Fast and Furiously - Texas Ranger Border Justice and Patrol in the 19th Century

Attorney General Eric Holder clearly has 'no shame' and no remorse -- this cold and expressionless man seems an empty vessel occupying a desk and drawing a federal salary.  What gives him his casual confidence that he will not be forced to resign?  His arrogant attitude toward all questions?  Who really heads the Justice Department these days?  Anyone?

"As they said in the McCarthy hearings, have you no shame?" asked Holder, referencing a famous retort to McCarthy.  (CNN, 12/8/11)

"More people are going to die, probably," said Rep. Ted Poe, a Texas Republican. "Unfortunately, I think that's probably true," Holder replied.  (CNN, 12/8/11)

What follows is the full text of a very well-written article about the Texas Ranger in the late 19th century, and the rigors of their proud life protecting the great expanse of the Texas border.  How shameful it is that today our Justice Department now makes a mockery of almost two hundred years of lives dedicated to protecting our borders -- of almost two hundred years of lives lost protecting our borders.

THE TEXAS RANGER. 
Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXVIII, Issue 198, 28 September 1894, Page 4

Outside of the pages of fiction the Texas Ranger is seldom introduced to the general public. His personal acquaintance is something to be prized, and with my fingers still tingling from his hearty hand clasp, the memory of his original ways still fresh in my mind, it is a pleasure to speak of him, to tell who and what he is, and what manner of life he leads.  He met me with a warm smile of welcome, and the pleasant light in his eyes was in strange contrast to his costume, with its belt full of cartridges about his waist and the heavy pistol on his hip.

He was an ideal host. Everything he had was mine, and the entire camp was at my disposal.  I had every opportunity to study him, and I availed myself well of the chance; for there is in all America no more interesting figure than the Texas Ranger.

Texas has long been a favourite field for romance and story, and in many a thrilling tale the Texas Ranger has been a character, both picturesque and prominent; yet even though his name and his fame have been so widely heralded, he is somewhat of a myth to the world at large, and even to the average Texan he is little known, much misunderstood, and thoroughly unappreciated.

The Frontier Battalion, as the Texas Ranger force is now designated, is in every way unique. It is a standing army, regularly enlisted in the service of the State, always in the field, always under arms. It has been an important factor in the affairs of Texas for more than half a century. 

It was in 1832, when the citizens of Texas were assembled in convention at San Felipe de Austin to sue for statehood under the Mexican Government, that they provided for the protection of the frontier by a body of mounted men, or civic militia, on duty for 40 days at a time, in relays of 40 men.

Texas Ranger Camp in 1887
(photo from collection of Mike Cox, Austin, Texas)

The exact extent of the force is not known, but it continued in existence and constituted one of the people's main defences during their subsequent struggle with Mexico.  Under the Republic the organization numbered 1000 men, and was divided into small troops patrolling the Mexican border and the equally dangerous frontier to the west and north, from which the murderous redskins made their frequent raids. 

When the State was admitted to the union the Rangers had yet much to do. They took a most prominent part in the Mexican War, and remained in the saddle when that war was over. Much of interest might be written of the doings of the Rangers in the stirring times which followed, when but a call was needed to augment their thin lines along the border into a determined little army, and hurl them an avenging host, down on the Mexican raiders or the Indian hordes, with the trail of burning homes and murdered, mutilated forms they always left behind them.  It is the purpose of this sketch, however, to picture the Texas Ranger as he exists today.

The force was reorganized by act of the fourteenth Legislature, and on April 10, 1874, six companies, of 75 men each, were put into the field.  The disasters of the civil war had left Texas, as were all other southern States, prostrated and poverty-stricken; but Texas, in addition to sorrows and suffering it shared with its sister states from the horrors of reconstruction, was scourged with a harassing, never-ending warfare with border ruffians and Indians, grown bold by the license of war and the subsequent years of misrule. Indians and Mexicans ranged their prairies, back and forth across the border, and murder, robbery, and arson were done by day and by night.

Progress and prosperity were held in check, the State was at a standstill, and the life led by those hardy pioneers who had pushed their way to the outposts of civilization was hazardous in the extreme, exposed as they were to the hardships of an undeveloped frontier, surrounded by a lawless desperate element, the outgrowth of existing conditions.

Captain Frank Jones’s Company D, Frontier Battalion, of the Texas Rangers, 1890's 

The Texas Rangers soon made themselves felt, however, and before their steady front, step by step, they pushed the opposing forces of lawlessness and discord. Many a hard-fought fight marked their way, and the milestones of their progress were graves enclosing the forms of brave rangers who fell before the bullet of the outlaw. Today the Indian is gone, and the desperado is held in check; but the Texas border can never be stripped of its charms for fugitives from justice and desperate men from all nations, and the day will never come when there will be no demand for the services of the Texas Ranger.

With the advance of civilization the number of Rangers has been gradually reduced, until there are now but four companies in the field, and the minimum limit has in all probability been reached. To these four companies is entrusted the guardianship of the frontier, from the Pan Handle to the Gulf of Mexico, a stretch of border country greater in extent than the Atlantic coast from New York to Charleston.

Texas Rangers in Presidio County, El Paso

district, in 1890. LegendsofAmerica.com

When it is realized that the Rangers keep this entire line under constant patrol, the significance of their name is seen. Empowered with the authority of peace officers, heavily armed and well mounted, they ride the broad prairies, and shrewd indeed must be the criminal who escapes their vigilance. They act in conjunction with the sheriffs of the border countries, and whenever practicable, cooperate with the regular United States army forces along the Rio Grande. Criminals of all kinds know them and fear them, and their very name is a power for good.

Some idea of the extent of their operations may be gained from a statement in a recent report of the adjutant-general— their official head —showing that in one year they scouted over 89,472 miles in the discharge of their duty, and arrested 597 desperate criminals.

I cannot give a better idea of the Texas Ranger of today than by showing him as he appeared to me on the occasion I have before mentioned, when I was the guest of one of their companies, shared their hospitality, and accompanied them on their round of duty for nearly a month.

It was in the Rio Grande country, and although winter the weather was hot and dry.  In that country rain is often unknown for many months, and on this occasion the drought had been almost unbroken for two years.  The camp of the Rangers was located in the midst of country barren of vegetation as to
resemble a desert;  yet this very country was a cattle range, and in favourable seasons the rich grass carpeted its vast stretches with verdure, on which countless herds were fattened.

A row of tents, neatly arranged, presented an appearance quite military; but with that the resemblance ceased, for the rigour and discipline of a military encampment were entirely absent. Obedient to every command, the men yet held themselves the equal of their captain; and he, in turn, treated them with an off-hand freedom very different from the attitude of the officer towards the regular in ranks. The secret of this is found in the fact that the captain has chosen every man in his company with a personal knowledge of his worth, and knows he can depend on him in every emergency. He gives no unnecessary orders, and when he speaks his men act.

