- ... Tftl~LJ -0 10' OCT 12 1961
oll 1e 20 October, 1961 Number 10 h~ farm ~lan: ma:: HUNTING OUTLOOK FOR 1961
HARVESTING lOWA 'S WILD FOODS ter' harle-. (But<'h ) Olof-. on food so it would be edible during 1&:: Con-.c nntlo u Offi('t.> r the long periods of storage. e the beginning of lime, man A good example of this was the m imals began early in autumn Indians use of "Pemmican", made itil1i: n and speed their activities by drying thin strips of deer or ltiO!l. paration for the cold winter buffalo meat mto "jerky" (a meth 'di s to come. od of preserving meat l After the 1 jther ~~ample, the bears \\hO have meat is made into jerky it is pul eoun:: "eeding all summer long on verized by pounding. Then bear or Des ~dents, grubs and insects now buffalo tallow is melted and poured d to feed on the wild blueber over this meat. Bluebe111es, black ,nd blackberries. He must berries or any berr1es of their up that layer of fat which cho1ce were added. This was nuxed ~et him through the long together and put into skin bags · hibernation. made from buffalo stomachs o1· - n rels, muskrats and beave1 thin deer skin. These bags became BUG hurried collections of seeds, hard and could be stored all winter ( • ·oats and bark for their win and even mto the warm summer ·~f ad caches s ince Mother Na months Th1s provided a very nu oes not fu1 msh any natural tlttlonal diet during the winter
lit • leather food for them. months easily transported long dis JUD Shennan Pho~ ' t may have learned to pre- tances without spo1lage. Birds like this Mallard d rake and Blue Goose will be the t a rgets of Iowa hunters when the duck and goose season get s unde rwa y this fall. feed • for the productless months As the white man progressed Ul ter by watching the animals west, he had to adapt himself to E. T. Ro!oe The November 11 opening date vill never know. We do know I this climate, conditions of the for Chief, FJ~ b. nud Gnme which has been accepted for many Jid practice the harvest of est, the plains and the mountain Hunting prospects are good in previous years as about the best Ll foods to survive durmg areas. H e was quick to see the Iowa fot upland game m 1961 dale was again selected since it is cold periods of want and star or U American Indian was good at lh1s, Quail, pheasant and squirrel popu late enough to give farmers time He had to know what ani beas;... and the first pioneers patterned lations are up, deer have increased to harvest their corn It also gives . 1e could depend on during the time for young cocks to mature their their life after them. They learned at least 8~" c over 1960, and the At the same time, man ;gs. I from the Indians that many of the rabbit population is average. sufficiently to be distinguished from !aJt l'~' d he could not live on meal wild plants were used for food; and hens. I r He had to supplement his A quick look at the general sant many are used today. picLure follows: DEER: The deer population is otiet.: ·ith grains, dried roots, fruit the highest in Iowa since 1947 with ther plant life. Here are some examples of wild ~... P IIEA ANT: The prospects for a 25' i' increase over the past five ~ edible plants: again man had to learn what pheasant hunting this season are so!ll Wild onion, wild leek, dandelion years average and 8% over last rvesl and how to preserve very favorable. Good populations ct. and water cress: Used for flavor year. The population is anticipated are present in the pheasant range lfe as mg. seasoning or as greens. to be 23,000 deer th1s fall; the with lhe highest levels in the teed Common m i 1 k weed· Young wmter population was 14,155 north west, north central and west shoots used and cooked like aspara Twinning is very common this year central portions of the state. gas or soups. Indians made a crude for Iowa deer. sugar from the flowers. The nesting season this year was DUCR .. : The local duck popula Chicory: Young roots and leaves two weeks later than p1 eceding tion is good due to plentlful rain are cooked or used raw for salad years m most areas. Many late fall enabling water levels in Iowa and greens. The root can be dned, broods were observed by conserva marshes, sloughs and potholes to ground and used as coffee substi tion officers and b i o 1 o g i s t s in hold up well