The San Francisco call. [volume], July 18, 1909, Page 5, Image 5

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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ne San Francisco Sunday Call
Harnessing the Appetite of the Goat
RNOTHER of the* big elemenUl
forces of nature Is to be bent- to
the will of man and set to per
forming his tacks. The ap
petite of the goat is to be brought un
der his control and set to doing his
work. The discovery of the-applica
tion of this latest force long known to
exist yet unrecognized as a power that
eight be applied. to the accomplishment
of the world's work has come, with the
suddenness of all great discoveries. ,
As Ben Franklin,. practical enthusiast,
found a way to draw electrical force
from the heavens; as Fulton put steam
to pushing a boat up the ' Hudson.' so
have the willing workers of the govern
raent forest service, under the Influence
of a stroke of master genius, .set the
goat to eating wide lanes through the
trackless thickets .that I beset the na
tional domain. So at about the. same
time end with the tendency that great
Ideas have of turning up simultaneously
In different places, have the land own
ers of lowa and Texas discovered that
the goats wlil clear their land and pay
for the privilege," while the. stump dig: -
Cers would demand from $12 to |20 an
acre for far less efficient work.
The discovery all came about through
the impetus given the, times by the-con
aervation movement /and the tendency
to take stock of the forces that were
wantonly going to waste In the country.
The commission appointed by. the presi
dent reported upon those obvious
wastes 'that might be seen by the man
on the street, but who overlooked the
ffr.er points in the game.* The goat ap
petite was called to the attention of the
retiring president at the very, moment
of his riving over the reins of office and
escaped a special message by an eye
lash.
The first application of the new Idea
Is scheduled for the brush covered foot
hills of California and is to be tried
under the supervision of Uncle ' Sam
himself. Three thousand, Angora goats
have entered the. government service
under civil service rules and are ; al
ready at work. They are under, con
tract for two years, and when that time
expires the government has the privi
lege of renewal.
Goats as Road Makers
These goats are road makers and fire
ixiuers. Their versatility, is not great
rutslde of the wide range taken by
their appetites. But It is this appetite
that does the work. The world has
always knows two things about the
goat — the force of its appetite and the
force of its "butt." .The . latter had
rather b«en exaggerated, but the* for-.
tr.er It is impossible to exaggerate. It
U insatiable and stops' at nothing.
It is this indlecrlmir.atir.gr appetite,
that is to be made to cut roads through*
the chaparral thickets that will, furnish
passageways for. the rangers and. that
will block the advance" of fires /that •
tnay come roaring-down the 'hillsides,
devouring the vegetation as, they come/
This present band, for example, ; Is \ to »
set to work In the Lassen national for- ,
est. Here there Is a great quantity of
undergTowth/ehfefly chaparral. .This*, Is v
c ! most Impenetrable to.t he \ horseman."
and is the dry season furnishes'; a} fire!
trap that at any .moment • Is ' likely to
precipitate' a conflagration.'
Preventing fires and fighting them
back wh*n they are once started pre
senU one of the greatest difficulties
that the rangers of the forest service
experience. The difficulty of stopping
these fires last summer' in the United
.States caused the lOBS.of many millions
In property and several hundred lives.
,One of the greatest aids in -battling
these when once they get a start lies In
the fire breaks. . Theße are lanes cut
through the forest or brush and de
nuded of any material upon which the
flames may feed. When they reach such
a lane they exhaust themselves. On
"ether occasions, when the flames are so
strong that. they would' leap a lane of
• the-; width or: 2©o -or 300 yards, 'the
rangers use' this strip and back lire to
broaden It. .
fe Now. when a ban^l of 3.Q00 of these
goats, armed to the teeth with their ap
petites, is led Into the thicket and
pointed into it they fall upon it and de
vour It. Before' they enter a narrow
trail is cut to direct their course. They
'are . herded close together, held back,
end allowed to advance only ao fast as
they , have absolutely cleared the
ground. The result is that ahead of
them the thicket gives way and; behind
them is the wide swath of bare ground
entirely denuded of any vegetation.