The captain of the company is paid 100 dollars a month, and the privates 30 dollars. All supply their own arms and horses, and the State furnishes them with ammunition and provisions. No uniforms are worn, and in the midst of the ranger camp one finds himself in rough-looking company indeed.  Shining rifles, big revolvers, long knives, woollen shirts, and slouch hats, pants in boots, and sometimes leather breeches, are the accompaniment of every man, giving the camp the appearance of a crowd of brigands rather than a posse of police officers. It doesn't take long, however, to find that their roughness is all outside. There is no bigger-hearted, generous fellow on earth than your genuine Texas Ranger -- no more warmly hospitable place than a ranger camp.

The routine of arresting cattle thieves and trailing ordinary criminals is often varied in the round of ranger life; when big raids of outlaws, intent on driving whole herds across the border, are to be intercepted, fugitive train robbers run down, or some noted desperado taken in charge. All seems confusion at first; but when the time for action comes, a word brings order, and in a moment every man is in the saddle, belted and spurred, ready to sweep like the wind across the dusty prairies.

It was such an occasion I have in mind. A fugitive from Mexico, at the head of a motley crew of cutthroats, came in conflict with the United States troops, one of whom was killed, and the rangers took the field to assist in their capture or extermination.

Night and day they rode.  The comforts of camp were unknown.  The drought-stricken country for hundreds of miles was their field of action, and through the trackless chaparral, where naught of life was seen but the sluggish vulture feasting on the famine-slaughtered stock, they pursued the fleeing outlaws.  Many a fight they had, and it is no fancy picture which shows the ranger fallen in the fight, the smoking pistol still in his hand, while his faithful horse, with wind-tossed mane and tail, sniffs at his lifeless form. The country was sparsely inhabited, and the people, far from the centers of civilization — for the most part rough, ignorant, superstitious descendants of the lower class of Mexicans were friendly to the fugitives; yet success went to the rangers. 

A number of prisoners were taken, some worthless lives cut short, and some vacant places left in the ranks of the rangers. Those of the outlaws not captured or killed were swept from Texas soil, law and order were upheld, and though humble hearts in humble homes mourn the dead ranger so soon forgotten by the world, the result is good. The price of peace is always paid in blood.

And such is a brief glimpse into the life of the Texas Ranger. --- New York Once-a-Week

Links: 
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame
The Texas Ranger, Legends of America

Native Yaupon Holly and Pine Forests of Southeast Texas

Native Yaupon Holly, Species: Ilex vomitoria,
See UT Austin Native Plant Database

The past week is just full of negativity.  Did you hear about the BPA you eat along with your favorite Progresso soup?  I just shook my head, walked to the pantry, looked at the neat rows of my favorites I'd just picked up the week before, and could only wonder - ponder - endlessly ruminate . . . on just what the heck I'd done to my innards the past winters that I've had Progresso's clam chowder and basil tomato every week for months on end.

Ah well . . . too much negativity.  After all, Pakistan is pondering . . . some sort of action; the Chinese own the USA (or some say it's so) . . . Iran has a bomb, no doubt . . . and Israel ain't exactly a coward . . . and mighty Egypt really has some twisted issues that will effect the rest of the world when they all settle out . . . and let me not forget the more than 50% of the USA that is on the government dole one way or the other . . . or so it seems.  Put the current eye-rolling Republican race for the presidential nomination in the mix and what do you have?  More negativity. . . I might as well forget about it all and just eat my soup -- I'll go with the Clam Chowder, heavily seasoned with black pepper, along with a side of hot American cheese toast on Jewish rye -- my absolute favorite. 

 Native Pine Tree, See UT Austin's Texas Beyond History 
The Pine Forests of East Texas 

And I'll take a walk outside and see what beautiful wonders God has brought to these Pineywoods that seem forever green -- even in the dark dry days of our summer drought the mighty pines stood tall and green.  Yes, some have suffered, there are some orange tops in the horizon of green pine tops - but not so many, pine trees appear to be good troopers, positive thinkers.

Intermixed with those glorious, reaching to the sky green pine trees in the fall of the year in eastern Texas, at least for sure this pocket of the more southeasterly section -- are native yaupons.  Some of the yaupons are males, some females.  The female yaupon puts off the most beautiful red berries; they are like a gift, a vision of something that bespeaks of newness and hope and warmth, despite the fact they come with the onset of cold.  Those bright red berries and deep green leaves are nature's Christmas show in these Pineywoods.

Over the past decade I have been quite 'eccentric', some would say, about any inadvertent killing of my female yaupon.  If a fence must be cleared, leave the female yaupon; if a gate must be put in a section of fence, move it away from the female yaupon; if the female yaupon is growing beneath a tree grove -- leave it be!  I am watching, and I'll know if you chop her down.

This past week I took some photos of female yaupons in full fruit, along with some shots of the pine trees reaching for the blue sky.  It seemed appropriate.  We have been blessed with some terribly needed rains the past few weeks.  One of them jumped the big pond by probably 8 feet over night.  All of the hardwood trees were sore in need of those rains to keep them alive until the spring, and no doubt the sturdy pine trees needed it as well to keep on being the green blessing that they always are on my horizon.  While the yaupon are notoriously tolerant to dry conditions, they surely are dancing when I'm not looking for the gift of the fall rains that will support the growth of new youngsters, male and female yaupon alike, with the coming of the next spring.

 

Heavy Pulp in my O.J. Please! . . . pulp and peel have natural antibiotic properties.

I've always preferred my orange juice with pulp, but it has been harder to come by in the small grocery stores of my area - of course there's always Walmart; I can usually find it there if I force myself through their anti-small business doors.  But, even there it is still in the minority of orange juices to select from.  One can assume that most folks (at least in my rural area) don't want pulp in their O.J. --  maybe it gets caught in their teeth, doesn't feel right on the tongue, who knows? 



British White Bull Calf, Son of El Presidente, Coming along
nicely due to his dam's 'regular healthy diet' that is also supplemented
with vitamins and minerals..........

 But -- I'd be willing to bet good money they'd be demanding there families drink O.J. with Heavy Pulp if they had any idea that it had medicinal benefits well beyond that silky sipping O.J. they've been drinking all these years. 

I've always been intrigued by research and resulting implementation in regard to bovines versus humans of vitamin and mineral supplementation for enhancing fertility, longevity, and disease resistance.  Just recently something hit the mainstream news in regard to humans and vitamin supplementation -- that perhaps they're not necessary for most humans who eat a regular healthy diet. 

Yet, we put our cattle out there on natural grass pastures, feed them alfalfa or grain as a supplement - and still make sure they get supplemental vitamins and minerals.  I know I try to take a combo Calcium, Magnesium, and Zinc regularly - clearly its good for the cows, so I figure it is likely good for me as well.  And have you happened to notice that some bovine supplements even have Vitamin D3 in them?  I found that an interesting addition to the bovine mix - they are after all outside every single day of their lives!

