The farmer and mechanic., 1915-04-13

along it in bOtn dlrectlOHS- ~ eFoiS
900 feet holes about a yard deep are
dug. and these are so bordered with
tin that the locusts drop into the
holes and cannot get out. The agr1-
cultural department has spent mil
lions Of dollars for such means OF de-
Tense, and it has now on hand enough
Of such barriers to reach hai1-WaS
around the world. There are also
other locust traps. In places the
crawlers are scooper up with scrapers
and killed. and attempts have been
made to destroy them with solutions
OF kerosene, arsenic and creosote.
Another insect pest Of Argentine is
the ant. There is one species that is
not much bigger than the head or
large pin, but it exists IN such num-
bers that the damage is enormous. 1t
attacks the sugar cane and cotton
It bites it's way into the oranges and
it craWls into the houses. It likes to
work in the dark and no place is safe
from it. In some sections the bed
posts rest in bowls Of water or on
panes of glass coated with vaseline to
keep the ants out and am told that
it is sometimes necessary to take the
babies from their cradles and dip them
in water to clean off the ants. The
little insects are so small that they
get into their mouths and nOstrils.
and there are reports Of babies that
have been killed by them. The Ar
gentine ant has caused trouble in the
United States. These ants have been
carried by ships to our gulf coast,
and for a time there were SO many
| in New Orleans that they became
known as the New Orleans ant They
are also found j1i Southern California
The animar life OF Argentine does
| not compare in variety with that Of
| the United States. The greater part
| Of the country is treeless, and there
! are but few wild birds and wild beasts
| in comparison with some other parts
| Of the world. | have seen condOrs in
| the Andes. They are the highest birds
that fly and their favorite breeding
| places are two or three miles above
| the sea. They may often be seen
! among the SHOWS and are also on ex-
hibition in the geological gardens Of
! some of the South American capitals.
1 photographed a half dozen in the
zoo at Lima. Peru, and it seemed to
me they were about the ugliest birds
| in the whole aviary. Their heads and
necks had no feathers, and they
looked like the gigantic vultures that
they are. The male condors have
combs Of bright red. and there is a
frill of white feathers at the base
of their long, skinny necks. The rest
Of the plumage is black These birds
are sometimes compared with the
eagle, but they are nothing like eagles
in appearance and habits. They eat
carrion, and if llama or an alpaca
lies dead in the mountains YOU NAV
see them sWooping down upon the car
cass. They will attack any Of the ami
mails of the high Andes, especially il
1t Is sick or wounded; and the sheD-
herds have to wait to keep them away
from the sheep. When they find :
!; carcass they gorge themselves and il
IS Wnen they are stupid from over.
eating that they are easily caught anG
5 killed.
the condor is not seen On the pam
pas, although there are many yulture
OF other kinds there and in othel
. parts or Argentine. The caranch,
: makes one think of a cross betwee,
: a vulture and a hawk It is a com
!. ;, paratively small bird of a dark-brow,
y color with a light band across it
> | wings. The carancho is one of m
: pests Of the pastoral districts. 1t no
= = only eats carrion, but it will alta cl
( the lambs and pick out their eves
1t makes me think Of the kea. tn
= famous sheep-eating parrot of Ney
- Zealand, which has a way Of fasten
!, ing its claws into the wool Of iv
:, sheep and then tearing hole into il
, side to get at the kidneys. The ke
:, instinctively knows just where tn
y kidneys are located, and the hol
which which it cuts is as smooth a
though 1T were done with a knife. Th
|, bird tears out the kidneys and f,
"a and then leaves the sheep to die. A
- times the government has offered
20 reward Of rs cents a head for doa
keas and as many as 5000 have bee
n killed in one year.
,e About the most interes7ino 80 -,
v large birds Of Argentine is the rha.
to or the South American ostrich me
lg are round in great numbers rnnn;r
rs over the pampas and there ara 49,,
as stands OF them in Patagonia. i hav
rs seen seen, mem rom the car windows an
ag nave watched them hunted IN 80
e desert. where they SQUAT dow ' -
ey moe their heads in the sand. The
We are then Of the sama 1he