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>r r. lS ae Volume 9 NOVEMBER 15, 1950 Number 11 l · !.h rs ,, e. ?r INCREDIBLE ''BROTHER 'POSSUM , * * * * * * * * * UGLY ACTING I. By James N elson Gowa nJoch C h ie f Biologis t, Louf'! innn D e par t ­ of SNAKES m e nt of \Vild Life n nd F is h eries ut m ,e B y K enneth D. Carla nde r a nd Subject of this article is the most Robert B. 1\loorman b· fantastic, most amusing, most ds I owa S tnte Colle g e misunderstood of all native mam­ by mals of the United States, the opossum. ~d Probably more tall stories are ys told about the hog-nosed snakes T he opossum, one of the few to and the water snakes than any American mammals that ever con­ other harmless kinds. They act tributed a universally used phrase and look more dangerous than the to the English speaking world, poisonous species. "playing 'possum," has entered H og-nosed snakes when cor­ into the folklore, the legend and nered or startled will coil and then the literature of the United expand and flatten the head and States. • • * '!II neck to twice their normal width The life history of the opossum in a fashion suggesting a cobra. has only recently, in some of its be Meanwhile, air is expelled f rom most significant chapters, become b· the inflated body in short violent known. hisses which may easily be con­ Young opossums are born in a - fused with the rattling of a rattle­ virtually embryonic condition, only ae snake. If a person approaches an astounding 12 to 13 days after 181 they will viciously strike-usually mating. :or with a closed mouth. Because of Newborn opossums are actually nd their aggressive habits, hog-nosed less than two-thirds the size of a This mother opossum, when found, was providing t ransport ation facilities for 31 young. snakes are often called puffing ad­ Twenty-one we re riding on her back a nd 10 tiny hairless newborn we re In her pouch. honey bee, and a honey bee is only ders, spreading adders, or blow At least nine of the five·week·old hitc:h·hlkers belonged to some other mother opossum . one-half inch in length. The illus­ snakes. Dr. Ditmars, who has ob­ tration shows, in the scale indi­ served most of the dangerous cated, this comparison. Stated m snakes of the world, states th at another way, four thousand three none of them appear more dan­ Keep Your Head Down In Shooting hundred and twenty newborn opos­ gerous than the hog-nosed snakes. sums (this is spelled out to pre­ And yet it is all bluff. Only rarely is one of the cardinal rules in good clude any idea that the figure is a will a puffing adder bite, and even The difference between a h it and shooting, and its strict observance misprint) are required to weigh then there is no poison or other a miss in wing-shooting often lies must be practiced if the charge of one pound. An opossum may bear danger. in that ver y slight distance be­ shot is to strike the object at 20 young. The mother opposum This pugnacious show is only tween the shooter's cheek and the which the shooter thinks he is can only provide da ir} facilities part of the snake's protective re­ stock of his gun. poin ting. for 12. Excess individuals are sponse. I f the intruder is not There should be no distance at Most gunners realize immedi­ simply surplus crop. They have no driven off or if a person tries to all between the cheek and the ately upon touching off the trig­ social security cards. They die. stock. The expert wing-shot kill the "dangerous" snak e with a ger whether or not the gun was Most astonishing in opossums' makes sure that the gun stock is stick or stone, the snake begins properly pointed. In trap shoot­ life history is tha t when born, against his cheek before he pulls to writhe and twist in realistic ing a few sketchy breaks will warn they are provided with usefully the trigger. This, with practice, death agonies The mouth is held the shooter that he is not holding vigorous front legs a nd highly de­ becomes an instmctive movement wide open and the tongue is per­ right and that he is "scratchm' veloped apparat us for smell. that is one of the prime essentials mitted to trail "lifeless" in the 'em down" with the edge of his Otherwis e they look like no reason­ in good shooting. Raising the dirt and sand. I n a last convulsion pattern. The fellow who shoots able or accepta ble offspring of stock to the cheek allows the the snak e turns on its back and with both eyes open (and this is anything. These trivial c reatures shooter to quickly gain a true then lies motionless, belly up, with the proper method) is more apt to immedia t ely proceed to migrate "sight-picture" and helps him to the mouth open and the tongue raise his head a bit and shoot high under their own power into their refrain from making the all-too­ drooping. The snake can then be than the chap who closes one eye, mother's pouch, where they nurse common error of raising his bead picked up and will show no breath­ for the latter is more inclined to and grow. Speed of growth is JUst before firin~. ing or other movement. Usually "sight" his shotgun rather than prodigious, 1n the first seven da ys it will be tossed off into the bushes Raising the head causes the "point" it. one thousand per cent Milk-fed where it can make its getaway. gunner to shoot high, the most To get a proper "sight-picture" for two months, they begin to peer If left to lie for awhile, it will wait common fault among shotgun in using a shotgun, the gun should inquis itively out of their pouch (Continued on page 86) shooters. "Keep your head down" t Conhnued on pa2e 87) j Cont inued on page R4 ) Page 82 IOWA CONSERVATIONIST - Iowa Conservationist nuts each weekend. During the Published Monthly By The fall of 1946, the dealer in Walnut IOWA CONSERVATION COMMISSION Grove bought for us over 500,000 914 G10nd Avenue Des Moines. Iowa pounds of walnuts. paying the (No Rights Reserved) farmers in his area some $15,000 . • This is a good income from one WM. S. BEARDSLEY . Governor of Iowa '11 small area. BRUCE F. STILES. Director I. es t JAMES R. HARLAN. Editor Mtssouri is by far the biggest LOIS RECKNOR. Ac:sociate Editor tra' walnut-producing s tate in the ca­ rts MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION lion, the heaviest producing area Srnl E n~ "" d bcmg within a hundred-mile radius E. c ~"'v" ~ " ...... • ...... _a ___ ,r.. q roa1 ARTHUR C. GINGERICH ...... Wellman of Springfield. Jt!i F. j. POYNEE:R ...... Cedar Rapid s I ,.. J. D. REYNOLDS...... C reston Walnut kernels a re rich in pro­ 225 C. A . DINGES...... Emmetsburg tem one pound having as much 'I MR S. DAVID S KRU IDENIER .. Des Moines protem as .five to six pounds of hlb' beef Ordinarily native black wal­ CffiCULATION THIS ISSUE 43.000 ani nuts will produce from 12 to 15 t i I I II a b<> \\1d po ,, omC"o at i.les Moine , •owa, ::.epiE"ml:>or pounds of k ernels per 100 pounds otti 22, 1!147 und r • · ' ~ ·~r~h ~4 . 