I'm certainly tickled to now find out that pulp in my O.J. is a really good thing - no doubt it would take decades of research and vast sums of money spent by the USDA & FDA, etc. . .  before any Florida orange juice farmer could recommend pulp in their O.J. as healthier for a human.  Instead, I predict we'll see 'dried orange peel pellets' on the market by next year --  in a pretty package for humans to swallow down with their smooth and silky sipping O.J.

The following is most of the text in regard to this study that finds orange juice pulp and peel has 'natural antibiotic' properties:

"U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their collaborators have conducted a series of studies that explore non-antibiotic methods to reduce foodborne pathogens that are found in the gut of food animals.

The team consists of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) microbiologist Todd R. Callaway, with the agency's Food and Feed Safety Research Unit in College Station, Texas; ARS animal scientist and project leader Jeffery Carroll with the agency's Livestock Issues Research Unit in Lubbock, Texas; and John Arthington at the University of Florida in Ona.

Early studies showed that citrus products provide cows with good roughage and vitamins, and the essential oils in such products provide a natural antibiotic effect.

Callaway's early data showed the feasibility of using orange pulp as a feed source to provide anti-pathogenic activity in cattle. He also showed that consumption of citrus byproducts (orange peel and pulp) by cattle is compatible with current production practices, and the byproducts are palatable to the animals. 



Orange Peel Waste being used to make Ethanol
Photo Source:  The Sietch Blog

 Callaway then shed light on how to exploit the essential oils inside the peel and pulp that are natural antimicrobials. Collaborations with researchers Steven Ricke and Philip Crandall at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville also have identified specific essential oils that kill the pathogenic bacteria.

From the time Callaway began studying citrus as an animal gut cleanser, he recognized that citrus peel can be heavy and expensive to ship long distances, so his latest studies have investigated the use of processed orange peel pellets.

For one study, the team fed dried orange peel pellets to sheep as a model for cows for eight days. They found a tenfold reduction in Salmonella populations in the animals' intestinal contents. Callaway received a grant from the National Cattleman's Beef Association (Beef Checkoff funds) to help fund the study. Results from the 2011 study were published in Foodborne Pathogens and Disease."

Link to Drovers Cattle Network Source Article: USDA scientists reduce pathogens in cattle with orange peels ; USDA - Updated: November 15, 2011

Hardships of Early Texas Pioneers - Late 19th Century Poetry

Newspaper Source:  Texas Siftings, Published August 1, 1885, Reproduced below as printed in the newspaper.  I found this a very moving and visual old ballad that well captures the travails of early Texas settlers, as well as the distinct voice of the times.  No author is credited, merely the 'Written for Siftings' as presented below.  Texas Siftings was started in 1881 in Austin, Texas.  See the Texas State Historical Association discussion of this early newspaper at this link.

WHY HE SOLD THE FARM

_____________________

[Written for Siftings]

"Then why do I sell?" you ask me again

Big cabin, an' clearin', an' all?

Well, Stranger, I'll tell you; though maybe you'll think

It ain't any reason at all.

There's plenty of hardships in pi'neer life;

It's a hard workin' stint; at the best,

But I'd stick to it yet if 't wa'nt for this:

A heart like a log in my breast.

D'ye see over there by the cotton wood tree,

A climbin' rose close by a mound,

Inside of a fence made of rough cedar boughs,

With Woodbine all runnin' around?

Well -- Netty, my darling old woman, lies there:

Not very old either you see

She wa'n't mor'n twenty the year I come West,

Sh'd be comin' grass, thirty-three.

How she worked with a will at our first little hut,

In the fields and among garden stuff

Till her forehead was burned, and her poor little hands,

Through hardships, grew rugged and rough.

She never complained; but many a time

I have come in and found her just there,

With eyelids all red and her face to the East:

You see all her own folks were there.

I'd cheer her and tell her we'd go by and' bye

When the clearin' an' ploughin' was through;

But then came the baby.  He wa'n't very strong,

And poor Netty had plenty to do.

So after a while she got gloomy again;

She would hide in the corn-field to cry;

We hadn't no meetin' to speak of, you know,

Not a woman to talk to was nigh.

An' she wanted to show little Joe to her folk;

She was hungry, I s'pose, for the sight

Of faces and scenes she had had loved all her life,

Which 'twas natteral, Stranger, and right.

But just when we'd planned to go over the plains,

The devilish Sioux came about.

So we waited, it may be, a harvest or two,

And then came the summer of drought --

That left us poor people.  The next coming spring

Such a wearisome fever came round:

An' Stranger -- hold on till I tell you -- there now --

It had little Joe in the ground.

Netty pined to a shadder, and moped by his grave

And her eyes grew so large and so clear,

That I knowed we had got to go soon to the East

If I cared about keepin' her here.

If you'd seen her poor face when at last I could say

I would take her home vistin'.  Well --

I'll never forget how she put up her hands

Into mine, and for joy cried a spell.

She didn't feel strong though, that week or the next,

An' the cough an' the fever increased,

But softly she'd whisper -- she couldn't speak loud --

"We'll go -- by an' bye -- to the East."

She never got East any further than that,

Right over there under the mound;

But I'm going to take her and Joe in the spring

to her father's old burying ground.

That Stranger's the reason I'm willin' to sell;

You can buy at a bargain, you see;

It's mighty good land for a settler to have,

But it seems like a grave-yard to me."

Rain Making in Texas - A Successful Explosives Experiment in 1891

Okay, now this I find quite interesting; it would appear that rain was successfully conjured up in the Midland, Texas area in the fall of 1891.  Also of note is the author's mention of the extent of the drought in the Midland area in 1891 - " . . . little or no rain had fallen the locality for some three years."  It seems the successful experiment was premised on the rains that seemed to consistently fall in the grueling days of the Civil War following the cannon shots and gunfire of major battles.  Hmmm . . . there are a lot of guns in Texas . . . maybe we need to pick a day and time and all shoot at the sky!

SCIENTIFIC. RAIN-MAKING
Otago Witness , Issue 1965, 22 October 1891, Page 45












Timaru Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 5269, 21 October 1891, Page 3





 

Last British White Calf of the Fall Calving Season - A Low Birth Weight Heifer

Okay, well I am fairly behind in my efforts to post a blog every week.  What can I say?  I have been under the weather, otherwise indisposed, and off my game to say the least.

Here is a video of the last calf born in to my Fall calving season.  Rather than strain my old brain, I'll just regurgitate my comments made on the video description:

"This was my last British White calf born in my fall calving group and I really was surprised. This heifer was sired by J.West's Elvis, who generally has average birth weight calves. But, McQueenie has consistently had very low birth weight calves with a variety of sires. This is her first Elvis calf, and this little heifer weighed an actual bathroom scale weight of 41 lbs. I could really care less that she is overmarked, I'm just thrilled she's a girl and the birth weight is so very low. It really is proving McQueenie's ability to impact birth weights all on her own."

