The Mysterious Crop Circles
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George and Iris Owen 55 Charles St. West, #1201 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2W9 THE MYSTERIOUS CROP CIRCLES. A New Horizons Note. Copyright: New Horizons Research Foundation. December 1991. INTRODUCTION. About ten years ago a fascinating, strange, and unusual phenomenon made its appearance. It seemed to have little relationship to any other known phenomena, and it didn't seem to belong under any category. However, a number of claims have been made over the years which attempt to categorise the phenomena as belonging to some one particular belief or category. We refer to the phenomenon known as "crop circles". The discipline concerning the study of these circles is known as "cerealogy". This paper is an attempt to draw together some of the information about crop circles, and arrive at an understanding of what is known, or believed, about them, today. The phenomenon has become widely known during the last ten years, and in fact, in its present form, it has apparently only been occurring during the last ten years. It takes the form of large patterns of perfectly bent corn being formed in fields of growing corn. Initially, these were large beautifully formed circles, hence the name; but, more recently, the patterns formed have changed, increasing in complexity from year to year; the patterns that appeared last year, for instance, were not only extremely complex, but they were indeed beautiful. Most of these patterns in the cornfields have appeared in a certain part of England, namely the south western area, in the vicinity of Stonehenge, and near the other various ancient monuments of that region. However, they have also been reported in other parts of England, in the Midlands and eastern regions, and in other countries, notably Canada, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, France, The United States of America, and one has been reported in Sweden. Although the phenomenon has caused so much excitement in recent years, stories of simple circles appearing in fields of growing corn go back many centuries. There are legends dating from the Middle Ages that talk of circles being formed in the fields overnight, and these were attributed to fairies dancing through the corn, or it was said mowing devils came in the night and cut the corn in'rings. One of us (IMO) grew up on an arable farm in eastern England and remembers such simple circles being found in the cornfields in the 1920's and 1930s when harvest time came around. Local farmers attributed them to weather disturbances, the general theory being that they were caused by miniature whirlwinds. This was before there were many aircraft in the sky, and as the circles were usually situated right in the middle of the cornfields, they were not usually discovered until the machines cutting the corn reached them. They were invisible from the sides of the fields, and so it was impossible to know exactly when they were formed. It goes without saying that nobody walks through a field of growing corn, it is so easy to damage it. In these early circles it was sometimes obvious that the circle had been formed earlier in the growing season, as the com was lying flat, but the ears had continued to grow, and were putting out green shoots. The present rash of phenomena started with just such circles, a simple round, some twenty or more feet in diameter, with the corn laying down, all in one direction. It was laid perfectly smoothly, as if it had been swept downwards by some strange force. Typically the roots were not damaged, and the stalks were not broken, only bent. The corn continued to grow in this position. The circles usually appeared overnight, and were quickly noticed, not only by pilots of aircraft overflying the fields, but also because in many cases they appeared in fields overlooked by hilly country. However, this simple pattern was not to remain for long. During succeeding years the patterns grew more and more elaborate, first taking the form of double and triple rings around the original circle, and then acquiring further extensions that in many cases looked like hieroglyphics, or some primitive attempt at communication. Recent circles were also considerably larger, some being as many as hundreds of feet in diameter, and occupying in their design some thousands of feet of cornfield. For many farmers these formations proved more than a minor problem. Not only were large tracts of growing corn badly damaged, and in some cases ruined, but the rest of the farmer's crops were usually trampled by the rush of the sightseers and investigators who came in the wake of such sightings. Many farmers had their whole crops destroyed. If, as has been suggested, some of these circles are caused by hoaxers and pranksters, it is a very irresponsible course of action indeed, and one would think that the farmers who suffer would have a claim for compensation. THE PHENOMENA. This current rash of phenomena started in 1980, when a large number of circles were found in the south western part of England. They appeared to be cut with almost surgical precision in fields of growing wheat and barley. The earlier circles were always reported as being in cornfields, but of recent years the patterns have been found in fields of rape, among growing root crops, such as sugar beet, in hayfmelds, in sugar cane in Australia, and there are even a few reports of the formations occurring on the sides of dusty roads, and one is reported as happening in a field of prickly thistles. An interesting feature of many of these patterns is that even after the crop has been harvested, the place where the circle has been is still obvious, as if the ground surface were in some way changed. It seems, in these cases, as if something more than just the bending of the corn took place. However, all traces of the patterns disappears when winter comes and the soil is prepared for next year's crop. Also, there are no reports, as far as we are aware, of a circle, or pattern, reappearing on the same spot the following year, or of the crop being in any way affected the next year. If the soil had been affected by either chemicals, or burning, one would expect subsequent crops to show evidence of this. As we have said in the Introduction, originally these patterns took the form of simple circles, some small, and others huge in diameter, but during the succeeding years the patterns took on the forms of oblongs, squares, rectangles, and triangles, and other geometrical patterns. Circles would be connected, or there would be a large circle with several small ones grouped around, or a series of rings would surround an inner circle. Later still the patterns became even more complicated, and some took on insect-like forms, others produced squiggly patterns, likened to brain patterns, and others resembled a child's scribbling. We have attached a number of examples to this paper. During the ten years from 1980 - 1990, almost every conceivable kind of pattern emerged. In all the reported cases the corn is bent in one direction only, it is not trampled haphazardly, it is not crumpled, it lays straight. The stalks, although bent, are not broken, and the corn continues to grow in the ground. Corn continues to grow and ripen when the stalks are bent, if the roots are not pulled out and the stalks not broken. The corn will continue to ripen, and when ripe, because of the contact with the ground,the wheat in the ears will sprout green shoots. The loss to the farmer lies in the fact that he is unable to reap the harvest. A further word of explanation. In all the published pictures there are straight lines running the length of the fields. These straight lines are furrows made by the wheels of the tractors that sowed the seed in the springtime. The seed does not fall in these furrows, and so these lines are left when the corn grows. Because modern machinery is often very large, and the vehicles have wide wheels these furrows can be wide enough for persons to walk in without damaging the corn. In the days when horses:pulled the seeding machinery these furrows did not exist. If one deviates from the tracks, however, the corn will be damaged. Growing corn is very heavy in the ears, and it is easy to damage it, and the damage is obvious. This is a factor to take into consideration if one is looking at the possibility of these patterns being the result of hoaxes or practical jokes. The patterns usually have occurred during the months of July and August, when the crops are ripening. However, in 1991, the weather in England in the springtime was cold and wet, and so the harvest was later than usual. However, in many cases, the circles started forming at the usual time, appearing in the young, still green, corn. This would cause one to wonder if the time of year was a factor, and not necessarily the ripeness of the corn. This last year, 1991. saw some very varied and complicated pattern formations indeed. The earlier ones were labelled 'insectograms' by the investigators, as they resembled some weird kind of insect. About a dozen 'insectograms' appeared in the counties of Wiltshire and Hampshire during the early 1991 'season'. As the summer went on further strange shapes and patterns appeared. A report in the Fortean Times giving the types of formations during that summer lists 'dumb-bells', (consisting of two or sometimes three plain or ringed circles joined by a narrow corridor)} haloes were sometimes added to these shapes, or perhaps rectangular 'coffins' or other appendages.