Unfortunately. the tute. August brood counts Highway big duck factones m the Dakotas, Stinging nettle. (Wear gloves right-of-ways, pastures and other Northern '\Imnesota and much of while gathering them). Boil to re permanent cover was very heavy Canada suffered from extreme move the sling and cook like this year. drought conditions gravely affect spinach. Favorable nesting weather, the mg the major production. Conse Cattail: Flowering ends while new A.S.C. diverted acres program quently, the production is poor in still partly covered by sheaths (nearly three million acres of near these areas. from upper leaves are eaten raw, ly ideal pheasant nesting habitat) The hunting outlook appears stewed, steamed, roasted or put and the delayed mowing of high good for locally produced ducks. into soup. Young shoots are peeled way right-of-ways, all contributed It's difficult to leU at this time and cooked raw like asparagas. toward the good pheasant produc whal shooting can be had from the Hickory Nuts (Continued on pasre 171) tion. (Continued on page 176) Page 170 IOWA CONSERVATIONIST
Iowa Conservationist Clayton County recei\"ed apprO\' THE lOWA CO-OPERATIVE al to acquire H 1 2 acrl s b\ 25- Vol 20 October 1961 No. 10 year license from the tT S Corps HUNTER SAFETY PROGRAM ot F.ngineers to he en lui \\'illie r uuaiShCd ty • by InC O:)lo;l{Q ~W.JU i v a• P aul I ... f'a\ erton lion Commission, East 7th a nd Couct, D<'s Landing bordering tht• .!\1ississippi. Momes, lowa. Address all mall (subscn p '-upt. l.u ntl :lhtnaA"t•nH•nt hons, chango of a ddress, Form 3579, manu· Greene County was given ap- scnpts, ma 1l items) to street address above. proval to accept, as a gift, 80 acres Realizing that Huntc1 Safety could play an important part in rna Subscnptlon price: two years a t $1.00 from :Miss Bm·dena Drulias to be hunting recre~tion mucr n :>re safe an? enjoyable, the Iowa .c?n Second class postage paid at k . All •., 0 . l \r·ea t10n Comm1sston adopted n Co-operative Hunter Safety tramtng Des Molnas Iowa llO\\ n as en r 1es J • • N . . · h th N t' R ·a I{ , k 1 c t ,. 1 ., 1 cr·es ad- 1 gmm m ovcmbcr 1960, m co-opemllon wrt e a tona1 .t c (No Rjghts Reservool co u < oun :\ . . .~ a , 1 • • f . . d bl' · t t 'I h lt Bti '"', the soe~atron o An ettc , volunteer organtzaLlons, an pu rc sp NORMA N A. ERBE, Governor JU<'l'll o •' an .t an c l"o c 011 . . . GLEN G POWERS. Dlt<'ctor bank of the Skunk River were ap- mdlvtduals m the State. . . . JAMES R. SHERMAN. Ed1tor DENNIS L. REHDER. Managmg Editor proved b) ~grPem ent with the Th.e p~1rpose \\as to . ~.ake Hunter Safety trammg avatlable to an\ ROGER FLIGER. CAROL BUCKMAN, Board of Rupervisors for a fi shing len ) ears of a~c or ~\ cr · . STAN WI NEY, Col J d1 and boating access. To a.ccomph~h thts Wlt~out adding any additional personnel MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION Sioux County was giwn apprm·- pi'Ogr~m was mtegrated mto the present Conservation Commi CL YDI ' .....,.lJDDEN < 1 no A. N... _;M IS:'ON, Vic., ..., ..a ...n a u ...... al tor a roadside park on an 11 orgamzatlon: ...... Cedar Ra pids act·c area at the junction of Ihgh- The Supermtendent of the Lan~ :\tanagement Section was destgn SHERRY R. FISHER ...... Des Moln<'s way o and 3, mile north of to act as Hunte1 Safety co-ordmntor for the state to head up EARL E JARVIS...... Wilton Junction 1 3 1 GEORGE H MEYER...... Elkader Alton. program in add it on t) his regular duties. ROBERT E. BEEBE...... SIOUX City Dubuque County: Permission An Exccuti\"e Committee was formed from members of sLx E'' • ~INHE 1 "'-1 F" Jl • .. •..... Fon tanell<' was grantld for a cquisition. by 25- s tate and na tiona! organizations, including the Conservation Com• CffiCULATION THIS ISSUE ...... 50,000 year license, from the Corps of :;ion aud the Xntional Rifle Association of America, to help fonnu Engineers, of a ll-acre area , .Mas- the policies fo1 · carrymg out the Hunter Snfety program in the stat COMMISSION MINUTES scy Landing abo\'e lock and dam The Conservation Officers have always conducted Hunter S f training as part of their public relations program. Also, many N Gen c.> ral 12 of the ~Iiss iss 1ppi. s Franklin County was given ap- Hifte Clubs and Sportsman Clubs were holding regular Hunter Travel authority was granted proval to accept, as a gift, a _ classes, but the progress was slow, the training v..