I would also add that this is the FIRST overmarked calf McQueenie has birthed, and she has never had anything but heifers.  So, don't be so quick to sell those overmarks that have otherwise very desirable traits you'd like to see in your herd.  McQueenie's lineage originated here at J.West Cattle Co. with HRH Bountiful, the pretty front and center headshot of the Halliburton Farms auction back in ..... 2002, I think.  What an outstanding group of American Fullblood descendants I have from this mighty fine Popeye sired cow from the Halliburton herd.  And in case you were wondering, Bountiful is still part of my herd, and is now the official senior, most elder, oldest, most experienced . . . . cow in my herd!

Old Sayings and Remedy's - Tyler County, Texas



Payton and Iva Butler Brown in Goose Creek


These are some of the "Old Sayings and Remedy's" of Iva Butler Brown Gray that relate to the weather and raising cattle.   Kenneth Brown, my neighbor and helper here at the ranch, shared these writings of his mother with me this week. 

Iva was born Oct. 13, 1905 in Colmesneil, Texas, and lived to age 95, passing away in 2001.  In April of 1999 she wrote down several pages of old sayings and remedies learned both from her own life experiences, and passed down from her family.  

1)  "The first 12 days after Christmas day are called 'The Old 12 Days' and the kind of weather can be determined by the 12 days representing the next 12 months of the New Year."

2)  "Thunder in February means frost on that day in April (or real cool)."

3)  "Aunt Frankie Gregory (my Mother's sister) always said that between eleven and 2 o'clock you could tell what the weather would do."

4)  "My Grandparents (Allen's) thought March 13th best to plant pepper seed and the 17th of September best day to plant fall turnip seed and start Fall garden."

5)  "Butcher cattle and hogs on the full moon to have good meat to eat."

6)  "Brand cattle on decrease of the moon and the brand won't grow large."

7)  " 'Mark' cattle or hogs when the moon signs are 'in the knees' (1) and they won't bleed but very little."

8)  "Wean calves or children when the signs are 'in the knees'(1), they won't grieve for their mothers or cry much."

9)  "Boil red oak bark or blackberry roots and give the liquid to calves or horses.  This will stop diarrhea in calves or horses."

10)  "For food poison in cattle - Mix 1/2 lb Epsom salts, 1/2 lb soda, 3 Tablespoons ginger, put in bottle, add enough water to make a pint and drench (several times)."


Waxing Crescent Moonshot I took a couple years back. . . .
(1) The moon is "in the knees" when it is in the sign of Capricorn, per the Farmer's Almanac .  "Each day of the month is said to be ruled by one of the twelve signs of the zodiac.  Each sign appears at least once a month for a period of two or three days." (See Hendry County Horticultural News  )   Consult the online Farmer's Almanac current Zodiac Calendar if you'd like to start planting, branding, harvesting, etc... by the daily changes in the planets and the moon.



And Iva finished up her list of sage advice with these two old sayings to live by that most readers will be familiar with:

** "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches."
** "An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure."

And I was happy to see two recipes included, one for cake and one for pecan pie -- certainly two staple sweets in the kitchens of bygone days in Southeast Texas.

"This is Grandmother Butler's cake recipe."

2 Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 cup Butter (or shortening)
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Bake at 350 degrees until done.

This is a recipe for "Good Pecan Pie", Mrs. Gray doesn't tell us what temperature or how long to cook it, but I'd imagine you can bake it at 350 degrees until done as well.

1 Cup White Corn Syrup
3 Eggs
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Pecans ("I chop mine")
1 teaspoon Vanilla

 . . . . My thanks to Kenneth Brown for agreeing to let me share these old sayings passed down to him from his mother.

Child Labor Laws and Livestock - Proposed Rule Changes for Agricultural Employment

 Getting lots of play in agricultural publications and organizations are the September 2, 2011 proposed changes in Child Labor Regulations by the Department of Labor (DOL).  The Proposed  New Rules are available for review and comment, and can be found HERE at the DOL web site in a PDF file.  All references in this blog refer to this PDF file. 

The focus of the proposed rule changes are specifically in regard to youth employed in agriculture.  One of the primary complaints I've read is that it will lay the groundwork for the Fed to re-interpret what is defined as a family farm, and thus prevent youngsters from being 'legal' participants in the family's livestock or crop farming pursuits. 

A review of the proposal was very enlightening as to the high rate of injury of agricultural workers found in the lengthy preamble to the specifics of the proposed changes.  In regard to rate of injuries in livestock operations, the following statistics were provided:

"The injury rates for workers (adult) in beef cattle ranching and farming, which includes feedlots, was reported . . . to be 9.4 per 100 full-time workers in 2006, 8.7 per 100 full-time workers in 2007, and 7.2 per 100 full-time workers in 2008 (data available at HERE.).  These incidence rates are almost twice the national average for all private industry during the sample years." (PDF, Page 12)

"NIOSH cites several studies that demonstrate animals are one of the most common sources of injuries to children on farms and notes that, in 1998, it estimated that 20% of all injuries to youth under the age of 20 occurring on farms were animal-related. . .  Livestock-handling injuries are among the most severe of agricultural injuries; they are more costly and result in more time off work than other causes of agricultural injuries." (PDF, Page 24)



This is Flora Rae, Born 9/20/11, and pictured here
only a day old, and undoubtedly with her umbilical
cord 'present'.  Picture is courtesy of Al Ross, and Flora Rae
was sired by his fine Colonel Beau British white bull.



The rate of injury for children cited is alarming, but it is unclear contextually just what the population of 'children' are that were injured by animals, and it is an 'estimate' rather than a hard statistic.  A specific example was given of a 15 year old girl who was seriously injured.  She apparently was helping pen calves in a corral made from metal pipe, and was penned against the pipe by a "stampeding calf" and actually stomped on as well.  That is surely an extreme event, at least in my opinion.  And we are told that current laws prohibited her from working there, so these proposed rule changes would just be an added layer to existing regs with a bump as well in the age to a vague '16 or 17' age limit.  "The Department . . . is proposing to extend these same protections to minors who are 16 or 17 years of age. "  (PDF, Page 12)

Likening a livestock auction barn work environment to a family beef cattle farm is really lumping apples with the oranges.  One has to wonder if the majority of the serious injuries to children under age 20 mostly occurred in an auction barn environment.  Apparently, the DOL did not consider breaking down those 'estimates' based on 'studies', in order to differentiate and better assess the rate of livestock related injuries on family farms.

Among the new rules proposed by the DOL, one provides that 'youth' below that vague '16 or 17' years of age cannot work cattle on horseback, or any other method best I can tell.  Our docile British White cattle don't require a horse or motorized buggy to pen them or move them to new pastures, so we British White breeders would not be impacted by that.  However, there are many youngsters who do enjoy riding a horse and learning to pen cattle.  I have to wonder if implementation of these new rules will see the demise of youth rodeos!  Will team ropers have to work with cow dummies?  Maybe remote control operated calves?  Oops, forgot, those kids are doing it for fun only, and that will remain legal . . .



