TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

WISCONSIN ACADEMY

OF

SCIENCES, ARTS AND LETTERS

VOL. XXXIX

MADISON, WISCONSIN

1947-1948-1949

TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

WISCONSIN ACADEMY

OF

SCIENCES, ARTS AND LETTERS

VOL. XXXIX

MADISON, WISCONSIN

1947-1948-1949

The publication date of Volume 39 (1947-1948-1949) is

August 1, 1949

Published Jointly by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences,

Arts and Letters and the Milwaukee Public Museum by Order

OF THE Board of Trustees of the Milwaukee Public Museum.

OFFICERS OF THE WISCONSIN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES,

ARTS AND LETTERS

President

L. E. Noland, University of Wisconsin

Vice Presidents

In Science: E. L. Bolender, Superior

In Arts: Don Anderson, Madison

In Letters: R. K. Richardson, Beloit

Secretary-Treasurer

Banner Bill Morgan, University of Wisconsin

Librarian

Halvor O. Teisberg, University of Wisconsin

Curator

W. C. McKern, Milwaukee Public Museum

Council

The President

The Vice-Presidents

The Secretary-Treasurer

The Librarian

E. A. Birge, past president

Charles E. Allen, past president

Paul W. Boutwell, past president

A. W. Schorger, past president

H. A. Schuette, past president

Committee on Publications

The President

The Secretary-Treasurer

W. Karl Loughborough, Madison

Committee on Library

The Librarian

Berenice Cooper, Superior

P. P. Pritzel, Wes^ DePere

Joseph Baier, Milwaukee

Mary E. Pinney, Milwaukee

Committee on Membership

The Secretary-Treasurer

H. A. Schuette, University of Wisconsin

Norman C. Fassett, University of Wisconsin

W. N. Steil, Marquette University

Barber, Ripon College

on the Council of the American Association

the Advancement of Science

Banner Bill Morgan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Tularemia in Wisconsin. Banner Bill Morgan _ 1

The Vegetation of Dane County. Robert ScotT Ellarson _ _ _ 21

Fungi of the University of Wisconsin Arboretum. H. C. Greene _ 47

A Wisconsin Chemical Pioneer — The Scientific Work of

Louis Kahlenberg. NoRRiS F. Hall _ 83

Antibiotic Aspects of Copper Treatment of Lakes. ARTHUR D. Hasler _ 97

Stream Pollution Abatement Studies in the Pulp and Paper Industry.

Willis M. Van Horn _ 105

How Chemicals Entered the Official Pharmacopoeias. George Urdang _ 115

The Problem of Speech-Mixture in the German Spoken in Northwestern

Dane County, Wisconsin. Lester W. J. Seifert _ 127

A Preliminary Creel Census of Perch Fishermen on Lake Mendota,

Wisconsin. KENNETH M. Mackenthun and Elmer F. Herman _ 141

The Black Bear in Early Wisconsin. A. W. SCHORGER _ 151

Squirrels in Early Wisconsin. A. W. SCHORGER _

_ 195

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The use of footnotes is to be discouraged. However, if they are necessary,

type as a list on separate sheets. All bibliography is to be typed on separate

sheets and kept uniform in style. Use the following as sample for guide: —

Doe, J. H. 1934. The ecology of Wisconsin. Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci. 14:721-

748. In citing the Transactions use the above abbreviation.

Manuscripts should be mailed flat, not folded or rolled. They should be

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Orders for reprints should be placed at the time the manuscript is submitted.

Correspondence relating to publication in the Transactions or to other Academy

business should be directed to the Secretary-Treasurer, Banner Bill Morgan,

Department of Veterinary Science, 101 Stock Pavilion, University of Wisconsin,

Madison 6, Wisconsin. Publications intended for the Library of the Academy

should be sent directly to the Librarian, Halvor O. Teisberg, 120 State Historical

Building, Madison 6, W^isconsin.

TULAREMIA IN WISCONSIN*

Banner Bill Morgan

Department of Veterinary Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison

*Published with the approval of the director of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment

Station.

Although tularemia was first recognized by McCoy in 1910 as

a “plague-like disease of rodents” in California ground squirrels

(Citellus beecheyi) and later by Francis (1920) as “deer fly fever”

in jack rabbits and man, the disease was not reported in Wisconsin

until 1928. Probably the disease existed in Wisconsin before that time.

Tularemia is now known as a highly infectious disease occurring

primarily in wild rabbits (Lagomorpha) and rodents (Rodentia);

secondarily in man. The causative agent is classified as Pasteurella

tularensis, one of the plague-like group, being related to the bubonic

plague organism, P. pestis. The tularemia organism differs from P.

pestis in cultural characteristics, growth requirements, and antigenic

composition. It shows some degree of antigenic relationship to the

Brucella group as it cross agglutinates with B. abortus (brucellosis,

undulant fever). Microscopically, the bacterium is a small gram

negative, non-motile, aerobic rod which has bacillary and coccoid

tendencies.