·as limited, an Joe Brill, Prison Labor Supervisor, 6 to attend the 91st Annual Congress acre park area from Richard Gal- records w ere kept. . . . . vin of Sheffield. The area to be In order to make the trauung available to ever):one, It was ncce of Corrections at Columbus, Ohio, called Galvin Community Park. I to enlist volunteers and the support and co-operation of many organ September 24 through 29. Story County receiwd approval li_ons. To do this, the Conser\"~t.ion Officer was made the k~y m Glen Pov.ers, Director: Robert to establish a roadside park on hts te~· nt~ry for t~c resp~nstbthty of a Hunter Safety traming Buckley, Engineer in Charge of Highway 30, 31 2 miles cast of Ne- g1·am m h1s respe_cttve territory. . \Vaters, \Vm Rush. Coordinator of vada to be known as the Caviness The Conservat10n Officers were called m for a two day trru TIYEIG County Conservation, were gi'\'Cn Roadside Park. course, conducted by representath·es from the ~ational ~ifl.e A~ travel authority to represent the tion of America. Each Conservation Officer was now quahfied tot ~t BLAG State of Io\o,·a at the National I' h h and Game volunteer instmctors for Runlet Safety training. r I Boating Administrator's meeting Approval of an option to pur After their imtial training thl \ wen1 back to their respt in San Francisco, October 28 chase 28 acres of land to be in tenitories and with the aid of NRA Huntt.r Safet:v films and po t through November 1 • cluded as part of Elk Creek presented the program to set\ ice clubs and other groups emphas1 eA! the need for Hunter Safety training and telling how anyone County Con en a tion Boards Mars h De\•elopment in \\'orth a~ County. obtain this training Butler County rece1ved permis t q Approval of an option to pur Many local and state newspapers responded to th1s appeal and sion to purchase from the town of the public response has b~.:en gratifying Greene, a park area one block chase 41 acres of marshy land ad ~ Jommg Sweet Marsh Area in The program was under \\ ay by NO'\ ember 1, 1960 and \\1th ll long, one-half block wide border help of many organized NRA Rifle Clubs it got off to a running ' t ing the Shell Rock River down Bremer County for wildlife cover and fencing purposes. even though it was dunng the off-huntmg season stream from the dam and bridge By June 1. 1961, active training classes were started in thirh at Greene. Approval to cany out proceed ings with Federal Aid appraisals counties; 33 volunteer instructors had been trained and certified. an t Fayette County: Approval ":as of la nd for the proposed small lake 2,1-10 students had graduated from the Hunter Safety training c u • granted for the acquisition of 8.19 construction near Diagonal in The public response to the need of gun safety training has acres as an addition to Twin Ringgold County. wonderful Service clubs, sportsman clubs, schools, scouts, farm , Bridges Park on the Volga River Approval of a request for com ganizations, and man) others have co-oper a ted in furm~hmg place in the center of the county. pleting engineering studies for a meet and transportatiOn. ear Cherokee County Approval for proposed new small lake in Mon Each student upon graduation from the Hunter Safety trauun und bl general development plans of Lar roe Count} Preliminary topogra course 1s presented with an NRA Hunter Safety billfold-stze card an abunda son Pit Area, 111:.! acre park wtth phy data showed an excessive ra a ce1tificate of graduat10n from the Conser vat10n Commission. · Curab 9-acre pond, northeast of Aurelia. tio of watershed to impoundment We are pleased lo see that many schools arc including Huntt J lOd fr Jones County Approval for area. Safety trammg as pa1 t of theil school program :Most of these wtll bt J general development plan for the P ari{<, in Juniot High as an extra cuniculum ll ~ 1 development of Pictured Rocks It is planned to send a quarterly report of the mstructor's acli\M Jlteno:l Area Louis N euhrmg IS being trans ~ to each instructo1· and the gxecullve Comnnttee of the Iowa Huntt fiJrzutt Story County Approval for de fened from Dis t r 1 c t Umt 2, Parks, to Administrative Assist Safety Program. c th velopment plan for Caviness Road 11111 side Park ant of Parks in the Central Of- We feel that after this program is under way, il will imprO\'(; P 3 bla These projects are county con fice in Des ::vroincs. relations, relieve the Conservation Officers of some of their diftl( ul1lt 1t a!nut Joe Brtll is being transferred m law enforcement, as well as reduce the possibilities of huntf t ~ \\1 servation projects financed with 1 county funds from Supervisor of Pnson Labor casualties. d ..,. to Supen rsor of Distz ict 2. 