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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1957-10-03, Page 3®lving Sheep ig wattle e One of theoldest stories in the world is relived earlyeach July in the rugged Rocky Mountains of Montana. From their winter pastures on the vast plains that stretches eastward below the mountains hundreds of thousands of sheep are herd- ed up and over the 10,000 -foot passes of the front range to reach the summer grazing lands hat lie beyond. As the hot sun of early sum- mer dries the plains the rich grasses of the high mountain meadows are just reaching mat- urity. Then it is that the rangers who control grazing in the nat- ional forests admit livestock to feast upon government-owned land. From prehistoric times this an- nual migration of sheep from lowlands to highlands has been going on all over the world -in Spain, Per s i a, Switzerland, Greenland;.. indeed, any place where there are sheep and mountains. The sheep fatten on the rich mountain diet, and their valuable wool coats grow heavy in the cool air. The winter and spring pastureland below is rested and given a chance to produce new growth. Climbing up the valley of the Boulder River each year from the ranches around Big Timber, Mont., are about 60,000 head of sheep. Their destination is Gal- latin National Forest, which ad- joins the north side of Yellow- stone National Park. Moving at the rate of five to ten• miles a flay,depending on the type of terrain covered and the number of veterans of previous summers in the band, many of the sheep take more than a week to com- plete the journey. Sheep from more distant ranches may have to travel almost 100 miles. The first part of the journey Is made along public roads. Here the main problem of the sheep- herders and their hard-working assistants, the sheep dogs, is to keep each flock moving at a proper pace so that it does not become intermingled with others ahead or behind. The sheep are dabbed with colored paint for identification purposes. But se- parating two mixed bands of a thousand or more animals each, with or without ,painted brands, is a trying task even for the Calmest •of the traditionally pa- tient shepherds, writes William A. Bardsley in "The Christian Science Monitor." Food also is a problem for the sheep passing ,along the narrow, fenced -in right of way of the highway, especially for those flocks toward the end of the long train. By the time the last groups arrive most of the meager roadside grass is gone. Some ranchers now transport their sheep by truck as far as possible into the mountains. As the gentle foothills are passed and the climb over Boul- der-Hellroaring Divide begins, the difficulties of the sheep- herder and his band increase. No longer do marauding Indians, ravenous wolves, and land -hun- gry cattlemen have to be con- tended with. Nevertheless, the road soon degenerates into a steep mountain pass, presenting many pitfalls to the timid, deli- cate sheep. Dangerous, rock-strewn moun- tain streams, swollen by the frigid waters of mountain snows, must be forded. Sharp canyon walls drop off beside the trail. Many injured sheep must be treated by the herders, and some must then be carried on pack horses. Coyotes, bobcats, and an oc- casional bear lurk near the trail ascending the rocky,evergreen- covered slopes. Nothing pleases them more than to prey upon the flock either on the trail or at night: Near the top of the pass deep snowfields are encountered. The sheepherder times his journey so, that he can cross these in the 'early morning when the still frozen crust will support the sheep. Later in the day the ani- mals would break through and wallow helplessly in the deep, wet snow, As a rule, however, few sheep are lost on the drive to the mountains, for the herders know. their job well. Once over the summit of the pass, green fields lie just ahead, The sheep plunge happily down the slopes into lush meadows. Good shepherds and `good sheep dogs work on the same principle -thatthe best way to drive sheep is to direct them so that they think they are going where they want to go. Applying this idea, they are able to guide the sheep through many appetizing fields until they arrive at the ground allotted them by the for- „ est rangers. • On public lands each flock niust graze within a