19 12. of hulled nuts. Subscription ralo per yE"ar 3 years for S 1.00 Grafted name-variety nuts will ~~J Subs rlphon n ·ervation produce from 25 to 35 per cent 1 ~_,· Commission, «}14 -·-.. - ~ · .ue, DE"s MolnC's, Iowa Sond cash, check or money kernels. I planted 12 in 1943 that len1 order. at present a re cot 30 feet tall but 65t are bearing large crops of nuts tie LAKE NAMES SHOULD each year. They respond richly to manuring and cultivation. I firmly REFLECT CHARACTER l believe that ten years from now Says Bill Jarmgan able and my walnut orchard will produce \" tdely !mown editor of the Storm ~ ' • more money per year than a same Lake Pilot-Tribune, in his Old I s1ze orchard of apples or peaches. T imer's column in the Trib: And it 1s much less expensive to "Bro Knudson of the Emmets- Walnut trees mar bear abund antly In from seven to eight years, and the nuts are c; ear profit just f or plc;klng them up and hulling them. maintain Walnut trees planted in ten burg Democrat is worried. He . ~ . . a pasture do not impede the grass. can't get folks to call their lake In fact, wherever you see black 'Five Island Lake,' although the produce and feed dealer in MIS­ WALNUTS-BLACK walnut trees, there is a fine blue ~~pup name was changed from 'Medium souri to buymg them That v.inter GOLD of '41 was the first time there had grass for the tree doesn't shade :n Lake' some five years ago heavily and the outer bulls of the "The depth of indignity was ever been an unlimited, guaranteed c r~ B y Merrill V. ipp<>, Walnut market for black walnuts We got nuts serve as soil feeders. see reached when an Iowa newspaper A warning to farmers who plant referred to tt as 'Five Fingered Dealer \.g-<' n t over four million pounds that sea­ tau son Shells were shipped to a plant walnut trees k eep stock away the Lake' (From an utlcle m the Missouri Con!'i~rvationist) m Chicago. We sold the kernels as from them until the trees are 'way nai "Wouldn't lose too much sleep up there. Livestock eat the fohage over tt, though, Bro Knudson. our profit. reft Walnut kernels, picked out by like nobody's business con Old Timer has believed for years band, were for many years a small The business was con tinued and There is absolutely an unlimited that the name 'Storm' prefixed to source of income to Ozark farm- has grown until now, in a good of 1 market now for all the black erg our beautiful lake is a disadvan­ ers Some sold their own kernels; year we buy 12,000 000 pounds of walnuts farmers have or can find tage. Creates the impression others sold to produce dealers who black walnuts. More recently taa anywhere. The nuts are clear lllg among strangers that we are a in turn sold to nut brokers in cities. other plants have sprung up, one profit just for picking them up and stormy community, whereas noth­ Many small operators, produce ~t Stockton, 11o and another at 1 hulling them A quick easy way to tru ing could be farther from the dealers usually, would sell walnuts Sulphur Sprmgs Ark Each of hull them is with a home-made truth' in the hull to farmers and buy them bought over a half-million Wa t rough installed under a jacked lllOI "Storm Lake has one distinction back the kernels, setting a price pounds of walnuts last year. up rear wheel of a car. at that. It's the only post office so that women and children or Farmers are becoming more a nd hi"'~ Black walnuts can be a milhon­ fan by that name in the world " shut-ins in the home could make a more conscious that this is a sure dollar industry m the Ozarks What Bro. Jarnigan may not dollar or so a day. This grew cash crop for them a nd a re gather­ We're already more than halfway • know is that we have a spectal into a sizeable business until, in mg more walnuts every year Last there reason here in Emmetsburg for 1941, a walnut kernel dealer in year (1949) they got from $3 t o wanting the whole world and the Fordland, Mo., handled more than $3 50 a hundred pounds for them as Slate of Iowa in particular to call 500,000 pounds of kernels, buymg compared to slightly over $1 a FISH FOODS UTILIZED IN our lake by Its official name. Of from other dealers as well as from hundred in 1941. THE DES MOINES RIVER our five islands, No. 1, right here farmers As walnut kernels were pro- DRAINAGE in the lower lake, is badly in need About this time things h ap- duced in larger quantities, new A study of foods consumed by of some fixing up, and as our lake pened The food and drug depart- uses for them have been found. 930 fish representing 23 species Is a slate lake this crumbling ment started cracking down on Main outlets today are io lhe from the Des Moines River water­ mound is in the custody of the home-cracked walnut kernels due bakery, Ice cream a nd candy indus­ shed has been presented. For the state to the danger of spreading dtsease. tries. In our factory at Gravette. sal{e of simplicity, the foods uti­ Now if the state doesn't do some­ The wage act was passed requir- we can crack 100.000 pounds of lized by the various fishes have thing about this, someday It's not ing processors to pay a minimum black walnuts, and clean, past eur­ been grouped into five major calc­ going to be Five Island Lake any wage, thus complicating further 1ze and ship 12.500 pounds of ket­ got ies: fish, insects, invertebrates more, but Four Island Lake. Hence the walnut business It was along nels in a two-shift day other than insects. plants. and or­ the emphasis on the name See about this time, too, that we went l The forestry division of the Con­ game material A diversity of fi sh, how crafty we're getting? to war and needed black \\'alnut • servation CommiSSIOD and the Col­ insects, and plants constitutes the That "Finger" business, as Bro. shells for gas mask filters. lege of Agriculture of the Uni- bulk of the dtet of all fish. The Jarnigan surmises, really is in­ I came here from Philadelphta versity are urging farmers not to data show that all fish are in d1rect sulting. Anybody knows fixing up about the time the war started to sell their immature walnut trees competition for the same foods, a finger is a small fry repair job get walnut shells for makmg acti- for logs since, over a penod of a and this competition bas very little compared to rebuildmg an island. vated charcoal to be used as filters few years, they are worth far more regard for stze of fish. For ex­ - Emmetsburg Democrat. io gas masks. Lined up with a nut for the nuts they bear. They are ample, adult buffalo, carp, suckers, processor at Gravette, Ark., who good income possibililles to indi­ and quillback are using the same The female meadow mouse may said he would process all I could vidual farmers I koov. of one food as young fish, whereas the prod\tcc n ~ high as 17 litters during food of adult game fish is also o. year. 'l'he young female may mate buy or ship to him, I pegged the farmer living near Walnut Grove, when Jess than four weeks old. price at $1 .25 to $1.35 per hundred Mo , who sold more than $750 being utilized by stonecats, bull­ pounds for hulled, dry, sacked worth in one season, bringing in heads, and carp.-Briefs, July Biol­ The average cottontail rabbit lives ogy Seminar. less than one year. black walnuts and started every from 500 to 2,000 pounds of wal- IOWA CONSERVATIONIST Page 83