'tet~s bl.' The Commission approved a 2.') The public appears to be pleased with this much needed saft l) pro I 11t '!I year agreement for maintenance Next Commisswn meeting will gram \\hich is an mdtcallon that 1t \\ 1ll conlmue to play an m portllf n • and management of Pictured Rocks be October 4. at Lansing. part in the Conservation program in Iowa. bIll oiJei Area, a fishing access area with l ranCh 60 acres for park purposes. The horns of the male buffalo Canad1 ; At the time the white man set Slave Lake in Northwest 4 Approval was given for the ac appear within two months after foot on the eastern shores of what He was also found in smaller nunb 'P "c~ to qmsttion by Clay County Conser birth as twin bumps on the fore is nO\\" the Umted Slates the buf bers in cen tl a! Geor gia and nort I lllou head . vation Board of Oneota Park; 8 falo, perhaps more than 60 m1ll1on ern Florida. t IS fo acres donated to them by the Clay head, roamed over the country. -- - ~ Its Ill County Garden Club. Park with Badgers, like some other wild The buffalo is the most breglll lr ~r , log cabin animals, sometimes kill more than The ot iginal range of the buffalo ious of all th~ wild cattle Co~ v ee ha! Linn County was given approval they can eat at once. They bury was from western Pennsylvania to and bulls graze together throu~ ) !bat is · s!Z g at ' to purchase 100.51 acres a s part of the s urplus food and return to it southern Idaho, from the Pecos out the year. Bands vary m "lll!J 1oar ~~~ \Vickiup Hill Ccmservat10n Area later when other food is scarce or Ri\er to the Blue Mountains of from small gt oups of stx ar d tl. ~' ~terr of which 77 acres are now own<'d. impossible to catch. Oregon and on north to Great to herds of a hundred or Jlll}lt: lr 13 21 tn to 23 l IO W A CO NSERVATI ONIST Page 171 ------~- H arve ting W ild F oods- berry, sassafras, Used as a sub are readily available to the un ,,_,.,,. I (Continued from page 1691 stitute for tea Some of these trained. ~:IIlii !{~~f./~>A "!s.-.t::D The pollen is used for fl our in pan- plants are used as medicinal teas. Horse chestnut or buckeye: Chil - ~,...-! cak e batter. Kentucky coffee tree When the dren should never bite into them, May apple: Good raw for pre seed is roasted and ground, it's they cause vet tigo and coma. serves or jelly only when the apple used as a coffee substitute Castor bean Seeds are poison 1s fully ripe. There are many other plants ous and have been known to cause Ground cherry: Eat raw or cook that are edible: such as many types death. with lemon. of mushrooms, eaten by early man Cherry-plum and peach leaves: Service berry or Sad bush: Usc If a person knows the mushrooms No one should attempt to make tea like blueberries in his area. he may eat them out of the leaves of these trees. Mulberry and Choke Cherry: eight months during the year As soon as the leaves wilt they Use raw or cooked. Again a word of caution. thete are develop hydrocyanic acid. Wild blackberry: Use raw or some deadly poisonous mushrooms Another that should be avoided cook ed into jam and Jelly. Il is that can be confused with the ed is any plant belongmg to the wild also used in wines. tble ones. canot family They have dtssected Nannyberry: Use this berry raw. A person must 1·emember when lacy leaves and small white or yel Hawthorne: Use raw The jtnci gathering plants or mushrooms for low flowers in umbrella-like clus el't haws make good jelly. food, he must have a workable ters. A good example of this fam Pawpaw. Use raw. it's best when knowledge of them so as not to ily is Queen Anne's lace. Two frost bitten. cause harm to himself. Every members of this family are deadly Beechnut hazelnut, chestnut. year there are some deaths or sick poison poison hemlock and