specified area. Upon entering the national forest the sheep are counted and, according to grass condi- tions, assigned a certain amount of land, A fee of about nine cents a month for each ewe - lambs are admitted free -= is assessed to help defray costs of national forest maintenance. A percentage of the grazing fee also is returned to the state, which, of course, receives no taxes from federally owned land. The national forest system was established in 1905, but it was not until several year's later that a standardized government program emerged to control grazing in the federally owned. forests. These years saw con- tinued much of the open -range warfare and bitter legislative debate that marked the West from the day the first sheep and cattle owners came in contact with one another. The Montana sheepherder, however, probably thinks little about this history. His concern lies with the $25,000 band of vir- tually helpless woolly critters cropping their way slowly down the mountain valley at his feet. For 24 hours of every day through a lonely summer, dur- ing which he may see no other humans but the camp tender who brings his supplies and the ranger who checks his location, the health and safety of the sheep are his complete respon- sibility. More often than not the flock is in good hands and com- pletes its mountain vacation in excellent condition. September no doubt arrives all too soon for the sheep, as it does for all summertime excur- sionists. Even that early in the fall a threat of heavy snow de- velops in the northern Rockies. By then the sheep again are on the move repeating once more the age-old story, for they must be out of the forest before Sept: 15. All the same dangers exist along the trail as on the way tip. But the return to the plains goes more easily. The lambs are stronger and have the experi- ence of the previous trip. The route is mostly downhill instead . of up, and the sun no longer beats down with an exhausting midday heat. Cool breezes sweep across the mountain ranges from the north, heralding the approach of an- other winter. The sheep, their herders, and the dogs hurry down the slopes, hoping to re- capture a few days of summer on the plains below. Smart Boy Johnny was a bright pupil, but this question had him stumped. It read: "State the number of tons of coal shipped out of the United States in. any given year." Johnny scratched his head and squirmed, and then his face lit up. He licked the end of his pencil and wrote:: "1492 -none." CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACitOSS 1 Dexterity 4 Dpg'a feet 8 OliverCror,- welt 12. Shelter 13. Skill 11 Medley 35 Crony f. Frei; genus 17. ('5009 10 Divide r. 1 .ark of harmony 2. Pester 11 Cheering cry Pallors 29 (idle :i, Turk lrgi meat 51 Vire toeseurement 80 I eFal ('1aln 67. pass, as (lino 33. rusted 4 . \Viler!ed vehicle 4a Dema 44 Indisposition 5,1 move 48Coral reef 6L 2311011n, fabric (5 Bel iced 6.4. Con lend 66: Bacchanalian cry 8f 31gyptlan river 58 Uncle Tom's. friend 13, Remainder a. runapart . .444441 Catnip 4. Step 35. Allow S. Caen al 18. Devour 9. Bread spread 40. Cu hie 10. Prevaricator 42. Laughing 11. Noble man 41. Donn wind 19. Unwise 43. Body of a 01. Juice of n tree church DOWN : 21. Jewel ' 46. 'Epic -poem 1. Lofty nits. 25. Wo Era. in I le 7. Dilnlnu tire of 2.liarvest 26. Wing Abraham 3. ll ve - 27. Sho 't s eep 9. Baiting informal ion 23. Title a umber 4 (late 30. -(al d0,90 t0; Reside 5 C' lance 81. 101 t,1l: 15591 1..5 imp 6 Air Inmotion 12. Completion (44. CUldo's nolo I ''Y r4 0 1 7 ea - 9 10 11 (2 :13 ;.,:i'',.2:.,,, ;:I4 ill ti :ik la r J00 ,177 2l le - 19 Wf22 53 %"ra !*?".4+ 0 20 d4 27 29 'r29 30 31 34 33 3 3l• 55."."4.: 'ifs. 30 3'7 - %.;:'...i• 3� 40 4 . +?�y'': Ai 4243 �••.l 94 41 4: 444 40 90 50 y ' A HS 20 .' x'07. 109. 