te QUARTER OF A MILLION VISIT TRAVELING EXHIBIT IN 1950 DR. ADA HAYDEN, 1884-1950 lt By Mrs. Addison Parker 10 By George W. ·worley The recent death of Dr. Ada te Hayden, research assistant profes­ 0 Superinten dent of Public Relation ~ sor of botany and plant pathology te of Iowa State College, brings a The btg semi-trailer which hous­ real sense of loss to faculty, stu­ es the ConservatiOn Commission's st dents and friends to whom she en­ traveling wildlife exh1bit finished l· deared herself in her long career 1ts 1950 schedule on October 18. of teaching and research. She ex­ !a Since Apr1l It bas been on the lS pressed loyal friendship, unswerv­ road almost constantly, exhibiting ing honesty of purpose, calm and its load of live animals to nearly quiet judgment, genial kindliness 0· 225,000 Iowans. and humor, and devotion to the :h The first appearance of the ex­ duties of her profession. By her )f hibit in 1950 was at the Sports fidelity, personal character and .J. and Vacation Show in Des Moines professional ability she made a l5 with an attendance of about 30,000. valuable contribution to botanical js During summer vacation months literature and to the development the exhibit set up at 27 county of research in her own field, and to ill fairs and other gatherings. About conservation through her studies nt 127,000 youngsters and adults at­ for the Iowa Cooperative Wildlife at tended these public showings. Over Research Unit. ut 65,000 school children in 16 coun­ These included studies of the ts ties saw the exhibit this year. distribution and ecology of plants to Five add1t10nal educational shows in the waterfowl breeding areas of ly attracted over 4,000 visitors. 1 Iowa, Round Lake, Ruthven, Virgin ~ A special effort is made to make J ttDII:!rW&A ~ Lake, Ingham Lake, Rush Lake, ce the traveling exhibit interesting At each school state conservation oflicers guide groups of pupils past the cages and etc. ae tanks. Here Roy Downing, exhibit supe rvisor, Is explaining the habits a nd im portance and educational to school children. of our wildlife to a group of youngsters. As a member of the Ecological ~. About two weeks before the ex­ • • • • • • • * * • • Union and of The Grasslands Asso­ to hibit appears, special printed ma­ The purpose of the exhibit is "We cannot continue to waste ciation, Dr. Hayden was devoted m terials are distributed to teachers summed up in a quotation from our God-given soil, water, forests, to the preservation of native prai­ ;s. and pupils. These materials are the exhibit bulletin, "A Peek at mmerals, and wildlife as we have rie areas. She was a member of ck used by teachers to prepare their Iowa Wildlife": during the past hundred years. If the committee which made a prai­ ue pupils for the exhibit. Interest "The State Conservation Com- we do we cannot remain a healthy, rie survey of the state to ascertain de in the coming attraction is in­ mission's traveling wildlife exhibit prosperous people. the location of unplowed virgin he creased. Pupils look forward to is designed to interest school chil- "C oN S E R VA T I 0 N CAN'T grasslands, and to urge their pres­ seeing the animals they have dren and other citizens of Iowa in WAIT!" ervation. .nt talked about and studied. After the welfare of native wildlife. It seems particularly fitting that BY the exhibit moves on, printed mate­ "Wise use of soil, water, and NEW WINCHESTER HAND­ one of the state prairie areas 3-Y rials may be used for review and plant life is necessary if wildlife BOOK should now be named in honor of ge reference. At each school state is to prosper. The same wise use Dr. Hayden, to perpetuate her conservation officers guide groups of soil, water, and plant life is The 1950 edition of the "Win­ memory and to give recognition to ed of pupils past the cages and tanks, necessary if PEOPLE are to pros- chester Handbook" contains 112 her notable contribution to re­ ck explaining the habits and impor­ per. pages of shooters' information. search in conservation. The 160- .nd tance of our wildlife and answer­ "When all Iowans understand Among the many new features is acre native prairie in Howard a range table for all Winchester !af ing questions. this basic conservation fact, they County, nine miles west of Cresco, center fire cartridges, a table of .nd The big blue and white exhibit will demand more conservation will now be called the Ada Hayden wind allowances, and a table of to truck with its "ConservatiOn Can't activity from state, federal, and Prairie. tde Wait" motto 1S becoming more and private agencies and will also be cartridges interchangeable a n d ted more familiar to Iowans on the better prepared to give these agen­ adapted to the same gun. The highways and at their schools and cies the cooperation and help they handbook explains in simple lan­ The earthworm caught by the early fairs. must have. guage the mysteries of shot string, bird is no early worm but one that on· stayed out too late, for earthworms }ts barrel length, pattern, powder, ve­ • • • • • • • • locity, trajectory, killing power, are nocturnal animals, emerging only ra\' • "' * "' at night and retreating underground range of bullet types, and a host In the morning. of other subjects. The new booklet is free on request from Winchester l Repeating Arms Company, New The average weight of cock pheas­ ants shot durin~ the fall season is 2 Haven, Connecticut. pounds, 13 ounces.

b)' "JOE BEAVER" :ie5 ANIMALS AND BIRDS OFTEN w· AID SEED GERMINATION ~-----~ the Although some small animals uti· and birds eat so many tree seeds a,·e that forestry reseeding is difficult in many areas, it is also known ~te- tte: that a great many birds and ani­ or· mals aid reforestation by the pass- isb age of seeds through their di­ tlle gestive tracts, the U. S. Fish and rf}!e Wildlife Service reports. rect Many hard-coated seeds are OdS I scanfied by stomach or gizzard 1tue I action, and germination is better e.~· as a result of passing through the :ers. ammals than it would be without. -.-. ... ¢e The birds and animals also aid in - tlle making a wide distribution of alSO seeds, and the fertilizer provided Jim Sh~nnan Photo in the scats themselves aids the ... ,uJI· The Cons~rvatlon Commission's traveling wildlife exhibit Is deslgMd to l nt ~ res t school growth of germinating seeds. .. Teal.• oil ol.ot h•• ,. ,·, rtd cop·- I Wo-w oo ,., .Lot- """'•d.ot•lr?·• 1iol· chll d r~n and other cltbens of Iowa In th~ welfare of native wildlife. I Page 84 IOWA CONSERVAT I ONIST - 'Possum identification of shed hair of the • • • predator (scientifically quite pre­ (Continued from page M) apartment in four weeks. venture cise microscopically) is 1t possible to emerge and walk at five weeks. to name the true culprit. Etght weeks old. they embark I However, the extraordinarily upon then· own md1v1dual careers. distinctive fore-footprint of the Extraordinary fact is that during opossum will instantly mark it off the inlet val they cling to their from such other ratders as mink, mother's back and are thus trans­ skunk and raccoon The long fore ported about, she often has her toes w 1th their bird-like imprint~ pouch again filled with an addi­ are unmistakable. tional ne\•:born fam1ly. Opossums Herewith, therefore, briefly pre­ breed when one year old, may live sented is this account of some at­ e1ght.. "' I trtbutes of the fantastic and The best founded of all legends legendary "Brother 'Possum," who c-oncermng "Brother 'Possum" is in the children's tales was always that embedded in the children's gettmg mto difficulties and who tales where he is always getting should deservedly, the writer be­ mto trouble. heves, get mto still a great deal more