•With their onward march the firebreak
grows, and It is such a firebreak as is
beyond the cleverness of man to dupli
cate. y,v
The goat is ambitious in his work. He
resents' the fact that In the past he has
been regarded merely as material" for
the Jokesmiths- and comic supplement .
enthusiasts. He intends to demonstrate
5 the • fact that he can remain well and
strong with no tin cans as a condiment
and that he Is no plaything for children,
but a worker among men. He denies
the assertion that he does not know he
is working' when he goes to road mak
ing. No advantage is being taken of
him, and It Is the very .: job for which
he has been in preparation since he ac
companied Moses and ,the. children- of
Israel out of Egypt; and furnished, the
material for the making of the goat's
hair pillow which was placed under the '
-head of the image, that- Michal substi
tuted for David to; deceive themessen
gers of Saul. _
' With the goat the. thing it eatsiVa-"'
matter {of absolute indifference. .It is
not, 'averse; to; blue 'grass,- clover or, al- '
falfa. On the other hand,: it is equally :
fond'of^rank; growing; weeds that no •'
other creature will, t»uch/ A flock has
been known to wax fat on sagebrush on
• the' deserts 'of Nevada* or upon'a patch "
of cocklebur in Louisiana:' A thicket of -;
oak brush Is Ia" store ; of r provehder,? an :
old r hoe is a toothsome dainty and the
leaves of ; the forestarethe goat break--,
fast food. , '-~. .'..-'.'\u25a0-.••'"\u25a0 ..'\u25a0' :*;':
" Chaparral . is ..the i food '\u25a0 ideal. \ :It Is ?
also one . of the- greatest menaces to
the uncultivated lands east and west,
and »outh.l ' In ; California . it; starts "on;.
the open spaces about the foothills and
the ' forest^ border. 7 >W grows •; so thick \l
that * it f . smothers ' out all r ;young.j, trees *
and I Interferes ; with ; the - spread of 5 the i
valuable " forests. l;, It {encroaches : on i the ;
lands j from* which one • crop iof i tim&ei *•?
has ; been cut and prevents ; the growing ;
of another, crop.; In > Texas, whereTthe
rolling prairies bnee swept for hundreds
of ; miles 'and where the occasional prai
rie - fires -prevented "• the - appearance \ of -
the smallest ehrub, the chaparral had
UNGLE SAM HAS SCT ANGOR^V FLOCKS TOGLEAR
PUBLIC LANDS OF CHAPARRAL AND TO EAT FIRE
GAPS THROUGH- CALIFORNIA RESE/RVES
\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0-:
put in an appearance with the fencing
and settlement of the country and the
discontinuance 'of the fires. All that
great 6tretch*of country west of San
Antonio where the 'cattle, king ' once
hejd-sway. and the cowboy roamed free
as a prairie viking the chaparral has
encroached. . Today it stands aa high
as a man's head on horseback and in
a dense, unbroken thicket, in which a
view , reaching not far beyond one's
horse's ears can be had. On the heights
of Harlem the same chaparral Is to be
seen, converting the vacant lots Into
thickets that harbor 14 year old bandits
In the planning of dire deeds to be
perpetrated upon the 4,000,000 people of
New York. • •
When the goat and the chaparral
meet there ensues. the battle royal. The
errant appetite of the goat wanders
from sprig to sprig and 'from leaf to
leaf of the plant. He strips it of every
vestige of green that ; is within "his
reach. He stands on; his : hind; legs and .
does wonders among '; the taller
branches.. Then finally, he "gets astride
of- those bushes that are -not too stiff '\u25a0
,to withstand his. weight; and rides
them down. When, they are bent over
he stands upon themand devours them. ,
When he has ;: finished with;; the bush
there.^s nothing left of it but stiff, barb
limbs. The : effect ;\upon the bush of
losing Its leaves is peculiar.; The leaves
are the lungs of the plant and with-"
out its lungs It smothers to deAh." '
If the goats are. held upon, the brush
patch a little • longer, they . fall to and I
eat" the, bark off the trees. " This is the
manner'of attack on saplings ; that are
too. large for the bending process. The
foul that are likely to exist in
the -.thicket : have^fallen with ihe un-.
derbrush and : there is not a vestige of
life or growth left in the. path. ; A fire
; could no more be started than In the
middle of. San. Francisco bay.
Clearing Fire Gaps
-.'i, Th- men of ; the forest service have
for years been;; industriously cutting
and grubbing out , these fire breaks.