Since the disease was first discovered in California, numerous

cases have been reported in the United States. It is rapidly becom¬

ing an important disease with a human mortality rate of approxi¬

mately 5 per cent. According to authorities, tularemia is the only

disease of man first described from America. Forty-six states. District

of Columbia, Alaska, and several foreign countries, namely Canada

(1930), Sweden (1931), Austria (1935), Czechoslovakia (1937),

Poland (1942), Russia (1920), Norway (1929), French West Africa,

Tunisia (1938), Turkey (1938) and Japan (1925) have reported

the occurrence of tularemia.

OCTl

1

2

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Tularemia is transmitted among wild animals and occasionally

to man by blood sucking arthropods. The vectors in the United States

include the deer fly (Chrysops discalis), ticks (Dermacentor ander-

soni, D. variabilis, and D. occidentaUs)^ rabbit louse (Haemodipsus

ventricosus)f mouse louse (Polyplox serratus), squirrel flea (Cera-

tophyllus acutus), stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans), and bed bug

(Cimex lectularius).

Francis (1937) stated that cottontail rabbits, jack rabbits, and

snowshoe hares accounted for over 90 per cent of the human cases

in the United States. In most instances the disease was contracted

by dressing rabbit carcasses. The organism can enter through un¬

broken skin, as well as the traumatized integument. Infection may

occur also by consumption of improperly cooked infected meat or by

inhalation. Since a large number of laboratory workers have con¬

tracted the disease despite extreme precautions, there is evidence

for the belief that air-borne infection is of considerable importance.

Another potential danger of tularemia infection has been demon¬

strated by the isolation of viable P. tularensis from cold water streams.

The infected rabbits and rodents show marked involvement of

the liver, spleen, bone marrow and lungs. The surface of the viscera

often shows many small white foci varying in size from microscopic

to one sixteenth of an inch in diameter. These lesions develop with¬

in four days after the rabbit is infected.

In man, the disease has an incubation period of approximately

three days with symptoms of headache, chills, general muscular aching,

fever, nausea or vomiting. The symptoms somewhat resemble those

of “flu.” If infection has entered through a wound, an ulcer may form.

The lymph glands generally become enlarged, tender and painful.

Later, some of the glands may abscess. Patients show a slow con¬

valescence requiring from two to four months.

Most of our knowledge of tularemia is derived from the extensive

investigations of Edward Francis and his co-workers of the United

States Public Health Service. Tularemia later was made a notifiable

disease to this Federal agency.

In compiling the data for this report, tables and maps were com¬

piled from the original records of the Wisconsin State Board of Health

through the courtesy of Dr. H. M. Guilford.

The data presented may be affected to a variable extent by the

progressive increase in the skill and ability of physicians to diagnose

tularemia. Relatively few cases of tularemia had been reported in

Morgan — Tularemia in Wisconsin 3

Wisconsin prior to 1930. This may, perhaps in part, be ascribed to

greater public awareness of tularemia as well as of recognition by

and improved diagnostic skill of physicians and diagnostic labora¬

tories. There is no way of knowing what per cent error may exist

in the number of cases reported. There were 54 human cases of

tularemia in the state in 1939, the highest number recorded for one

year. According to a survey made by McCabe, 50 per cent of 160

farmers’ interviews in 1940 curtailed cottontail rabbit hunting be¬

cause of “rabbit sickness.”

Fig. 1. Distribution of human cases of tularemia in Wisconsin

by counties (1928-1946).

TABLE 1.

Total Number of Cases of Human Tularemia Reported for Each County of Wisconsin Covering

THE Period 1928 to 1946

4

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Morgan — Tularemia in Wisconsin 5

6

Wisconsin Academy oi Sciences, Arts and Letters

From 1928 to 1946 there has been reported from Wisconsin a

total of 459 cases of tularemia in 61 counties. The disease has not

been recorded in ten counties. Table 1 shows the total number of

human cases of tularemia reported for each county in Wisconsin for

the 19-year period. Figure 1 indicates the distribution of tularemia

Fig. 2. Total number of human cases of tularemia in Wisconsin for each month

over a 19 year period (1928-1946).

Fig. 3. Total number of human cases of tularemia in Wisconsin

by year (1928-1946).

TABLE 2.

Total Number of Human Cases of Tularemia Reported in Wisconsin for Each Month over the Period January,

1928 TO December, 1946

Morgan — Tularemia in Wisconsin

7

8

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

in Wisconsin by counties. Over half of the cases occurred in ten

counties: Milwaukee (41), Rock (36), Douglas (36), Dane (29),

Green (25), Lafayette (16), Marathon (14), Ashland (14), Dodge

(12) and Grant (12).

