (1918) (19892447974)

Squirrel poisoning crew operating on area of state land. Poisoned grain is carried in bags suspended from saddle horn. A definite distance is maintained between each man. Every burrow is treated.

Title: California ground squirrels : a bulletin dealing with life histories, habits and control of the ground squirrels of California / (by J. Grinnell, J, Dixon and others)

Identifier: californiaground00cali (find matches)

Year: 1918 (1910s)

Authors: California. State Commission of Horticulture; Dixon, Joseph

Subjects:

Publisher: (Sacramento) : California State Printing Off.

Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries

Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

Text Appearing Before Image:

734 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. Francisco. This was also true for peoples of foreign birth to a large degree, and it was not uncommon to see parties from the city out gunning for squirrels of a Sunday afternoon. It was generally con- ceded by the chefs, housewives and bachelors of the day that for fricassee, old squirrels should be boiled at least three hours to make them tender, the seasoning operation being left until this condition had been reached. Young squirrels became very tender in two hours, evidently due to the fact that the vicissitudes and trials of their ter- restrial existence in searching for food as well as evading hawks had not been extensive enough so that excessive activity had induced toughness. A precaution to be observed immediately after killing was to draw the specimen and scrape off some of the excess fat. The idea prevalent at the time held fat to be productive of a strong flavor. How many tons of squirrels were shipped into San Francisco and Oakland markets can not be estimated, but in the course of years, until bubonic plague infection among these rodents was conclusively proven in 1908, they would total a staggering sum. Squirrels brought

Text Appearing After Image:

Fig. 49. Squirrel poisoning crew operating on area of state land. Poisoned grain is carried in bags suspended from saddle hoi^n. A defi- nite distance is maintained between each man. Every burrow is treated. from 75 cents to $1.25 per dozen for many years, and when San Francisco became famous for fine places to satisfy the discriminating palate of the connoisseur, young squirrels brought an even higher price, inasmuch as four "frog legs" could be produced from one specimen without any serious stretch of the imagination. After all is said, the squirrel still remains a delicate morsel of food, but in view of the fact that he may be a spreader of contagious and infectious diseases, to handle him is dangerous, especially in regions where the possibility of such disease exists. This is applicable without question or reason for doubt in the counties about San Francisco Bay to the present time. 142

california ground squirrels a bulletin dealing with life histories habits and control of the ground squirrels of california rodent control book illustrations natural history horticulture california rodents zoology diseases medicine images from internet archive san francisco bay

1918

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