39. $ . •YIF:,94 thswer elsewhere on this page. OH, ALL THOSE STEAKS ! - Bearer of a regal name to go with his massive bulk, Bellevue Bardoliermere, 26, poses proudly for Gene Moore, after being named the Grand Champion Angus Bull at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia. TAEFABM FRONT ole, Kennett Square, P.A., a town famous for its fine stone houses and magnificent gardens, is the ' capital of one of the oddest in- dustries ndustries in the United States - mushroom growing. Draw a circle with a radius of 25 miles from the center of town and you will cover the source of about half the mushrooms served on American tables. In this area the once rare and exotic delica- cy reserved for the feasts of monarchs has been coaxed into lush growth to feed the millions, '1 * '5' Take any route out of Ken- nett Square and you will find long rows of low, barracklike cinder -block buildings emitting .pungent, earthy odors. These are the famous "mushroom houses" where, by a process that lies simewhere between science and art, about 550 Chester County families and companies gro\y the mysterious fungus. The mushroom turns ordinary farm- ing upside down. The growing houses are dark, for mushrooms have no chlorophyll and sun- light is bad for them. Instead of behaving like green plants, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air and give off waste oxygen, mushrooms act like ani- mals, breathing oxygen and ex- haling carbon dioxide. So the successful grower has a "white,' not a "green thumb"; he hasn't the occupational tan of the field farmer, and instead of a straw hat he wears a miner's lamp on his head. a * These growers scoff at the phrase "like a mushroom over- night," for months of prepara- tion and weeks of growing take place before the pickers go to work. Each "house" is filled with long rows of multiple - decker wooden beds filled with rich compost in which the mushroom spawn is planted. Be- fore planting, heat is turned on and the compost thoroughly pasteurized to kill competing fungus growths and insect lar- vae. Then the spawn, bred in la- boratories under sterile condi- tions, is spread on the com- post. It germinates for about three weeks, as threadlike strands interlace the , compost; then the bed is covered with an inch of topsoil which has been sterilized by steam. The beds are frequently wa- tered, and in 10 days, to two weeks the first white "buttons" poke through, then surge up- ward with a tremendous vital force. There have been many reports of mushrooms forcing their way through pavements. Growing mushrooms are 90 per cent water, and scientists liken their upward drive to that of the hydraulic lift used to raise cars in service stations. About 10 days after they appear the first mushrooms, which are real- ly the flower of the plant, are ready for picking. p * The most important element in mushroom production is the exact composition of the com- post. Growers say that the in- dustry is now based squarely on ' the pari-mutuel betting .system, for horse manure is the main ingredient, and the race tracks and. breeding farms are the chief remaining source of the valu- able fertilizer. A subsidiary of the huge Brandywine Mush- room Corporation 'hauls it to its supply yards with a fleet of trailer trucks, and recently had an inventory of more than 20,- 000 tons, worth well over $300,- 000, all destined to mushroom growing. Machines turn and aerate the compost, which is rolled on steel trucks into the growing houses to fill the beds. + * * Cultivated mushrooms have been raised since about 1700. Before that wild' mushrooms were eaten as early as 1000 B.C., when Egypt's Pharaohs attrib- uted their sudden overnight ap- pearance to magic and mono- polized the delicacies for royal tables. Roman epicures called then "food for the gods," be- lieved they gave strength to warriors, and served them on festive occasions. During the reign of Louis XIV Paris gar- deners learned' to grow them in caves and cellars, and the Bri- tish grew them in the dark spaces beneath the raised benches In greenhouses. tr , * * In the early 1890's three Quaker gardeners in Chester County, Pa., William Swayne, Harry Hicks, and William Sharpless, imported spawn and copied the English method, and in 1893 Mr. Sharpless shipped 66 baskets to New York. Far- mers began growing them in unused barns; then Mr. Hicks designed and built the first Pennsylvania mushroom house, which has served as a pattern for the entire industry. After a slow start, the indus- try has boomed from a United States crop of 20 million pounds in 1930 to the current annual total of about 75 million pounds. Mushroom culture has spread to Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking 0®©'.10111111§100:1121E1Ei©© I! ice ®II! LIEF i Egil 0©Q101��1©400©©FJii III 8.1,i.4.