Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 89.djvu/102

 88

��Popular Science Monthly

��Dipping Elk to Rid Them of Ticks

WHAT is said to have have been the first time that a herd of wild animals was dipped in an insecticide as a means of ridding them of ticks occurred at Gardiner, Montana, recently, when

���After the bath the elks gave a snort and returned to their haunts, free of ticks

the Forest Service undertook to ship about sixty head of elk that had been captured in the Yellowstone National Forest to points in the Rocky Mountain and Sopris National Forests.

The herd was in poor condition as the result of a hard winter and was infested with "moose" ticks. It was feared that a large proportion of the animals would die unless the ticks were eradicated. Cattlemen doubted if the elk could be dipix-d, but l''orest Service officials determined to make the experiment.

The elk were driven through a regular cattle dipping-pen, and each animal was entirely submerged in a strong insecti- cide. Less trouble was experienced than would have been the case with as many head of cattle, all f)f tlu' elk taking the bath without fuss. The ticks were eradicated shoriK- tluTcafler and not a single animal showed anj- ill eltects from the unusual experience.

��Ostrich Squab: A New Delicacy

WHILK the residents of Paris, not to mention the soldiers in the trenches, are giving thanks for the opportunity to eat hor.se-meat now that beef, mutton and pork are so scarce, a wealthy New Yorker in quest of novelty regaled his guests at dinner recently with an ostrich squab. The diners faced the unusual treat with some reluctance, but a taste proved that broiled ostrich is by no means an unpleasant dish. Its flavor resembled that of Virginia turkey, and the guests, after the first shock of the announcement was over, ate their portion of the bird with relish and approval. The ostrich squab came from California and weighed, when dressed, about ninety pounds.

The most quizzical factor about the unusual dinner treat concerned the ultimate destination of the ostrich "left- overs," for reports agreed that the bird was not entirely de\"oured. Whether

���Laying bare the "drum-stick" a fuU- sized meal without "fixin's"

the siu-plus parts broke into jirint by way of the iiott'l mciui under theirown or bor- rowed names or whether the\' heljied to make up that great international dish of mystery — hotel hash — is a (| nest ion yet to be decided. At least, the first meal was a success.

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