The task [is tedious and each year the
ground'has to- be, again gone over*to .
remove , the I new.- ; growth. ; When the
: goat force has been developed to its ul
timate efficiency a -herd vof «them ' will
merely, be' started down one ;ofthe' : flre'i
breaks and allowed ; to devourl whatever ;
'comes In, lts way. v -This young .growth ;
will.; be easy \u25a0 meat 5 f or , the - goats and
'they" will.again. sweep the J fire .break
clean. ;V'.The-i' errant^herdx will -> wander \u25a0
day af ter _ day^ along ; these fire j. lines
and as they graze "and" wax> fat; they '
will • leave lines; behind ithat •will; stop"
the fire demon w^ieneverhe comes roar->
irig Jthrough 'the .woods.^
: ''i Dr.- J.-B.T Standley, of \u25a0 lowa first; hit '(
\u25a0 upon the.ldea of clearing up brush land ; "
- with \ goats. . IHe 7 ,was •\u25a0: the ; owner of »a '
. tract 2 that " was . : practifcally : useless }. be- >
cause Tof the < fact' that ';it ; was- overrun
"with ; brush. t T;He'V secured a carload; of ?
these animals and started them in on a
• 40. acre r field. i^Fcomta'^wastet thicket;
in .two", years they had 'converted -ltilnto\ !
an : open ' field ;< entirely i r clear of / weeds ;
andjbrush"^ In> the meantime [they; had
proved 'themselves j a profitable | Invest- ;
merit ] from * a i U vestock J standpoint 7and 2
had ~~ made : him J money/;v;He * ; increased i
the herd|andiSetHhemf t'ofclearlngjup '.'.
other] tracts."^ On lands that were ; cbv- i.
ered \ with" large timber;he?found^that":
they* would' eh tircly.7destToy"thelunder-^
brush arid weed*: r'nd'; make Van ;oppor- :
tuni ty for the planting , of grasses - that
would 3 be excellent! grazing for; other
livestock. - A ; woods l bo •: grazed I would
soon come , to have'the 'appearance 'of a
•well: pruned "orchard, 'clean"; of air down
hanging branches, or; of an open : park
way..':;; ; \u25a0 .; - ;'\u25a0 '. : *\u25a0..". , ; , •.; '. \u25a0 ; -":.- .;
In Oregon It ' : has been figured that*
the average /cost' of v clearing an- acre*
of brush- land lwas' s2o,' but the goats
did it : for nothing and ? boarded them
selves. j-In \u25a0 Ohio, . Maryland, YWest Vir
ginia and farther south,/ the ..cost" of
clearing .-\u25a0 was . estimated'; at ww $ 12,1 2, : whl^e '.
the goats tolled gratis. .The work Is'
better,-, done i than' when^ men do , it,' and *
the ' soili; In^the- meantime is enriched.
The / larger - trees X need . only ..' be I felled j
and' the: goats will devour \u25a0 every sprig
of, their/ tops,: leaving :ori lyf firewood. ?i'A\
slight v grazing i*)the ; -i second : year<w|ll^
remove; the"; sprouts f without "grubbing;
and the "', taskl is Tcomplete. : \in Virginia*
broom' sedge,;which. will not; be" touched -
by \u25a0\u25a0 other 'livestock,": is < eaten" up) to the
very \ lasti- bit/ ol Cockleburs i in-Texas;
lan tana, " the ,curse of Hawaii ; . sunflow
ers in Kansas, all fall before the on-!