t rouble, long earned, long Par The opossum IS our stupidest dur overdue Louisiana Consen:ation­ mammal Unpet turbably, be am­ rst bles anywhere, at any lime, under I 11 II C n 'I"' U ,tr ' any circumstances into possible Compar at ive size of honey bee and newborn opos.s um. Fou~ thousand three hundred and disaster The crushed anatomies of twenty newborn oposs ums are requ~r ed to w e1gh one pound. RAW FUR PRICES UP definitely deceased opossums pro­ * • • * could devise a method of preparing of our wtld mammals. most tol­ Raw fur prices at current fur vide familiar spectacles on every an opossum that would eliminate etant of man It wtll \\'Jlhout hest­ auctions are decidedly higher than h1ghway last year Pr1ces on long-haired gourmet cnticisms, but people who tattoo move mto the alttc o~ a The legend of the opossum like opossum like opossum, and to home whenever 1t can and f1 om fur, including skunk, fox, raccoon J "playmg 'possum" is biologically them such a rigamarole of tech- such a base of operatiOns raid hen and opossum have been extremely sound. The opossum, profoundly low the past several years. and m nique is superfluous and such a fin- houses, frmt trees, and ~reen cor~ ~J 1949 fur buyers were reluctant to alarmed, simply shams death Th1s icky connoisseur attitude equally and cause heavy contmuous d1 U! purchase some of the cheaper furs s1mulal!on of death is matched by superfluous, as stupid as the opos- verse damage with an obhgato of std at any price. As a result, trappers many insects and, among the rep­ ·t If mysterious racket above the bed- "il sumise . have not been harvesting the sur­ tiles, by the hat mless hog-nosed The opossum, despite popular room ceiling It enters w1t??ut mo plus ammals and some spec1es, snake, the tradtUonally deadly opinion, is of little importance as hes1tatwn the limits of large c1t1es I par ticularly raccoon, have become "spreading adder." When in peril, a fur ammal. The fur, tmUally It hves on everythmg ftom .quad wll extr emely abundant. att the opossum, with superb actor­ charming in appearance, is not eggs lo curbstde garbage w~1ch It ship, plays dead Eyes tightly durable The writet, who has made expertly uncans, thus quahf!mg as Current increases in the value of flo shut, 1l opens its mouth, rolls out an extens1ve study of the "guard a number one truly ommvorous long-hatred fur are expected to is stimulate trapping th1s year, and Xo its tongue, becomes completely hairs," the outer bau·s of fur am- member of t~e w1ldhfe tnbe limp and if lifted immediately it is believed by some buyers that mals, found that these guard hairs Country based,. It voracJ~usly eats fo~ falls, instantly and similarly limp in the opossum are extremely mice, frogs, btrds, bernes, nuts, fashion 1s beginning to dictate the tlu use of long-haired fur m higher ( again This counterfeit of death fragJ!e Opossum has been largely fish, persimmons, and about any­ priced garments. 1t will enact for a long period of used as a trim for cloth coats, thing else except the mmeral kmg- Ioo time. In addition to better pnces for fi\, smce worked up as a smgle mate- dom. ~ ~ . . . the Various explanations have been rial in a complete garment it has Difficulties of esta~hshmg pre- long-haired fur, muskrat, beaver, I given. Some believe this strange n ever proven satisfactory. cise cause of game btrd nest de- mink and weasel are also showing bit cham of events is the automatic The part that the opossum plays struction are. considerable and increased values ID the fur mar­ occ to result of shock. To this explana­ m the wJ!dlife pattern is, in the make accomphshment ~f accurate kets tion the writer from personal ob­ belief of the writer, a bad one. statistical studies only mfrequenl­ see servation cannot subscribe, smce it The opossum is without doubt one ly attainable. Often only by the SpJ seems all too apparent that Pleasant Valley, Iowa su October 13, 1950 "Brother 'Possum" knows exactly * • * ti\ what is going on, and although his l Editor "Iowa Conservationist" car eyes may seem lo be closed, he State Conservation CommissiOn the has at least raised his eyelashes Des Moines, Iowa Th1 sufficiently to see who is where Dear S1r as SctenUfic evaluations of death About May 15, 1915, my son, s!e~ shamming as a protect ive mechan­ es hired man and myself were shin­ gra ISm are stlll far from acceptable, gling a large cattle shed. About 9 rea but it does seem apparent that in o'clock in the morning a ruffed thr some fashion this pecuhar be­ grouse, or \voods pheasant, alighted Hi) havior contnbutes to the survival on the roof, and my son, w1th a nes .,...)- -(' of the opossum through the fifty 0 ~· .1 little coaxing, picked her up and 'J odd million years that il has ex­ put her in a cage. We let her. go '1\'h Isted in the presence of effic1ent m the evening and next mormng ~·~ she was back agam, and again we and hungry enemies .. tu1 Opossums as pets are objection­ picked her up and released her. lllt~ able. They are stupid and they I think the constant pounding of the stink, not the clean aroma of the the three hammers was to the Inti skunk, but a perfume purely remi­ pheasant like the dr ummmg of a car niscent of a busted garbage can. cock on an old log. This was the Sbo Opossums are greally enJoyed I last pheasant seen in this par t of the by many people as food Their • P leasant Valley Township. fly flesh resembles that of pork more Years ago when I was 12 years ~ closely than of any other domestic -.... of age (I am now 82 years young), the meat. The flesh is much too fat for my brother and I spent many era many palates. It may be pomted weeks in the virgin forest north of ers out in the light of our present de- I our home It was then we often lta, layed global peace that the fat of would see a cock g rouse drumming inC) one opossum can provide enough on old logs. acr explosives to fire five 37-milhmeter Yours t ruly, fan shells. Presumably an expert chef F F SCHUTTER \\' IOWA CO NSERVATIONIST Page 85

ne potshot. He picked up his ducks ed for that end of the outlet for e­ a nd fled. the next two hours, and we're tell­ •le Behind he left frightened ducks ing you those of us out in the boats leaving the lake in droves and a didn't get one shot in all of that ly bunch of enraged hunters who had 120 minutes. he to stand there helpless and watch We sat there and watched those Iff the best of their day's sport slip moon shooters turn back small k. away from them. bunches, smgles, pairs and two re Up at F our Mile Lake, south of big flocks. They shot at every­ ts Superior, two hunters pushed their thing, regardless of range up or boat into heavy cattails. They were off to the side. They scratched good shots and they shot at every down one mallard drake, which e· bird that came within 80 yards of came down fighting and when they t· them all afternoon. No effort to come down that way you don't get 1d push out and look for fallen ducksI them. They couldn't get that one no no effort to shoot only ducks they for sure, because it hit thick cat­ ys could find later, no attempt or tails 150 yards f rom them. They 00 wish to stay within the four-bird made no effort to get it, of course. e· limit. After two hours of this we gath­ :ai Jim Sh~rman Photo. A friend of ours who watched ered up our decoys and pulled out. lg Part of a group of 1,500 egrets tha t gathered to roost each eve ning at Lake Odessa during the fall. The birds scatter out each day for long dist a nces, ofte n stopping In these game hogs estimated they We had no desire to spend the Jl· farm ponds to find food. killed between 60 and 70 ducks afternoon watching two hunters * * * ljt * * * * * * and coot and let them lay, all ex- go berserk with their shotguns. cept their limit, which they se­ Decoy shooting, one of the most TAMA FARM POND STAGE FOR WILDLIFE lected from dead ducks close to rewardmg of all kinds of duck the boat when they left. H e saw hunting, is fast becoming extinct ur By Ruth Blake the herons that the four toes are teal, widgeons, mallards, spikes, on such places as the outlet. 