• W©©1130EI iM oo©0oov 'Mg C1 ©0 DU yam Emma muieu oo Vl.. ,,,s -:. gl'Ofi,'i'wm; 13�EI© e x .Llhi10IU A 4 It 0®1Og S©00 0000 1:LIU Cad' r X00© ©fu` ul •f©E10 Delaware, Maryland, California, New York, Illinois, and a few other states, and is backed by an investment of 50 million dol- lars by 900 growers. Of these, 550 are in the Kennett Square area where the business started. * v * Many factors have contribu- ted to the mushroom boom, Most important is the improvement of the spawn or "seed." Once spawn of uncertain origin was sold in bricks containing seeds and alien organisms which might foul up an entire crop. Good strains were jealously guarded by families, and new- comers ran great risks. Then natural scientists at the De- partment of Agriculture devel- oped a method of breeding se- lected spores. In a dozen im- maculate laboratories, like that of the Mushroom Growers' Co- operative Association, spores are taken from sturdy, well -shaped fruit and propagated for future crops. The spores are micro- scopic black specks on the knifelike gills seen beneath the cap of the fully mature mush- room. These gills are not seen on market mushrooms, which are picked before the "flower" opens to expose them. A few gf the spores are placed in a bot- tle of pure nutrient, and in a few weeks they send forth a mass Of fuzzy white threads called spawn runners. The ma- terial is subdivided and used to seed more bottles of sterilized grain, and the process is re- peated again and again. In this way one prize mushroom can sire millions of quart bottles of spawn, and one bottle will seed UNDAYSCII00L` LESSON By Rev, R. Barclay Warren B.A., B.D. Nehemiah, Patriot in Action Nehemiah 2: 17-18; 4;6; 13:19-21 Memory Selection: Be strong all ye people of the land, seal, the Lord, and work; for I am with you. Haggai 2:4. It's easier to tear down theist to build. A block from our home men have demolished 36 houses in three weeks. It will take two years to build a 15 -storey build- ing in their place. But Nehe- miah, in his task of raising uyp the walls about Jerusalem en- countered more than the ordin- ary problems. First he must rouse the people to undertake the work. The walls were a sor- ry orry sight and the gates were -con- sumed with fire. He squarely faced the desperate situation and, strengthened by prayer, he said. "Come, let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach." As he re- counted God's dealings with him in bringing him back frons Babylon, the people caught hitt vision and said, "Let us rise up and build." The neighbouring Samaritans tried to hinder the work. They despised the workers and laugh- ed at them in scorn. Tobiah said, "Even that which they build, it a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.." They tried violence, conspiring to slay the Jews, They slandered the Jews charging that they were planning to rebel. They tried intimidation, using a prophet to induce Nehemiah to take refuge and his men kept praying and working. The people had a mind to work. The wall was finished in fifty-two day. Nehemiah's leave of absence expired after twelve years and he returned to Persia, but soon secured permission from the king to return to Jerusalem again. He found that certain sins had reappeared. The people harvested their crops on the Sabbath and the merchants bought and sold. The Whets were not being given to the Le- vites and some of the men were marrying foreign women. Ne- hemiah went to work to correct these and other evils. We need godlq leaders today like Nehemiah; men who work en the principle that righteous- ness exalteth a nation but sin is reproach to any people; melt who will give leadership in leading the people back to God. et about 75 square feet of growing space. All growers now buy thitI pure spawn and get superior mushrooms, fewer discards, and fewer pests. VINTAGE RETREAT - When it comes to a motel with a motif that's original in taste, "Cask Villa" takes the cake. Built of wine casks more than 100 years ago, the dwellings each have a bedroom and a screened parch in front for sitting_ space. BEE READY - Although they may seem to be members of some secret society, these are really cautious newsman at Celle, Germany. Members of the Lower Saxonion Press Conference, they're outfitted in protective hats and veils during a visit to qn institute for bce research.