water butternut, walnut, hickory nut: ness caused by acctdental eating hemlock. These nuts are used in variou!' of the wrong plants especially It may seem that the fall food ways; ra\v, boiled and roasted, n mong children. harvest is not much fun due to all while some are dried and crushed A good example of this is the the words of caution. You can still to make meal for bread. cakes or .hmson weed. The whole plant is go out and find pumpkin, water mush. poisonous. Attracted to the pretty melons, butternuts, walnuts and Staghorn sumac When the red flowers and the spiny thorn apple hickory nuts. Above all just be berries are crushed and mixed with seed, children often suck on the sure and use any excuse for getting trumpet shaped flower or the seeds. out in our fall timbers and river J <~ Klrat
ti' Tr: BLACK WALNUT CORRECTIO I • essor George B. H a rtman The coot limit this season is a ~ch oo l o f For estry bag of six and a possession limit Iow n ..,tn t e U nh:e r ..., lt) of six. The J ack Snipe season will native American hardwoods run from October 15 to November >layed a greater part in the 13. both dates inclusive These pment of central United points were incorrectly stated in than the black walnut (Jug- some issues of last month's Co'\· - igia Linn.) Six species of SERV .\.TIOXIST. • are native to the United • but only two of them, the 3 inches long. Leaflets are yell0\'1.· • walnut ana the butternut ish green, tapered at the end ann · much Importance as pro have edges which are toothed. • of lumber. Both of these The fruit is familiar to most • ; are native to Io,va. Of the Iowans for there are few who have lack walnut far outshines tts not spent time during childhood L tree, the butternut. hunting walnuts. Il is a large, ·n the settlers moved wesl rounded, brownish- to-black nut g t n the early and middle 1800's with a thick. hard, finely ndged found black walnut trees shell containing an oily kernel ' • 1g abundantly. Because of its which is rich and edible. The nul · : t h, durability, and beautiful itself is encased in a solid, semi wood from this tree was fleshy, yellowish-green husk. · for log cabin construction, The bark is dark brown to g ray 1 tg timbers for homes and ish black, divided by rather deep r j interior finish for homes, furrows into thin ndges which ndll Jr furniture. Much antique are so sha ped as to give a dia I Ire on the market today is mon-shaped pattern to the trunk o from black walnut lumber. bark. ·k walnut is a large stra1ght Iowa black walnut is in high • · tree with an open crown demand because of its exceptiOnal l;)v found growing mixed with ly high quality. It is generally h • trees in the woodlands of agreed that the corn belt of the \V When grown ou ts1de the 1 central states produces the htgh •r·· or in openings it has a short est quality walnut in the country ~ branches low and has a Both veneer and lumber manu · preading crown. He1ght var- facturers have scouting crews and >m 40 to 75 feet. It prefers buyers scouring the state for wal e rich, mo1st but well-drained nut trees. The heartwood of the ill ence is found growmg along black walnut is a chocolate brown U 1lands, in coves and on the in color while the sapwood is a WI parts of slopes. creamy white. It is used exten rif tree has large compound sively for gunstocks, furniture, E'i\ · • that is, there are leaflets face veneer, cabinet work and ~ 1g at right angles to the finish lumber . From the stand m 11~ leaf stem. The leaves are point of monetary value, black ,·s ~ro '- l2 to 24 inches long and have walnut probably is the state'~; Ja~k Klnteln Photo• sL' to' 13 to 23 leaflets each 2% to number one forest tree. Milkweed j;ldt rberry i 0 Page 17?. IOWA CONSERVATIONIST
Notice the different levels as the archaeologists carriully work their way across the campsit e be· Here the work ts more advanced as they carefully work at 11 fore they begin to study certain sect ions This is a sit e tha t was located near Fort Dodge leve ls sifting a nd labelling all the material they find in this aru
Some of the a ncient pottery that was found . The Humboldt sit e mentioned In the The soft brush is used t o brush away debris without scraping story contained no pottery. facts as might be the case if a shovel or trowel were used.