My niece, Taylor, 17 years old, employed by me part-time, interacting
with an uncastrated male bovine, and if the new rules were in place now,
this would be an Illegal Act.

 The new rule that irritates me the most provides that no 'youth' can be allowed anywhere near an uncastrated bull calf over the age of 6 months.  Yep, you just read right.  Nor can they be allowed near a newborn calf and mother when the "umbilical cord is still present".  Do they mean freshly pink and present, or dried and a couple weeks old and present, or still attached to the cow?! 

My niece is now 17 years old.  Just last weekend she walked among a herd full of uncastrated bulls over the age of 6 months.  Not only that, she interacted with them.  If these rules were in effect now, I would have multiple fines assessed I suppose, as she is officially working for me on weekends.  I am not her parent, so that would also be an immediate prohibition on her working here as the proposed 'new rules' would not allow any kid to work with livestock unless it was a family farm.  No 'exemption' via 'student learner' training, etc... is proposed; I suppose they couldn't figure out how to teach cattle handling in the classroom.  The full text in regard to livestock is below.

New Restrictions Proposed for Working with Livestock, and No Provision for a Student-Learner Exemption, as is the case with operating Farm Equipment:

"Accordingly, the Department proposes to revise § 570.72(b)(4) entitled Certain Occupations Involving Working with or around Animals . . .  and redesignate it as § 570.99(b)(4). This . . . would prohibit working on a farm in a yard, pen, or stall occupied by an intact (not castrated) male equine, porcine, bovine, or bison older than six months, a sow with suckling pigs, or cow with newborn calf (with umbilical cord present); engaging or assisting in animal husbandry practices that inflict pain upon the animal and/or are likely to result in unpredictable animal behavior such as, but not limited to, branding, breeding, dehorning, vaccinating, castrating, and treating sick or injured animals; handling animals with known dangerous behaviors;  poultry catching or cooping in preparation for slaughter or market; and herding animals in confined spaces such as feed lots or corrals, or on horseback, or using motorized vehicles such as, but not limited to, trucks or all terrain vehicles. . . . The Department does not propose that a student-learner exemption apply to this . . ."  (PDF, Page 25)

Choosing a gentle cattle breed such as the British White is a very effective step toward prevention of serious livestock injuries, but perhaps the most effective prevention of serious injury when handling livestock is actually plain common sense.  Essentially the DOL's proposed new rules in regard to livestock are an attempt to legislate Common Sense.  I would never let my niece near any animal that would harm her.  She is naturally cautious herself, as I have taught her to be.   But there is still that nagging question out there. . . Why is the DOL choosing now to propose these new rules? 

Perhaps the answer lies in the more international environment with respect to livestock activities.  Cattle continue to be maligned as climate change causing critters.  The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations continues to promote a change to a 'vegan' diet for the 'general population'.  The FAO predicts the family beef cattle farm will cease to exist as the owners will not be able to afford to pay the 'true cost' of the operation once the FAO and EPA recommended regulations, fines and taxes are assessed to the small family farm. 

Once you regulate away the right of children to help out on the farm or narrowly redefine what the parent can allow them to participate in on the farm -- the parents will have to hire additional help at higher wages, which can literally make or break a small beef cattle operation.  Hmmm . . . could that be a primary back door goal of these proposed new rules?

Or is the primary goal of these new rules the laying of the ground work to redefine just what is a family farm.  In this modern world there are several business entity types that can be set up for the operation of farms, ranches, and any other business pursuit -- S Corporations, C Corporations, LLC's, Partnerships, and of course plain old Sole Proprietorships.   I highly doubt this section of the proposed new rules is there just to fill white space - someone finds it necessary and pertinent to long range goals to ". . . clarify the parental exemption involving agricultural employment." 

This is Perhaps What Most Have Found Worrisome as it Relates to the Survival of the Family Farm:


"The Department proposes to clarify the parental exemption involving agricultural employment by including information about the exemption discussed in the Background section of this preamble. The proposal provides guidance as to who qualifies as a parent; what determines that a farm is ‘‘operated by’’ a parent; and how the Department interprets the extension of this parental exemption to persons standing in the place of a parent as well as a relative who may take temporary custody of a youth and stands in the place of the parent. The revision also notes that the parental exemption—both in terms of working during school hours and performing hazardous occupations normally prohibited . . .—would not apply to the employment of a child of a farmer when that child is employed on a farm not owned or operated by his or her parent. It also addresses related situations, such as where the farm or its property may be owned by a closely-held corporation or partnership consisting of family members or other close relatives." (PDF, Page 31)

 

Taylor and Aunt Jimmie in the bull herd, I can just hear the metal bars clanging as the jail cell is slammed shut in coming years on . . . . some farmer some where.





A Precocious Newborn British White Heifer



J.West's Lillie Bell and her Carter sired heifer, Sept. 2011

I'm really loving my September born calves, the nice weather change is easier on both the dams and the calves, and because it's no longer hot as Hades even in the evenings, we can sit outside and watch the little ones scamper around and head butt one another and generally feel good to be alive. 

But I've got one newborn heifer that is behaving rather oddly.  Up until this morning,  I was blaming this on her first calf heifer dam, J.West's Lillie Bell - thinking Lillie Bell was just not paying enough attention to her little heifer, not giving her the right moo of instructions to keep up with the herd or something.  Lillie Bell's heifer was born on Monday evening, the 26th, and on Wednesday morning the pretty little thing was all by herself snuggled up in goat weed along a cross fence about 50 feet off of U.S. Highway 69.  That morning I moved her several feet away from the cross fence, as I've had them sort of roll over and under and get up and find themselves in the wrong pasture in the past.



Lillie Bell's Heifer Calf - Very nice, notice how wide she is......

 Later on in the day something made me jump up and head out to check on her again.  Guess where the little heifer was?  She was on the shoulder of the highway with her pretty little head peering through the barbed wire back toward home.  Fortunately, she is very calm and I just lifted one of her front legs over the wire and then the other, and of course she full well knew what to do to go through the fence after that.  Afterwards, she just about flat refused to get off the fence line and walk with me on up the hill where most of the herd were gathered under a grove of hickory trees.  I finally gave up and carried her the majority of the way, a good 250 feet by my estimation. 

This heifer had a chest tape of 27 inches, which translates to a birth weight of about 64 lbs.  I didn't take a live weight on her, I've been trying to be a little kinder to my back lately.  I now wish I'd have done so, as I can't imagine that I could actually carry 64 lbs that far, and uphill as well.  Granted it was hard and I had to stop once and rest myself, but that's a lot of awkward weight to carry.  Sometimes in particularly thick or chunky built newborns, a chest measure can overstate birth weight.