1D all on the same plane. (Birds of bluegills and shovelers tumble in We can't figure these crazy bunt­ ed the crane family have an elevated the slaughter. ers out. We don't care who he is, Much has been wntten about )D hind toe.) any man who has been bunting the farm pond as a soil conserva­ At the outlet, a few days later, ·ly ducks for years can't tolerate the tion measure and as a means of about a dozen duck boats were lD greed and deliberate bad hunting supplying adequate water for spaced at intervals in the reeds to "SPORTSMEN" IN THE over in the southeast corner. All practiced by the hoodlums. There rs stock. But it is as an attractor of is more to duck hunting, we hope, wildlife that the pond furnishes the DUCK MARSHES of these boys had made elaborate rs preparations for a day of decoy than greed and banging away with most excitement. By Gib K nudson, Jr. IT· shooting. They bad boats, boots, a gun. During the migration season The way some of the duck hunt­ decoys and some had dogs. They Old hunters find no satisfaction wild ducks and geese are often ers have behaved since the season ne took care in locating themselves in s hooting a duck they can't get, attracted lo the ponds. Every such opened is enough to turn the stom­ and in setting their blocks out just or shooting to keep somebody else flock we see is gratifying to us but ach of any shooter with a shred of of decency left in him. right. They studied the wind and from getting it. What is the point to is no longer considered unusual. they took pains to conceal them­ in tooling dumbly and aimlessly Now it is when egrets come to dip We have never heard more com­ nd plaints among hunters themselves selves properly. on a duck call all day? Or shouting at for fish that we get the biggest We were among them and all of drunkenly at friends or swearing thrill. than we've heard this fall about be the hoodlum shooting which has the shooters in our sector were get. drunkenly at your dog? ,er One early morning recently we ling a shot once in a while. There All of such behavior wrecks the looked down upon the pond to see dominated every public shooting ground in northwest Iowa. The was admirable restraint when a hunting for everybody. We have ·or five tall white birds standing at few pintails or mallards started hunted ducl{S for more than 30 the water's edge. We watched the hunters who do all this damage er, are in the minority, but the minor­ coming down from up high, their years and to us it will always be birds at their ease, preenmg and wings bowed. Out-of-range shoot­ the greatest sport. But after see­ ng occasionally liftmg to flap across ity seems to get bigger every year. U'· ing was held to a minimum and ing what we have seen this fall we to the other side. Not used to The majority treat the1r fellow hunters as well as the game they everybody was having a little luck. wonder if duck s hooters, as a class, seeing such large birds, their wing­ Then two bunters on foot came have become so degenerate they spread seemed tremendous to us. are hunting with some respect. But these hoodlums treat nothing with up from the downwind side and don't deserve any season at all.­ a Stealthtly we crept closer to posi­ respect. We have never seen a waded out to the top of their boots. ''Outdoors," Emmetsburg Derno­ tively identify them. Quiet and They fired at every duck that head- CTa..t careful of movement as we were more brazen, ruthless disregard of ' the rights of everybody a nd every­ * * • the birds were soon aware of us. * * * • thing, including the waterfowl it­ They seemed to come to attention self, than we've seen on the outlet as if at a signal. Erect on their of Lost Island Lake this fall. slender black legs with their long, On opening day there must have ~n. graceful necks held high, they been 500 to 600 hunters on the in· reached a height of more than t 9 outlet. At 11:40 a.m. the first shot three feet. Jls they stood so very was fired, twenty minutes before ;ed still and straight their very alert­ :ed legal time. This early bird put ness made them a sight to behold. every other man on the outlet on • 8 The egret's plumage is entirely .nd the spot. Ducks got up in clouds white. Jlt the migrating season, and scores of shooters who want to 110 when we saw them, the long iden­ Jig" stay within the law and don't like we tifying plume or "aigrette" was to see any advantage taken of our missing. The birds flew away in shrinking duck supply had to shoot the direction of the Iowa R1ver a early or r un the risk of missina of 1:> mile dtstant As they flew they out on the birds. tbf carried thei1 heads near their We weren't close enough to hear f 8 shoulders. This fact distinguishes it, but we have been told the poach­ UJt' them from cranes Cranes always of er who touched off the fireworks fly with neck extended. ahead of time got a long and thor­ Near the edge of the pond where ough cussing out by a neighbormg ars the birds had stood we found sev­ hunter. We hope so. g). eral long, tapering, pointed feath­ Up at the north end of Five Is­ Ill.r ers. In the soft mud were many land Lake many more hunters were of tracks. One print measured 6t,, waiting for noon to come At 10 teD inches in length and 51 2 inche~ o'clock a pickup stopped on the jJlg across. The egret is of the heron road, a hunter climbed the fence Jim Sh~rr .an Photc D e~oy shooting, one,of the most rewarding of all kinds of duck hunting, is fast becoming family and is sometimes called and dashed over to the slough south ext ne t because of moon shooters" who shoot at anything within a quarter of a mile Old·tlme duck hunters, who sometimes Invest a thousand dollars or more in equipment· wh1te heron. It is charactenstic of of the Little lake and took a quick are plenty "burned up." ' Page 86 IOWA CONSE R VAT I ONIST 1 I in Iowa are non-p01sonous and _ ,__.... - the1r btte is no more dangerous nor 1 painful than the scratch of a pin. It is true that the common water IJ snake looks a great deal hke the Yal cottonmouth, and in areas where 1\ilc the latter snake is found it is well and to a void all water snakes. The pub common water snake, however, yotl Idocs not have the pit before the peo eye, the heart-shaped head, or the pub fangs which the poisonous species th C. P. Wallker Pboto ha"e Furthermore, there are two Th ~ c: ommon w a t ~r snake is not a poisonous s n ak ~. It d o~s. how~v~ r . hav ~ a nasty th~ disposit ion. Here a c:ommon w a t ~r s n ak~ is in the ac:t of swa ll ow ing a bull h ~ad rows of plates on the undersurface all] * of the tail of the harmless species, all all other Iowa snakes by the fact while the cottonmouth has only a 1 Snakes . .. that the snout is turned up at the single row except near the tip stii (Conttnul'd from page 81 I front and the scale or plate that Common water snakes are sci­ enE until all 1s quiet and then try to turns up at the end of the snout dom found far from water except v sneak away has a ridge clown the middle This in spring and fall wh1le they ar<;> are nali There 1s one comical flaw in the turned-up snout is used in burrow- migrating to rocky areas to biber­ ing in sand and soft d1rt. In the nate They feed primarily on fish, our hog-nosed snake's "playing pos­ our sum ' If the "dead" snake is western spec1es the snout is turned frogs. and crayfish up more sharply than in the east- The markmgs are qUite diS- are turned over onto its belly, it quick­ faet ly comes to life and turns onto its ern species tmct except on old ind1v1duals, and In the field these snakes can the common water snake is often l back to pretend 1t 1s dead agam. The The hog-nosed snake apparently usually be readily identified by the known as the banded snake. The flattening of the head and neck and ground color is light grey or tan our feels that a snake has to be belly of up to be dead. by their threatening actions. They and the pattern consists of a ser1es are rather stout-bodied snakes of Wide cross bands or saddles. w Captive hog-nosed snakes soon with squarish dark brown spots reddish-brown or dark grey m sir~ become quite docile and will no down the back and more pro- color on the front th1rd of the T h ~ l a t ~ G~o r g ~ B. Coon, for w hom the c.L, longer strike, bluff or play possum. 72·ac:re fi shing a c; c~ss on th ~ Skunk R i v~ r slat nounced spots on the side. In larger body. Further back the cross has been na m~d . dslpla ys a pair of d ~· 1\il( Hog-nosed snakes feed mostly individuals the markmgs are less bands are broken mto squarish s c: ~n t ~d skunks d uring th ~ 1942 Sta te Fair ger: upon toads and frogs but w11l also d1sbnct, givmg a dusky mottled blotches. The belly is yellowish or • • • * . • you eat an occasional mouse, bird, or appearance The throat is wh1te, grey, usually with crescent-shaped FISHING AREA NAMED FOR i larger insect. They are among and the belly is yellowish with red or black marks roughly in two LONG-TIME GAME WARDEN the few enemies of the warty tra dark blotches. A good cbarac- rows The scales on the back are of toads, wh1ch are able to secrete a teristic for distinguishing the two strongly ndged, giving the snake The mile-long, 72-acre fishing poisonous substance which most bee species 1s the color of the under- a rough feeling. access area on the Skunk River, for1 other snakes and ammals will surface of the tail. In the eastern There is another water snake two miles north and 12 mUes east avoid. When loads are attacked species this is yellow, in the west- found in Iowa, but it is quite dif­ of Fairfield, has been named the lllal they usually infiate themselves lon1 ern black A large hog-nosed snake ferent from the common water Geoz·ge B. Coon Area for the late get! with a1r, makmg themselves much may be 2 5 to 3.5 feel long, and the snake Graham's water snake "Mac" Coon Mac, born at Eddy­ larger and more difficult to swal­ G western species seldom gets as ( Natrtx grahamt) is a fairly se­ ville, Iowa, m 1863, was appomted thte low. Hog-nosed snakes, however, deputy game warden m 1905 by large as the eastern species. crelive species and is docile and pr~ have a pair of long teeth near the The common water snake ( Na- timid when caught and handled. George A Lincoln. He was deputy back of the mouth which can punc­ ere tn.r sipedon) is a heavy-bodied It gives off a musky secretion from game warden for 14 years and was lie ture and deflate the victim snake about the same size or anal glands s1milar to that of the appointed custodian of the State an( Two species of hog-nosed snakes slightly larger than the hog-nosed garter snake. In fact, Graham's Game Farm at Clive in 1919. At Thl are found in Iowa, the common or snakes. It also has a vicious dis- water snake looks much like a the lime of his death in 1943 he Yot: eastern hog-nosed snake ( H etero­ position and will readily strike garter snake On each side of the was m charge of the state park at ~ don platyrhinus) found in most a nd bite. Many people believe it body is a broad yellow band bor­ Farmington, Iowa. I te For 33 years Mac was in charge Ill.. parts of the stale, and western to be poisonous and call it a water derd by blacl< and there is usually () bog-nosed snake ( H eterodon nasi­ moccasin. The true water moe- an indistinct stripe down the back. of the game exhibit at the state The cus) reported only from the Oko­ casin, or cottonmouth, a dangerous It never bas a prominent yellow fa1r, which in early days was • bOJi lakes region but probably "enomous snake, is not found in stripe down the back as do all shown under a large ctrcus tent found elsewhere in western Iowa. Iowa, nor is it found w1thin garter snakes, however. Also the After the present fish and game Upon close exammation, hog-nosed a couple of hundred miles of our plate in f ront of the anus is di­ buildmg on the fairgrounds was snakes can be distinguished from borders. The water snakes found vided into two in the water snakes. built, Mac look charge of the ... • * • Graham's water snake usually has birds and animals there. H e was a * • small, dark spots on the center of familiar figure to thousands of fail the belly and particularly under vis1tors, much of the time carrying the tail. a deodorized skunk in h1s arms The water snakes give birth to through the crowds in the building their young, as do the garter snakes, but in contrast to the bog­ NORTHEAST IOWA RIVER nosed snakes, which lay up to 64 SURVEY eggs with leathery shells. Five of the 10 permanent sur­ Although the water snakes are ,·ey stations established on the often accused of killing many fish, major rivers of northeast Iowa in research investigations indicate 1949 have been revisited to date. that most of the fish which they These stations will serve as a year­ catch are rough fish or small fish to-year check on population t rends and they do little damage to the in specific rivers. Little concrete more important, and more active data is on band which would indi­ game fishes. cate any radical change from last year's game fish populations. The meadow mouse is one of the Young populations of game fish busiest animals In the United States which have been building up for Ta.kmg only a few hours out for the lasl two years have started to sleep here and there, it rushes thin out. - Briefs, July Biolog y The ha rm less hog·nos~d snakes look and ac:t more dang~ rous tha n poisonous s p~c:l ~s. around so much that even families Seminar. Wh~n c;o rn ~r~d they upand and fla t ten the head a nd nec:k t o twice th ~l r normal width. are born and reared on the "fiy." - IO W A CONSERVATIONIST Page 87 from the public. They are thieves. THEY ARE THIEVES! There can be no excuse for viola­ B y Miller V. J oiner ting these laws or these principles. Let us apply the label correctly. Ignorance is no excuse, for it is Make no mistake about