ward : march of v the : Insatlablelgdat. r' ": ;
Vi'Any.old^ goat! will; do ,the Lwork.^. The '
appetite is common", to them.'^ But thei
aristocrat % of?, them ; , all-^-the % Angora
goatr7ris:the'member.of-.the; family .that :
Is most f commonly; set-to the task. ; This*'
is} because ithef AngoraH goat "exlstslin*
the * largest Voumbers. h having been ;de ; %
v eloped \u25a0'in' great ; herds because lof * the •':
profits jin"; Its j fleece.^This ; goat j comes "
f rom '<: Angora hln ;*Asia- Minor, \ where J H' t i
originated. XTheji famous -Angora Tea \\s\
with^ long I hair.l also -; come ;*\u25a0 f roml; this V
section. <There: Is 'a* shaggy^greyhoundt
thatt Is i, also s from|f Angora; ri Seemingly.4
there^ Is * somej peculiarity^ In I 'climate >
thatr causes |' animal* , : living! there A to*
grow^i hair J In?, abundance.'; j.What ; it iis f
that (causes * this : i str&n ge * result ; Is " not j
understood by "scientists,"- as \ the' climate '
V.' '\u25a0•\u25a0'••".\u25a0.\u25a0''\u25a0,/'. ' : ':\'". "S"' 1 "\u25a0'."' " •\u25a0 -•\u25a0 -^\u25a0'\u25a0"-.:-.' \u25a0» v* r . "V* A --- '•"\u25a0•'
ti Is ? not' greatly different from . large por-
the United -States, but the
.*. fact stands. \u25a0; * -l~%'^
>. The r Angora : goat ; lnTthls "country has
developed 4 from; a few small \u25a0 importa
':• tlona."; -Thet-CashmereXgroat ifrom the
' same ; section has : also - been Introduced
C and * Intermixed *,wlth the Angoras. The
fleece of the Cashmere" groat Is a little
different In texture and Is used chiefly
-in making shawls. - ; That of • the "Angora
la : woven* Into j mohair, a :'. dress :: goods
v more, or^less^ popular, and for the.man
}_ uf acture of plush for It
is estimated that 5,000,000 yards of thij
plush ; is now -in use . in • car seats : alone
in this country, j. The rAngora <- goat, in
its 'tendency \to enter into \ the : frivolous
'and ; that > which' smacks - or the . unusual;
? has i* also-, butted; into -the -amusement
'.business s and - furnishes if the -hair* from
v which > are madeV all ? the .wigs « used \ by
/the- theatrical .profession, and; by those
"who masquerade. \u25a0 "\u25a0-\u25a0"..• \u25a0'•". ",
}'*.• \The '\u25a0', meat of '.the* goat' Is known as
; "goat venison.'! and In"* flavor is ; a com
.promise: between mutton' and /venison.
.Particularly;, when pastured upon brush
'or> uncultivated \u25a0 forage,"' Is C Its '\u25a0. flesh « of
Uhe bigamy. ? flavor, and . consequently,
highly prized.' \u25a0\u25a0/-;- \u25a0"-_"> ;:.v \ V ~]
'*iThat, the "Angora' might be ;ca uaedj to'
« yield ;up'.: Its 'abundance of f fleece -for, the
: textile j demand ; It < was 'J: Into
. large j herds : In '\u25a0\u25a0 Newj^Mexlco, i Texaa/; Ari
sona and -The i profits waxed
: lar ge,> f or/, tbejjfleece f.- crop vwaa heavy.
i.The-Ainerican^yarletles.^lnvyrtheil-way
; that v American '? have, ":• produced ,
fleece iand*":more; of < It fthan\was
grown I elsewhere,'?* son« s of j- it ' belag .* 18
: inches ;iln?-lehgth^?|f The »^ dictates ~ : of
Dame Fashlonicame along and decreed
-that* mohair "was j the* material : worn by
'the * elltel and- demand f for* It * Increased.
.Prices i*^, of y; the : ; raw^v! material £fs ran
dollar pound'.withlit^
tle-or^no;; expense ilny the i production."**
\u25a0-- -- '- \u25a0-\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0''-:\u25a0.\u25a0. ?!\u25a0*,• : .-"; \u25a0\u25a0'•\u25a0' "\u25a0" \u25a0 •' v '";' v -:- \u25a0 \u25a0 '\u25a0 '---'I
The '?• owners *of the ; herds : played row
lette In' Denver; and made love to* the
Chile queens In San Antonio. . The
flocks grew.; '
\-_ ' : . Then with = one of these freaks for -
'which -she is so famous." Dame Fashion
decreed that mohair. was no longer the
and debonair -and her votar
:ies; turned ?a^ fickle allegiance together
things.; ; There ; was a slump in the mo
hair, market arid the status of the large
'and rapidly v increasing herds of ; An
gora goats was a; matter of anxiety.
It was in this crisis that the great
, discovery., has , come. : The \ goat . is ' by
nature fitted as - a laborer in' the • thick
ret .and the pioneer; in .the taming of
wild; lands. There are^so,ooo,ooo acres
of Jand in the United States that are
overrun' with/ thickets 'and " is . now
/valued at $20 an; acre. . With the brush.
.cleared -oft jit would c be worth * twice
that money. This makes a billion doK*
"lar "contract directly 'facing, '.the. goats.