I
( '
Some of the arttfacts found were: Top row, .awl and scraper; • filii· bottom row, sp ea,..head, and two ;orrowheads. Signs of an ancient hunt are the bison tooth A finished product! Th e pieces of thts vessel wcJe tel and knife found at the campsite. The bison was get her like a jigsaw puzzle . The white area Is Pas one of the c hief sources of food, Implements, was used to fill the area left by missing pieces PHOTO F EATURJo' BY JIM SHE RMAN clothln and shelter for the early Indian. IO W A CONSERVATIONIST Page 173
mind a bit when Newt pointed a PICNIC? ANY TIME!! stick at them and made sounds • tan \ Vidney• hke a rifle shot. When it comes to throwing a Now and then I watched Becky picnic or weine1 roast my cousin at the "box" as she transferred Newt's \\.'ife Rebecca, just can't partially cooked frying chtcken be beat \\'hether it's a family re from a big kettle to a huge frymg union 01 bet Sunday school class pan on the camp stove which was she's always ready to go in an already giving off crackles and hour's time and she can get 1 eady odors that made my mouth water. just as quick for a two week's That box! Newt had spent a <'amping trip whole winter btuldmg it according Take last Sunday morning for to Becky's specifications. It was mstance. It turned off mild and three feet high, four feet wtde and <·lear by the time church was out 18 inches deep with a front panel nnd my wife said. "0 dear. It's too that let do\\ n lo form a table It nice to go home and cook a Sun fit just r1ght on the tailgate of the day dinner." wagon, or could be lifted off and That was all it took. Becky placed on a picnic table When fairly beamed "You're tellin' me'" necessary, legs could be bolted on she said. "I'll have Newt load the in a Jiffy box in the station wagon while It was tilled with drawers and I'm throwing some things in the compartmt'nts that contained ev kettle " erything ft om a first aid kit to all "Nov. Becky," said my v.'ife, like the condiments a good cook could she always does. "You're not going evet· use Becky always says, "Pan to do it all again." dora ne-.et had it so good." She Becky shook her head and waved says that box holds enough to feed both hands in front of her. "Land a family of four tv.. ·o days on a J I"!\ ' nst a kin!J work is exemplifi ed by this photo!J ra pher a s he records the locat ion sakes• No trouble at all. If you camping trip. I a mera, showln!J the d irect ion, a nd labe llin!J that particula r section of the di!J want you can chip m and pay for In no time at all we were stt the chirken and such, but I want ling down to a meal that left us lOWA 'S ANCIENT HUNTERS to gel going. This air is ambrosia, too full to do anything but toss a put·e ambrosia!" Becky always line out into the Des Momes River Roger Fliger ceded from the state. The camp and lie clown on the bank and let location is on an alluvial or flood says that and my wife replies. x ring ancient Indian camp one of the kids watch 1t. plain, in soil that was la1d down "Well, 1f you're sure you won't go unique among the many The shadows lengthened and the by the East Des Moines River This to any extra bother " "Oh undertaken by county con chill of October crept into our soil covers the glacier carried rocks phooey," says Becky, "You know n boards. Under the super bones. Becky whistled the kids in that are found in the creek beds me Bul you can make some of >f the Iowa Archeological wb1le Newt and I loaded the "box" and along the top of the 11dge to the woncletful potato salad if you the State University of back mto his wagon a surpnsmg the north. The many small brok want. Dear." nd the Humboldt County ly easy task even when full. it was en stones in the field tell us that That's the way it starts. most ·vation Board, a highly so well orgamzed they were carried by these people cv<.'ry time \\'e agree on the pic team of at cheologists have On the way home my wife said, to line their campfires, lodges and nic ground usually the nearest over 120 sites m Humboldt state park with a lake 01 stream as she always does, "That Becky! perhaps to grind vegetable mate bster Counties. These sites You just can't beat her tor know nals. "No fishing before we eat!" Becky ~ ·rom a few flint (shrub> says ing how to spend a perfect Sunday Lift> Of The P ony C'rt>t'l(-. 1 spectacular mounds. One This time, since it was the mid afternoon! ' • 1s over 800 feet long Early Archaic people lived by dle of October and the first frost I thought of all the other areas are bemg excavated hunting, but they added fishing and had hit our area a couple of nights "Beckys" we had seen that day at State University of Iowa plant gathering to insure a better before w c chose the Ledges State the Ledges. and all of those who >ne "dig" or excavat10n stte hvmg standard. These people wert' P