The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1890-08-01
Herders Defending Wheat Fields from
Flooks of Geese and Ducks.

sit may sound tunny 10 people In
the east to be told that to protect the
grain crops in some of the California
counties from wild ducks and geese
the farmers have to employ q large
force of what are known as herders to
patrol the falds and shoot, club and
destroy and frighten away by various
means the enormous f1ocks of tn ,e
ravenous fowl that sweep down on
the young and growing grain and de-
your it, but such is the fact said
James E. Palen, large grower of
wheat in the Sacramento valley. "The
rayaging swarms of ducks and geese
begin their work of destruction early
| in the fall, as soen as the wheat begins
to sprout. The fowl invade the
country along the rivers, but they do
not tarry there an hour after the rains
have made the wheat plains habitable
for them.
81 have seen tract of seventy-ive
acres in Colusa county absolutely COW
cred with wild geese, so densely pack
ed as to resemble pictures l have seen
of seabird rookeries on one ocean
lrock. When they first come they wax
fat on the wheat stubble, and are juicy
and sweet favored for the table, but
when the young winter wheat appears
they work on the green sprouts. Th's
has the effect of making their flesh
rank, and no one in any of the wild
goose ridden districts will eat of these
fowls then. They are shipped by the
thousand, all the same, to San Fran
cisco and other markets all winter long
where the people seem to think the
green wheat fed birds are delicacy.
But if the markets could take ten times
| as many as they do the number would
be small compared with the thousands
and thousands of the destructive fowls
that are killed and left lying on the
!, ground.
"Tolo county, where | live, especially
l in its northern part, l once thought
could beat all creation as a feeding
place for wild geese, for l haYe seen
these focks 80 thick in the air, going
to and from their favorite pasture, that
only few and d-far-between glimpse of
the sky could be obtained for an hour
: at time. But when went into Col
usa county made up my mind that |
had never seen wild geese enough be-
!, ! fore to speak of. There is large ex-
panse of barren plain IN that county
u which affords an unrivaled place of
rendezvous for both geese and ducks,
> and have seen those barrens when
J. thought that all the wild geese that
u went forth to all parts of the land,
near and remote, must surely have
70 their starting place on the Colusa
10 county barrens. They may be seer
ID rising up from the plains in swarms
~ like the locusts of Egypt, and going
u forth in all directions 10 prey on the
i farmers. They remain all winter long
and the wheat the farmers cut in the
y harvest they have had to fight the
/ geese and ducks for months to retain
!, "There are many large wheat ranch
es In these two counties, such as the
~ Glenn ranch, the Bogg and others
~ u From twelve TO twenty five herders
- are employed by each of the big
% ranches to patrol the wheat fields aud
Il Il wage continual warfare against thu
u geese and ducks. These herders liv,
n in cabins scattered about the ranches
u and tramp about the fields from day
light until dark, and long after night
too, if the moon is shining, for botl
geese and ducks feed on the whes
IL fields at night if it is moonlight, Duck
ne are more troublesome than geese a
O. night, and it was discovered accident
.'s ally few years ago that light in
al field would irighuen them away. Ian
ID terms were placed iu large numbers
among the wheat, and for a long umt
the fowl were so shy of the brigh
pd lights that the farmers were benefited
1e At last however, the ducks became
nd used to the lanterns, and grew so Dol,
nv as TO feed by their light.
al "The small farmers in the wheat dis
10 trict, being unable to individually EN-
s ploy herders, have combined in a sor
er of mutual herding rssoolation, anC
Iy pay for patrol protection out of a com
re- mon fund, many of the farmers doing
et- herding duty themselves, "-Ne,0 Yor'
nd Sun.