This morning I went out to check the herd, and of course the little heifer was curled up napping right on the fence line of the highway.  I really couldn't believe my eyes.  She is going on 4 days old, her dam has had 4 days to learn a little something about keeping up with her kiddo, yet here she was all by herself in that dangerous spot.  However, this time her dam came down the hill when she saw me with her calf.



Lillie Bell's Heifer Contemplating Crossing the Fence.......

 Lillie Bell came straight away and somehow I think the tone of her mooing was one of absolute irritation with her baby, as in "Why don't you mind me!".  I had my camera this morning and shot some footage of them both.  In the video you'll see the little heifer giving some serious consideration to going through the fence yet again, rather than following her dam back up the hill.  So I'll not blame Lillie Bell any more, as it appears her daughter is just refusing to do as she's told.

The heifer calf was sired by J.West's S.S. Carter, and Lillie Bell is an El Presidente daughter from an Elvis sired daughter.

Gidget Had a Girl! Classic Mini British White First Calf Heifer Success!

For a few years now, I've been focusing the breeding decisions for a small part of my herd on the goal of consistent classic frame score 3 cattle, which is the top most range of what is considered miniature cattle today.  They are far from being the tiny little micro minis, but instead are a reversion back to the classic frame, or traditional frame, of most British cattle before the push to lengthen leg and just create much bigger cattle -- the very cattle who can't well survive a drought such as the one Texas is enduring today. 

J.West's Gidget was born September 23, 2008 - a long 3 years ago this little gal hit the ground and this journey began.  Gidget is an El Presidente daughter, and her dam (a full sister to J.West's Tom Sawyer) was an embryo transfer calf out of a Woodbastwick Randolph Turpin daughter and De Beauvoir's Huckleberry Finn.  So, Gidget has lots of full  English blood in her pretty little veins, and is as sweet natured as you could want and quite the milky and fertile British White female in a small package.

Gidget had an actual scale birth weight of 57 lbs, a very unusually small birth weight for the breed, and over time it was clear that she would remain a small female.  On November 18, 2009, Gidget had a weight of 483 lbs at 14 months old and stood 38.75 inches in hip height, and was clearly not a candidate for getting settled to calf at 15 months and calving at two years of age.  Below is a video of Gidget in December of 2009, shortly after this weight and hip height were taken.



The next weight and hip height I have on her is in June of 2010 at 21 months old.  She weighed in at 580 lbs, which was pretty decent weight gain for about 6 months, and stood 40.5 inches at the hip.  On October 17, 2010, about a full four months later, Gidget weighed 644 lbs, again pretty good weight gain on her short frame.  I decided it was time to bite the bullet and let my little Gidget get settled to calf.

Gidget was pastured with J.West's S.S. Carter in late November of 2010 and about midnight Saturday night, the 17th of September, Gidget calved an awesome little heifer.  Gidget clearly settled to Carter on her first cycle last fall, and I was quite pleased about that - after it was all over.  I've kept Gidget right by the house for about 3 months now as she put on quite a bit of milk back then and I was afraid she'd somehow got settled to calf on a bull break in or something, so I kept her close.

Gidget's Heifer, Born Sept. 17, 2011

She kept that pretty little udder full of milk until about 3 weeks ago, then it doubled, and I thought sure she was about to calve.  Not!  A few days ago she put on even more milk!  And of course finally gave birth to her heifer Saturday night.  Check out the awesome udder on Gidget, and of course her charming heifer calf, in the Pic &  Video of the Week link.  Her heifer had a chest tape of 26 inches, for a birth weight of about 60 lbs.  In the video you see her at I suppose about 34 hours old, still wobbly, quite friendly, and so beautifully marked.



If you have an interest in Classic Frame British White Cattle, visit http://www.minibritishwhitecattle.com/ for more information and upcoming availability.

Bastrop County Wildfire - Hay Donations and/or Help in Locating Hay Needed

UPDATE 9/20/11:  See link below video for current hay ads in the Lousiana Market Bulletin

All week I've watched this fire from afar, sort of wide-eyed and unbelieving, plain shocked; and I can't begin to imagine what it has been like to actually be in the midst of this great fire, under the threat of this great fire moving my way.  The WunderMap at WeatherUnderground.com has a 'fire' option to show satellite views of the burning fires and the smoke cover as well.  It reached the point where you couldn't see where the Bastrop fire was burning on the satellite view unless you opted out of viewing the reach of the smoke cover - it was just that solid black for miles and miles and miles.  My thanks to Christine Files, a fellow BWCAA member, who sent me the link to the youtube video below.  Christine was just south of the fire and part of the large scale evacuation of the area.  So far her home and land have been spared.  When she made it back there a couple of days ago there were charred remnants of the fire blown in by the winds and scattered around her property - any of which could have become yet another raging fire in her own backyard. 

Hay was scarce and grotesquely expensive in this area before this fire -- it is now practically non-existent.  Anyone (except thieving hay brokers) who can help Chris and other BWCAA members, as well of course as the many other horse and cattle raisers in the area, with locating hay is encouraged to do so. 





Update:  Take a look at the current Louisiana Market Bulletin published monthly by the State of Lousiana.  See Page 15 for the beginning of the Hay Ads.  This is a pretty large PDF document, so be patient for it to load.  Bookmark this Lousisiana Dept of Agriculture page to check back for the upcoming September issue of the Market Bulletin.

Texas Wildfire Livestock Supply Points for Hay and Feed Donations - Donations of Hay and Feed and Hauling for Livestock Needed

Texas Fire Support - Active Facebook page for current information on resources available to assist humans and animals in the Bastrop and Smithville area.

RadioReference.com - Online access to Live Police and Fire Scanner Feeds
 
Volunteers rescue livestock and horses - Hay Donations Needed
 
WeatherUnderground - WunderMap - Once the map loads, scroll down the options on the right and you will see a 'fire' option, click that, and then click on the actual fire location for a closer view of the fire perimeters.

Climate Change is Not a Modern Day Topic - It was Refuted by the U.S. Government in the Early 1900's

Climate change is certainly a hot topic right now, from Al Gore's latest laughable, pitiful and puzzling efforts to get in the limelight, to lots of finger pointing at Hurricane Irene and the Texas drought as proofs.  I understand the premise of the science that backs up the global warming gurus -- but as long as livestock continue to be falsely targeted as the greatest contributor to climate change -- my ears will remain deaf and the motives of the likes of Al Gore and the United Nations quite suspect.

