New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1886-04-07
THE MousEPLAGuEoF BRAZIL

InE MOOSE OF BRAZIL.
| It Excels the Locust Affections OF
Egypt of Old.
| It is well. known that the fauna of
America, especially that of the higher
animals, presents large number of
peculiar types.
Under ordinary circumstances field
mice are not at all abundant, so that at
times naturalists can secure specimens
OF many species only with difficulty.
The most inconceivable increase and
abundance during certain years, to such
an extent that they become national
calamity, is thus the more remarkable.
In the colony of Lourenco one of these
remarkable visitations has thus been
described: In the months of May and
June, 1876, they suddenly appeared in
enormous numbers. They invaded the
maize fields in such great numbers that
the corn seemed literally alive with
them, destroying in few days every
thing that was edible; and where but
short time before bushels of grain might
have been harvested not an ear remain
ed, and the noise produced by their nib
bling and climbing was audible for
considerable distance. After the corn
fields were devastated the potatoes
next received their attention Only
the largest were eaten in the ground;
such as were transportable were car
ried away and hidden in hollow trees,
or other retreats, for future use. Gourds
and pumpkins, even the hardest, were
gnawed through and eaten. OF green
food, such as clover, oats, barley, not
leaf was left standing; even weeds
were cut down and the inner parts eaten
out.
In the house the struggle for exist
ence of these long-tailed invaders was
truly amazing. In many of the dwell
ings hundreds-were killed in single
day. The cats could contribute but lit
tie aid fighting such plague, for not
only were many of the rats SO large that
it would have been an unequal contest,
but by their great number they drove
the cats actually from the houses, not
to return until the plague was passed
Nothing except what was composed of
iron, stone, or glass was spared from
their dstructive furniture, clothes,
hats, books-everything bore the traces
of their teeth. They gnawed the hoofs
OF COWS and horses in the stables, liter
ally ate up fatted hogs, and often bit
away the hair of persons during sleep.
They penetrated all apartments, and
gnawed their way through boards and
walls of houses bitches that were duo
about granaries did not suffice; the mice
would climb over each other IN
some corner or other, and thus reach
the top.
The foregoing account Of one occur
renee in Lourenco will suffice to show
to what an extent the plague reaches
The same province had suffered SINH
larly in 1843 and 1868, and in all proba-
bility will again in 1889. Our aston.
ishment at the strange appearance and
disappearance of such swarms of ami
NAL life is greatly increased when we
perceive in what close relation of
cause and effect it stands with the pres
encc or absence of food supply; and
probably nowhere among the vertebrate
animals is the relation more apparent
than here.
This food supply is derived from the
seeds Of large bamboo grass (Taqua-
ry or Cresciuma) growing throughout
Brazil. This grass grows in dense
thickets to the height of thirty or forty
feet, and bears large quantity of seed.
Its natural history is remarkable. At
regular intervals, varying in the differ
ent species from six to thirty years, it
natures and blooms and then disap-
pears. Yet more remarkable is the uni
formity with which it attains maturity
throughout an entire province, if not
the whole southern part of Brazil.
Similar plaques, though far less in
extent, have occurred in Europe, in
which the feld-mice unaccountably ap-
peared in greatly increased numbers.
One may we'll think what would be the
result were these little, almost insignif-
cant creatures everywhere in such wise
to take ascendency. When one consid-
ers that on an average of every one or
two months from five to eight young c.
born, and that these young become ma
ture in a few months themselves. he
will not be surprised to know that
single pair of common feld-mice, in
the course of single summer, would