it: The the duty of every individual to wild forests, the streams, the fish acquaint himself fully with the and the game of this state are public laws. public resources. They belong to Nor does it make any difference you and me, and the millions of whatsoever whether you and I, per­ people like us, because we are the sonally, are in full and complete public. They do not belong to you, agreement with such laws. We, as they do not belong to me, nor to the public, duly elected and ap­ the man down the street, individu­ pointed certain p eople to repre­ ally, but to all of us together. We, sent us in government, and these all of us, are the public. people, in their wisdom, saw fit to Therefore, the persons who de­ pass certain laws designed to pro­ stroy our public resources are our tect that proper ty that belongs to enemies. They are thieves! us-the public. Worse, they are vandals, they are destroyers, and they are crimi­ Nor can we excuse the game law nals. Just as the men who destroy violator on the ground that he is our public parks, our streets, or our personal friend and neighbor. our homes are criminals, so, too, F or one who destroys our property are the men who destroy or de­ automatically becomes our enemy. face our public resources. T hose who destroy public property automatically become enemies of Let us not forget these facts. the public, and you and I a re the Those who would burn or cut down Jim Sherman Photo. public. our public forests are enemies The expe rt wing shot makes sure that the gun stock. Is _against his C~ r her) cfh etehk bd,ore The public should consider game ull in the trigger. With practice . this becomes 1nst1nctlve a nd IS one o e pnme of the pubhc-you and I. Those P g essent1a ls In good shooting . who would destroy or pollute our law violators as thieves.-Flor ida streams, rivers, lakes or ponds are W i ldlife. • • • • • • • • * * * also our enemies. Those who would "kick." Bulky clothing is often lbt Head Down • • • the unsuspected cause of shooting !ttl slaughter or endanger our public WALNUTS FOR SPRING (Continued from page 81) de­ wildlife are destroying or endan­ PLANTING over the target. It is a handicap to alt. be so placed against your shoulder the instant placing of the gun butt gering property that belongs to Walnut trees are the most valu­ • you and me-the public. and cheek that when pointing it, on the shoulder, and if the gun IR able and one of the easiest to plant very little, if any, of the top of the butt is low the charge of shot is Furthermore, the men who take, of all our native t rees. The sim­ :N trap or kill our wildlife in defiance barrel is seen and the sight is generally high. plest method of planting is to about all of the gun that the of the public laws are defying us, hold the nuts over winter and then Raising the head, with its con­ l!lg because we are the public. Do not shooter sees. By a simple little sequence of shooting too high, has plant them in the spring. When the tes t, the shooter can quickly de­ rer, forget that the public laws were ground is soft they may be pushed resulted in more crippled and lost ast made to protect property that be­ termine the value of this. For the game than, perhaps, any other in with the heels, and if the nuts test use, if possible, a trap gun or :he longs to the public-you and I, to­ are stratified, practically all will shooting fault. Our most frequent one with a ventilated or raised rib. ate gether. sprout and grow. error, it is the easiest to correct dr· Game law VIOlators, then, are By properly aligning the rear bead . .. 1f we will only remember to To stratify walnuts pick up the with the front bead, you will find ed thieves. Game laws were made to required number in late fall, place "KEEP THAT HEAD DOWN."­ protect and conserve the wild that the point of aim will be prac­ by in a wooden box, and with alter­ Remillgton News Letter. utY creatures that belong to the pub­ tically in the center of the pat­ nate inch layers of sand between tern. By lining up the sights so \'a5 lic. Without such laws, our game the layers of nuts, the box and nuts and fish would g radually disappear. that the front bead seems to be LABOR DAY AFTERNOON ate are then buried in well-drained soil There would soon be none left for sitting on top of the rear l::ead, the Within sight of the courthouse At about 12 inches deep a nd left bur­ you a nd me the public- to enjoy. shooter will find that the center of tower. . . two beaver slide thru be ied over winter. the bank in the Iowa River. . . : at So it follows that those who vio­ the pattern will be about eight inches above the point of aim. By while examining them discovered late the public game laws are help­ Iowa's smallest mammal, the pig­ ing destroy our public wildlife. allowing about four inches of the that both 'coon and muskrats had rge my shrew, weighs slightly more than evidently been snitching some .ate They are actually stealing things a dime. front part of the rib to show, it will be seen that the center of the rides . . . turning to a likely bass ;\'85 • • • * * • • * • • spot old lady mink, who had :nt. pattern is about 12 inches above the point of aim. This is assuming been watching me, took a nose dive l!lle that you are shooting at a pattern into the river . . . wading slowly i\'a5 paper 40 yards away. downstream with an east wind tbe fli cking my face I happened to look 1,58 This does not mean that you up and there about a hundred feet fair will miss your target entirely ahead of me, posed against a back­ rillg every time you raise your head a ground of green corn, was a beauti­ r¢ .,' \I bit. These examples of "bead rais- ful doe. Turning her head ever so illg. ing" are slight, yet the variance of slightly, she made a whistling pattern centers is enough to prove sound and a fawn, just ready to t hat things are not always as th ey lose its spots, popped out and stood seem when the shooter's head is beside her for just an instant be­ even slightly raised. fore both turned and cut into the liur· If the shooter will develop the cornfield No fish but a very sue­ tbe habit of making sure that the gun cessful trip Marshalltown Times aiJl butt is high enough on his shoulder IRepublican tate­ so that his cheek can be placed --- ear· against the stock and the bead Trap doors, hinged ~t~ silk, guard :llld: kept in a fairly. erect position,· · he ofthe the entrance trap door to thespider Silk-hned. burrow ~ete will find that the alignmg of the tndl• gun properly will become pretty Snakes form a part of the great 18st much a matter of instinct. Rais­ web of animate nature and should no joOS ing the bead or trying to get the more be killed wantonly than should birds or any other living creatures. jjsb shoulder away from the gun butt tor not only spoils good shooting Among American snakes, the spe­ ld to chances but also aggravates recoil cies bearing living young outnumber 1109Y Let us a pply the label corroctly. Ga me law violators a re t hieves. Ga me laws were sensation. The shooter who holds those laying eggs. Iowa snakes are made t o protect a nd conserve the wild creat ures tha t belong to the public . Th e about evenly divided In this re­ viola tor, then, Is stealing from you a nd fi'"O m me, for we a re the public. his gun properly seldom feels It spect. IOWA CONSERVA T IONIST Page 88 DOGS CAN BE A HANDICAP soup was causmg them to become I still more hungry. W.alUinuL ].a!JlA , As a general rule a dog is a Suddenly and without warning, valuable asset to a nimrod wheth­ one of the dogs lunged at the other er he's hunting squirrels, pheasants dogs at the edge of the fire. The Eugene Goeders, conservallon or ducks. dogs hurtled agamst the kettle of officer m charge of Calhoun and Jus t the oppostte was true in the soup and the pot of tea-upsetting \Yebster Counttes wnt~>s case of a half dozen local busmess the \\'hole works, even extinguish­ "Mrs. George Sno\V of Manson men who departed for the timber ing the fire, and causing general has done her share to help produce on a recent afternoon consternation. a good crop of pheasants for the One of the men, noted for his Now and then an occasion arises 1950 season, and her method was a culinary ability, brewed up a big when man doesn't consider a dog novel one batch of nearly three gallons of to be his "best friend."