I was very surprised when I stumbled on an old U.S. Department of Agriculture article from 1908 entitled, "The So-Called Change of Climate in the Semi-Arid West".  Clearly there were alarmists spouting off about human caused climate change to such an extent that it warranted a rebuttal 103 years ago, and I would say it was soundly rebutted as the poppycock it was then -- and is now to a large extent, as cows continue to be touted as the greatest cause of global warming, and a vegan diet necessary for us common folks:

"The former Vice President also said we need to initiate an organic vegetarian diet for the general population since industrial agriculture is contributing to the relentless, growing problem of global warming. According to Gore, meat eating has prompted forests to clear due to higher demands for cattle in the interview, adding that synthetic nitrogen use in fertilizers continues to contribute to global warming." (Al Gore, 8/29/11)

Sunday, August 28 - View of our Parched Pastures and a Fire Top above the Trees -- on Monday evening there was another fire so close that big particles of ash fell around us at the cattle pens just to the left in this photo.

The Texas drought is not a weather event brought on by human caused climate change (nor some divine judgment by an angry God as the likes of a Louis Farrakhan tell their followers), and neither is Hurricane Irene a storm to be blamed on climate change.  Certainly, the level of carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere is a factor in our weather, but to presume that the human and livestock activities on the land mass of the United States can somehow change the climate of the world, for better or worse, is simply preposterous.  We can't allow ourselves to be used to "set an example for the world" that literally destroys our economy while the rest of the world laughs their butts off in to the next century -- and our EPA is now being used as a tool to backdoor accomplish that so-called example.

The drought of 1886/1887 that I blogged a couple of weeks back was a severe Texas and Plains area drought, much like the one occurring now.  Coincidentally, just a mere couple years later, in May 1889, there was a "great storm" that severely impacted the northeast, and caused the catastrophic Johnstown Flood in Pennsylvania.  This storm occurred on the heals of quite abnormally high levels of spring and summer rainfall in the northeast.  Sound familiar?  There has been well above average rainfall in much of the northeast this spring and summer.  This was the weather forecast for Memorial Day 1889 in Pennsylvania, from The Tribune :

"A Storm of considerable energy has developed in Southwestern Texas, which is now centered in the Mississippi Valley, moving northeastward. General rain has fallen within the track of the storm. Elsewhere fair weather has prevailed. The temperature is unusually low throughout the lake region, heavy frost having occurred in many places and light frosts are also reported from the county districts in this locality, with no perceptible damage, however. The temperature has risen slightly in all other districts. The barometer has fallen decidedly in the Mississippi Valley with manifestations of cyclonic disturbances, and is highest in the extreme Northwest."

I certainly wish that the above weather forecast was actually for Labor Day Weekend 2011, without the subsequent heavy rain and flooding in the Northeast!  No doubt in the days that followed the devastation of the great Johnstown Flood there was a creepy person somewhere at a podium postulating about God's divine judgment on Pennsylvania.  Hopefully, someone laid him out with a good punch of divine judgment to his belly paunch.

Did you know there is now yet another factor of great import in projecting carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, and will require new 'climate change' analysis models?  Check this out: Nitrogen in Rocks Could Help Counter Climate Change.  Now why is this not headline news this morning all over the world?  And just what else is out there yet to be discovered about the resourcefulness of this grand and ancient earth we all call home? 

J.West's El Presidente standing in a patch of green that remains over our sewer, it is rare for the cows to ever eat this grass.  What must he think looking out over his pasture at nothing but dead grass and worm eating cattle egrets?  Is he blaming himself for Climate Change?

Here are some excerpts from the 1908 U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's 'The So-Called Change in Climate . . .' :

"It is the man that has changed, not the climate, and the face of nature has changed with efforts far exceeding those of the early eastern pioneers. The western man who has observed the wilderness blossom as the rose -  decries his own power when he charges to the account of change of climate the blessings resulting from his own initiative. It required much more than the buzzing of the drones while the climate was "changing" to make orchards, meadows, grain fields, and vineyards in Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. Perseverance placed the city of Denver on the site of the Indian tepee in the valley of the upper Platte, and "change of climate " did not plant Salt Lake City in the deserts of Utah."

"Droughts, hot winds, and high temperatures are not impossible in any section at any time. Francis Parkman says that during the summer and fall of 1764, at the time of Pontiac's war, a great drought prevailed over the region north of the Ohio River, and British soldiers suffered great hardships in navigating the streams. Yet the settler had not then had much chance with his ax, and the lands were covered with an interminable forest."

"Prof. Alfred J. Henry, in Climatology of the United States, says:

'The greatest drought this country has experienced in the last one hundred years, both as to Intensity and extent of territory covered, culminated in the middle Mississippi and Missouri valleys in 1894, and in the Lake region and Atlantic coast districts in 1895. The drought of 1894 was the culmination of a period of deficient precipitation and high temperatures that began during the early summer of 1893. . .'

'In September, 1908, the Susquehanna River was lower than it had been in more than one hundred years, and instances were published of boys playing ball in the river bed of the upper Ohio.'

'In the Middle States, as well as the entire region between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River north of Texas, the great hot wave of July, 1901, broke records in many sections, the temperatures ranging from 109° to 116° in the shade. These figures were published by the Weather Bureau at the time, and clearly show that abnormally high temperatures or hot winds are not confined to any particular locality.'"

"The semiarid States are contending against stupendous forces in the form of the great air currents, which are charged with billions of tons of moisture and dust before they come within a thousand miles of the Middle West. . . . It is evident, then, that the cultivation and forestation of the semiarid region, even though (if) they had proceeded much farther than they have, could not change the climate. . . In spite of the great differences in density of population and in the proportion of land improved, the records show that no single part of the areas mentioned, or any other part of the vast territory remaining in the country, has been exempt from droughty periods."

" . . . climatic changes have been as numerous as the epochs in geological history. . . If the ancient ancestors of the mound builders could be aroused from their slumbers, their medicine men would relate a hoary legend to the effect that the waters of the southern seas once tossed over the western plains, and the great Southwest and washed the feet of the Rockies."

"Aristotle, the sage, one of the greatest of scientific observers, flourished about two thousand three hundred years ago; since his day there have been many scientific observers; yet in all these years there has been no record of a permanent change of climate in any part of the known world."

"Western Asia, northern Africa, and portions of North America were called deserts in remote ages, and we still believe they will continue deserts during the vast periods of time to come. The Chaldeans, ancient Persians, Ninevites, and Egyptians exerted untold effort in producing verdure (green growth) that succeeding peoples have allowed to disappear before the blistering desolation. Geological evidence shows that extensive forests once flourished in these regions, and remains of highly creditable irrigating works have lately been discovered in the Arizona desert. But man's efforts did not change the climate in these regions. When his efforts ceased, the desert reoccupied the territory which he had for a time subdued to his needs."

". . . such as the great storm of 1889, originated by the intermingling of masses of warm air from the equator and cold air from the pole, and which cover a greater extent of the earth's surface than the territory of the United States, and then imagine the influence of any semiarid State lying in the pathway of such a disturbance, we can understand that a whole series of States, much less the man with his plow, is unable to control climate."

Source: Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture, 1908; The So-Called Change of Climate in the Semiarid West,  by Richard H. Sullivan, Local Forecaster, Weather Bureau, Wichita, Kansas

The Army Worm - A 19th Century Account of Infestations & How to Combat the Army Worm

THE ARMY WORM, Mark Vernon Slingerland, Bulletin 133. April, 1897. Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station.