. Their ; owners - are \u25a0 rapidly;' to
the /task « of : r clearing land. : The con- :
r tract with r the" United States ' govern- ,
mentito [cut trails .through 'the, forest
?is; : one''qf .'the first ""great
Others 'are ollow. '._/\u25a0 In New: Mexico,
it is I said, the ownersYof :• great herds
\u25a0are dividing them into. bands : of -suit--
starting out forj; new
3 lands to j conquer. -.TheY; will ' contract*
*,to -eat \u25a0; up •anything; from .'a ,saw' dust
pile. to an Amazon Jungle. They prom
lse to become nomads wandering here
r andithereat^the-will "of their masters,
order^out -of -chaos .and clean
fields ; out <pf ,-. wanton' wastes. -7 -'Their =-
ambitions are to, get themselves taken
".Mrlously; and .to escape \u25a0from' the comic
i supplements sCi? 5; «Mjrivince / the *.; public
that "their, cast !of countenance is patri
archially; solemn; instead -ot f rivolou»ry
\u25a0giddy. They ; hope* to v eat" their 'way to
fame. . *
DEAFNESS CURED
By New Discovery
Kj^s] '^Jt \j rnonstra-
vjj a" J ted that deaf*
ness can bo
j^^^>T cured." — Dr.
\M^f^t Guy " CHfford
The secret of bow to ne the • my iterlons aa4
iaTlslhle natnre forces for the care of Tfsafn—
and Head Kolses has at last been discovered by
tn« f amoos Physician-Scientist; Dr. . Ony Clif-
ford Powell. , Deafness and Head Sotnm «tffj-
pear as If by magic onder the os« of tola n«w
. and wonderful dlscortry. He will send all who
\u25a0offer from Deafness and Hud Noises fun ta>
formation how they e»a be cnr«d. abaolataly
free, no natter bow Ions: they h«-»« be«a «eaf.
or what caused their deafness. Tils maxratou
Treatment is so ilrapls. „ natoral and iwrtstn
that yoa will wonder why it was not dfrcorwd
before. InTestlsaton are astonished aa6 and
patients themselres marrtl at the «olck rsasltak
Any deaf person caa ha»» foil lnformatJoa how
to be cored quickly and cored to stay cored at
home without la-rtttlnj a cent. Writ* today to
Dr. Gny CUSord Powell. 3123 Bask Bid*-. P»-
orla. 111., and get foil taformatloa of tins arw
and wonderful discovery «t»olntely £r»«.
* Isn't it Worth 20 CenU
twice over to enjoy your green corn
without soiling, and burning your fla-
gers? ; You can do It with a pair of
"Perfection Hot Corn Holders"
They're sanitary and practical: made
of solid metal, heavily nickeled, easily
cleaned and will not tarnish. Ask your
dealer. If he hasn't them, send to na
direct. *g5B2I?&
By mall, prepaid. 20 e*nta \u25a0 pair
• Or, better, still. 3 pairs for 50 cents *
mratmiEHi «a a. ci East tnsi 1 »m mm im
Gray Hair Restored
<£§$&*. \u25a0 "WALKinTA Hilß STAW
«^ fe^§V- S*»Vores Onj, Saresvied at
nr?<MJ^l9^A4 UtteUHtuiT. Qrr»soT«n*<i»
HS»iW£&* ftaw LJ«h« £»« to feu*k.
*Smrtt*i% i>»a« net yrmak «r nth •* Cos»
frf Jhrk Ulna bo potsons »ad la not vtiiuy
__„ ? cor «Tt*ir. Sol 4 braUdrsc«at%
£W9 will »rmd yon a tn»J Urn for *o*, V^P***,
rt mil U. teai dtwa to aa. Seal^b*^*
jrapper from twt> bo«k» 9*nrl»a«d from » <* re « 2"
y/UJkiVXTA CO., I*os c OU»« at, at. Loai*. *»*
JRmmTU R "E
\u2666 Get r^ 4 Strap* and S*Hms sad seCUREO. \u2666
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-Ttro«i*« CANHOT b«lß>yf<t «» d J»2lJ%2«2** A
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:. j> wer»«sdTwl»rw£l« ' HoHßaf Jttll *«>f»«#
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i k mow tor snax; wita S9OO rablta Rwlonemeata. \u2666
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, .; CUH£ seat by'eipress » yW-
H .1 00 Fre* Trial. If It core*, send
flCTnniQ •»: " not. d«n't. GlTeexpre«
Holl lid °"f« »*tloaal Chamic*! Co..
**" * .'""T* 7T» Ohio vi.. gidaey. O.
When Aaswerlas Tkesit Ad»ertisem«nU Plaas*
Mention the ; S«a • rraaciac* CaUl «