Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1957-09-26, Page 3Moving g Sheep IEB[Igt . peraflon One of the oldest stories in the world is relived early each 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, P e r 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 day, 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 :lien 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 snowfselds 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 -that the 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 must 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 years 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 carne iii 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. esponsibility. 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 up. 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 7, Step 86, Allow 9, Casual 28. Devour 9. tread spread 40. Guide 10. Prevaricator 42. Lsugh1,,,; 11. Nobleman 44. Nonan road 19. 'Unwise 43. Body of a, 21. Juice of a tree church 45. Epic poem 47. Diminutive of Abraham 49. taking chamber' 50, 'Reside 51. dump 54. (iuido's AC1iOSS 1 Dexterity 4 S)Og"sfret 3 Oliver (.'rot.: - well 12. Sheller 1:1, Skip 14 Medley 15 Crony 19, lerog eeees 17, ('ince 1.4 171�•ldP 20. Lack of harmony V. Pester 1.1, Cheering cry 'rapers ,29 O1(ir• 24 'lurk tcuiluent E( iro 1,teagnrrill etit Sb Legral rlailm 57. Pass, as time 59. nester] 4', Wheeled chicle 44. ecad 44 indisposition to move IS. Coral reef 32, Binding fabric t2. Retired r.,. Coni 26 (taccha Rada❑ et IT 1:47pllan rile, 22 (Melo Tont'X fr. lend 49. ]:errlainder 0, Thal apart t. Catnap DOWN' J. Dotty Int,', 2, Jlarvest 3. (live information 4 !:ate 3 Chalice 0 Air to ruction ewel 26. Wolfram] te 28. Wing 27. Short sleep 2S, Title 20. )Jail dozen 31. (lolr gadget S2. Completion note 1 2 9 'J.vj4 6 6 7 X+ g 9 10 1 I 12 13 Iv .?f.s:�� ib esti 10'+r ..:71:9[0 . v6 rth 27 se 33 :Xi I 37 3: a •3 • -• 44 4' 4. 4.7 ,rr 4.4991 P !- tl , y.. 91 .1.,e0,..40:4,.::i eenswer elsewhere on this page. OH, ALL THOSE= STEAKS l - 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. • 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 in the United States -- mushroom 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 cin American tables. In this area the once rare and exotic d„elica; cy reserved for the feasts ;of monarchs has been, coaxed xito lush growth to feed the millions. Take any route out of K.ei - nett Square and you willk5 it long rows of low, barrack r cinder -block buildings emittin. " pungent, earthy odors. These at; the famous "mushroom emus;-; where, by a process that simewhere between science`' E u: art, about 550 Chester County families and companies grow 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. * * Y 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. ,4 f1' Vf 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 170. 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 inono- polized the delicacies for royal tables. Roman epicures called them "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 then) lin caves and cellars, and the Bra- " fish grew them in the dark spacgs beneath the raised benches in greenhouses. ss, 's * * In this,•'.. early 1890's three Quaker gardeners in Chester County, ea., William Swayne, Harry Dicks, 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 ]pillion pounds in 1930 to the current annual total of about '75 million pounds. Mushroom culture has spread to Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking I©Wn0©©"©©m] MIEWMWMIM©u�ut'"E! a Aly ® o mm+dv T AWMM EIHOIUl Dv01 �Ieumn ' 0©I wO OUWO : U©0 ©iii MWOMODOMAXIO b' lid 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. * * * 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 fromesturdy, well -shaped fruit and 'pr'o'pagated for future crops. The spores are micro- scopic black specks on the. knifelike gills Seen beneath that cap . of the fully mature mush- room. These gills are not seen on market mushrooms, which are picked before the "flower" opens to exxpoi e them. A few Q,t' the Sporerrre placed -1n '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 10 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 1DMY OOL LESSON By Rev. R. Barclay Warren B.A., B.C. Nehemiah, Patriot in Action Nehemiah 2: 17-18; 4:6; 13:19-21 Memory Selection: Be strong all ye people of the Iand, saith. the Lord, and work; for I atti with you. Haggai 2:4. It's easier to tear down than 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 nes 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 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 ti� all of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach." As he re- counted God's dealings with him in bringing him back from, Babylon, the people caught his 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, if 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 tithes 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 whn word on the principle that righteous- �^ ness exaiteth a nation but sin le reproach to any people; men who wilI give leadership la leading the people back to Gods about 75 square feet of growis space. All growers now buy tht> pure spawn and get superio 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 porch in front for sitting space. At BEE READY - Although they may seem to be members of some. secret society, tie are rc- llyr cautious newsmen et Celle, Germany. Members of the Lower Soxonion Press Conn^ ::.r. „ they're outfitters in protective hots and veils durinS a visit to an institute For b:2 re.s arch„ 4 4 y '4 '4 1