ITS GENERAL DISTRIBUTION AND EARLY HISTORY

"Apparently the native home of the army-worm is in North America, although it is known to occur in England, South America, India, Java, Maderia, Australia and New Zealand, thus making it nearly a cosmopolitan insect. However, it is known as an especially injurious insect only in the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains and in Canada. '' The region in which it especially flourishes extends from Iowa to Maine and from Texas to Alabama. East of the Blue Ridge Mountains its southerly range as an injurious species extends to North Carolina. The moth is often captured outside these limits and frequently in considerable numbers, but the caterpillar does not seem elsewhere to be a factor in agriculture.""

"1743 is always mentioned as the first army-worm year of which we have pretty definite proof. Perhaps it was the army-worm that appeared by the millions in Massachusetts in 1762 and ate up the corn. Graphic and definite accounts have been recorded of the ravages of the insect in New England in 1770 and 1790. The next army-worm year was in 1817, and since 1825 the insect has appeared in injurious numbers somewhere in the United States almost every year; but rarely, if ever, has the insect been destructive in the same locality in two successive years."

"The army-worm was known in the early chronicles as "the black worm;" just when it came to be known as "the army worm" we have not ascertained. Sometime in the latter part of the eighteenth century, a specimen of the adult insect—the moth, found its way into the then celebrated collection of a Mr. Francillon in London. Upon the breaking up and sale of that collection early in this century, this moth passed into the possession of a Mr. Haworth, who published a description of it in 1810; he named it unipunda, the white speck."

"It is a curious fact that no one seems to have discovered what the parents of the army-worms were like until 1855, when Mr. Kirkpatrick reared some of the moths in Ohio. It was not until 1861 that Dr. Fitch, then State Entomologist of New York, identified the army-worm moth as the same insect which had been described in England fifty years before."

NOTES ON THE OUTBREAK OF 1896:

During the spring and summer of 1896, the army-worm appeared in destructive numbers in portions of ten states, constituting what is probably the most serious outbreak of the pest known in the history of the country. In some states most of the damage was done in May, but usually it was the July brood which appeared in almost incredible numbers; in a few localities, however, it was not until September that the pest was seen in injurious numbers.

Nearly all kinds of field crops were ravaged by the caterpillars. Corn and oats seem to have suffered the most; there is no data upon which to base any definite estimates, but one may safely say that thousands of acres of these two crops alone were ruined by the worms in New York. In many localities, rye, barley, wheat, millet, meadows, pasture lands, and Hungarian grass suffered.

To fully realize the destructive capabilities of the insect one must see, no description will suffice, an army of the worms on the march and at work. In most cases, the caterpillars in each of these armies must have been numbered by the millions; even an approximate estimate of the number of worms in a single army would have been impracticable. Oftentimes when an army was marching across a lane or roadway, nearly the entire surface of the ground for several rods would be covered with the crawling mass of worms; one could not step without crushing several of them.

They soon strip all the leaves from the stalks of oats, rye, and similar plants, and often cut off many of the heads, leaving them uneaten on the ground. In one instance, a barn loomed up before the worms directly in their line of march, but nothing daunted, many of them valiantly scaled the perpendicular wall and soon succeeded in getting over the eaves onto the roof. Here, however, they met their Waterloo, either from the exposure on the heated shingles to the sun's rays or from other causes, and a windrow of dead worms was formed under the eaves.

HOW TO FIGHT THE ARMY WORM


". . . However, the worms can be prevented from entering other fields, and may, in many cases, be checked and killed even after they have entered a new field; in some cases, especially in corn fields, an advancing army may be stopped in the middle of the field and thus half of the crop saved. The simplest and most effectual method of doing this is to either dig a smooth-walled ditch, or plow several deep parallel furrows in front of the invading army; the perpendicular, smooth side of the plowed furrow should be towards the field to be protected. The worms not being readily able to scale the perpendicular wall of the ditch or furrow will drop back and begin crawling along the bottom seeking an easier place of ascent."

"If deep holes have been dug in the ditch or furrow at intervals of a few feet, the worms, in their wanderings, readily tumble into these holes and cannot get out. Bushels of them have been trapped in this way, and then killed with a little kerosene or by burning some straw scattered along the furrow. The holes or pits in the furrows are very essential to the success of this preventive method. It has been aptly said: "To one who has never before seen the army worm in its might, the sight of the myriads as they returned thwarted in their endeavors to cross a ditch or furrow, or of the living, moving, and twisting mass which sometimes fills a ditch to the depth of several inches, it is truly interesting." "

"In some soils a little extra work will be necessary to keep one side of the furrow perpendicular and to keep the earth loose and friable in the furrow; some accomplish the latter by dragging brush along the furrow. A ditch or several furrows well taken care of in this way will afford an almost impassable barrier to the worms, as many, who followed the directions carefully last year, can testify. It is such an easy matter to make a furrow and as one is not so effectual a barrier as a ditch, we advise that two or more parallel furrows be made, so that the worms which may scale the first one will be confronted by another."

"A strip of coal tar will effectually stop the worms as long as it remains sticky, but it has to be renewed once or twice a day and is thus expensive."

"When the worms can be confined to a small area by a ditch, it may be practicable to spray this area with a strong Paris green mixture to poison the worms. Sometimes much can be done to lessen their numbers by drenching with Paris green a narrow strip of the crop on the side toward which the army of the worms are marching, or even a strip just ahead of the worms in an infested field. A bran mash, to which enough Paris green has been added to give it a distinct greenish tinge, scattered about where the worms are at work will attract and poison many of them."

"In fighting army-worms, it is necessary to act quickly, for a day's delay often means the destruction of an acre or more of a promising rye, corn, oat, or hay crop. Stop the onward progress of the worms, or confine them in a limited area if practicable, with ditches or deep furrows in which holes have been dug every 10 or 15 feet. Then kill as many of the worms as possible, either in the holes in the furrows, or by the use of poisons, or invite the poultry to a feast."

European Whitestorks feeding on Army Worms, Soysambu Conservancy, Wildlifedirect.org

"What a feast many of the birds, including chickens and turkeys, had last year in those localities where the army-worm was numerous. On July 23d, Mr. L. T.Yeomans, of Walworth, N. Y., wrote us: "We think we have disposed of the greater share of our army-worms. The birds were our greatest helpers. They came in flocks—blackbirds, thrushes, and even the English sparrow condescended to help."

"Mr. F. A. Sirrine, of the New York Experiment Station staff, has reported that in addition to the birds just mentioned, the cowbird, catbird, robin and the lark were seen feeding on the worms at Washingtonville, N. Y. He states: "It was at first doubted whether the sparrows were in the oat field on a legitimate errand, but close observation showed that each old bird was carrying from one to four worms to its young."