- Adair "While her husband was mowmg his special vanety of soup and a News hay lhts summer, he ran over a big pot of black tea over a camp­ pheasant nesl. Slopping the mow­ fire. A millipede, or "thousand-legged" er, he found 14. unbroken eggs, The soup and tea were ready. worm, has twice as many legs as a centipede, or "hundred-legged" worm, some of which we1e pipped. Know­ The men, who bad just come in of cqua I length In spite of their ing there was litlle chance of a from bunting the bushy-tails, were larger number of legs, they run much ben returning to the damaged hungry The savory odor of the more slowly. nest. he put the eggs m his cap Within 24 hours after Mr s Snow ha d and took them to the bouse, where placed the hot wa t er bottle with the eggs, In the few times that \''e have be was gomg to place them under all 14 ha d ha t ch::d TWO SIMPLE SLOGANS gone into fields without permission a settmg hen He found there on the way home to fill the family we have frequently been ordered wasn't a chtcken on the farm frying pan." The State Conservation Commis- off with resulting embat rassment which was at the moment domes­ 10 1 sion is promoting a very simple for all concerned And often the tically inclined. Mrs. Snow dug Charhe. Adamson of Da\ en port, and important program Two farmer accompanied his order to out the family bot water bottle conservatwn officer for Scott Coun- slogans are involved, "Ask the get off by the statement that if and put it to \'-'ork Within 24 ty, reports that two Davenport farmer first" and "Kill no hens·· we had asked he would have been hours all 14 chicks had hatched. men were recently attacked by a . glad to let us hunt. Smce that time the young birds red fox while fishing on Brush . The f~ture of pheasant huntmg I have bad the run of the Snow farm Creek near Maquoketa The men, m Iowa IS entt~ely dependent upon The procreation mathematics of .na and, as is customary, they have Hank Runge and Martm Knuth, the sports~an s reaction to these "kill no hens" is easily understood. they returned to their wild nature. were just about to call it a day very two simple requests If you Pheasants are polygamous A ula~ They sttll come back each mgbt when right across the creek and ask the farmer fhst and ktll no pheasant cock normally has a may to the barnyard lo roost With the up the bank toward them came the pheasant hens you will continue to harem of two or more hens. Ex­ ga~ chickens. fox. enjoy good hunting in I owa. periments have shown that egg eg~· "Mrs. Snow advises that the hot "All I had was a glass fiy rod, In 20 years of hunting in this ler­ fertility is guaranteed in a ratio sbt~ water bottle technique is not rec­ so I started swttching at the fox rtlory there have been very few of one cock to 10 hens. M ommended for use over a full in­ with that and hit it on the nose," times that we were refused per­ spoU Runge reported later "Then I mtssion to hunt when we asked the The pheasant population is up cubation period " lhts year and there will be plenty diffic yelled at Knuth to gel a club I farmer first. If that permtsston obse· made for a club, too, and in the was refused tt was usually for of cock pheasants for every one. Louis Lemke, conservation offi­ are meantime Knuth rammed hts bam- some very good and obvious rca­ Ask the farmer first and kill no cer in charge of J ones and Cedar (Col boo pole at the ammal and broke son and usually accompanied by hens and we will enjoy good hunt­ Counties writes· ing another year - Eagle Grove and the pole " the farmer's apology for not bemg obso "After plantmg several thousand Runge then came back mto the able to allow hunting on his place. Eagle. multiflora rose plants last spring n battle with a club and finally suc­ * * a bl and finding tt hard work, the di­ ceeded m hitting the fox on the * • and rectors of the Cedar County Con­ head, kilhng It. Both men agreed lS l~J servation Club have placed an or­ that it was a hard fight and that and, der for a tree planting machine. they were mighty thankful to have The club has decided that the ma­ and vanquished their foe before be suc­ can ~ chine would be rented to all other ceeded in btttng either of them conservation clubs in Jones and and Cedar Counties and that any farm­ The dead fox was turned over to caug er who is a member of the club Conservallon Officer Adamson, who fight can use the macbme free of charge sent it to the State Hygienic Labo­ srnal for planting multiflora rose and ratory at Iowa City, where it was bare, other trees or shrubs on his own found to have rabies. race1 ous land. We expect to be able to plant ' more than 1500 multiflora rose per TOOK NO CHANCES, BUT­ quite hour and hope to keep the new ted He brushed his teeth twice a day. it is machine busy during the entire 1 The doctor examined him twice planting season next spring" kills a year. by cc He wore his rubbers when it \ictiJ Garfield Harker, Emmetsburg, rained 1'b He slept with the wmdows open area fisheries manager, writes: sou~ "The other mght two prominent He stuck to a diet with plenty of Of bJ Emmetsburg businessmen went fresh vegetables. the He gave up his tonsils and I catfishing m the Des Moines River I qua1 near here One of the fellows, after traded in his worn-out glands surra He golfed-but never more than studiously watching his line for -na~t I 18 boles al a time 1 about an hour and gettmg not even are~ a nibble, decided to reel in and He got at least eight hours' sleep 1n h check his bait. Upon retrieving every night He never smoked, drank or lost Plat~ his hne, however, he was struck by So lh the sudden realization that his his temper. e1the hook had been caught in a tree 20 He was all set to live lo be a belly hundred feet above the water all the time. ~hap! "If thts sort of fishing becomes The funeral will be held next 1n ( widespread, the department is go­ Wednesday. lllent ing to have to switch to stocking He had forgotten about guns Slo\\· that aren't loaded Manitoba Two simple slogans a re keys to future pheasant hunting, " Kill no he ns" and "Ask t he fiyiDg fish, or fellows like this will f arme r first ." Here two hunte rs a re a sking for the privilege of hunting pheasants, have to pick up some pork chops Federated Game and Fish.