Table 2 shows the total number of human cases of tularemia

reported in Wisconsin for each month over the 19-year period (1928-

1946). In constructing Figure 2, the indication is that tularemia

was seasonal in Wisconsin with October and November the peak

months with 70 and 174 cases, respectively. Another peak occurred

in June with 29 cases. No month was free of tularemia.

According to Figure 3 the disease was somewhat cyclic with 1933

and 1939 the high years. There appears to be a relationship between

human tularemia and the cottontail hunting season which opens in

October and closes in February. The slight rise in June may indicate

exposure to wood ticks (D. variabilis) or the handling of young wild

rabbits. During the haying season, the nest and young are frequently

located by farmers. There is no closed season for the snowshoe hare,

and this may account for some cases reported outside of the regular

cottontail hunting season. Hunting rabbits out of season, exposure to

other infected animals, transmission of the disease by arthropods

and faulty diagnosis appear to be other factors in tularemia dissemi¬

nation to man. Since human tularemia has been reported in every

month, there can be no safe period to handle potential tularemia¬

bearing wild game unless proper precautions are taken.

Information on histories of 459 cases of human tularemia in Wis¬

consin during 1929-1946 seem to cover all the above-mentioned

possibilities. Rabbits (cottontails, snowshoe hares and jack rabbits)

appeared to be the greatest single source of infection with 305 cases

of such contact reported. Due to inability to trace the various histo¬

ries, 79 cases had to be recorded as unknown or not reported. Wood-

ticks (Dermacentor variabilis) were held accountable for 24 human

cases. Eleven cases followed contacts with upland game birds: part¬

ridge, pheasant, prairie chicken. Ten infected persons had killed and

skinned muskrats. Nine cases of tularemia have followed bites or

scratches by cats. Four cases were associated with contact with squir¬

rels and deer-fly bites appear to have caused three cases. Two cases

each followed contact with skunks, horses, sick dogs which killed

rabbits, foxes, muskrat or beaver, or possible contact with skunk,

mink, muskrat or raccoon. One case was recorded from exposure

to a contaminated stream.

Morgan — Tularemia in Wisconsin

9

Some of the case histories classified as unknown or unreported

recorded statements which have little bearing on the transmission

of the disease such as “scratch in raspberry patch,” “cut in the woods,”

“mosquitoes or cut toe,” “fox-farm employee,” “wood splinter,” “wire

prick,” and “bullhead fish injury.”

The cases of infection apparently derived from rabbits varied in

their mode of entrance into the body. The majority had histories of

skinning wild rabbits, while cases which had ingested insufficiently

cooked rabbit meat ranked next in number. Approximately 66.4 per

cent of all cases were derived from direct contact with rabbits.

The mortality rate of tularemia in Wisconsin approaches the

national average of approximately 5 per cent. Of 459 cases from 1928

to 1946, there were 19 deaths, a mortality of 4.13 per cent. The deaths

were distributed over the 19-year period as follows: 1929 (1), 1930

(1) , 1931 (1), 1932 (4), 1933 (4), 1938 (4), 1941 (1), 1943

(2) and 1944 (1).

Francis (1928) classified the different variation in the clinical

manifestations of the disease according to the four clinical types;

1. U leer o glandular: In this form there is a primary lesion which

develops at the point of inoculation. A papule forms and eventually

leaves an ulcer. Within a day or so painful swellings develop in the

regional lymph nodes draining the area of inoculation. Of the 459

Wisconsin cases, 114 patients had the ulceroglandular type (22.4%).

2. Glandular: In this type of tularemia there are no visible pri¬

mary lesions. In all other respects it is similar to the ulceroglandular

type. There were 137 cases of this type (30.4%).

3. Typhoidal: This type is occasionally confused with clinical ty¬

phoid fever. There are no primary lesions or swelling of the regional

lymph glands. There were 88 cases of typhoidal tularemia in the Wis¬

consin patients (19.6%).

4. Oculoglandular: The infection localizes in the conjimctiva, in¬

oculation resulting by touching the eyelids with contaminated hands.

Some of the symptoms and lesions include excessive lachrymation, ir¬

ritation, edema of the lids and hyperemia of the conjunctiva. The re¬

gional lymph nodes also enlarge. Only six cases of this type (1.2%)

were reported from Wisconsin.

Due to lack of complete records, 114 cases (22.4%) were listed as

unclassified. Eight person died of the typhoidal type, six with ulcero¬

glandular tularemia and five from unclassified forms of the disease.

The following is a list of the counties in Wisconsin indicating the

10

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

total number of cases of tularemia reported and the distribution ac¬

cording to towns for the years 1928 to 1946:

1. Adams (0).

2. Ashland (14): Ashland (6), Odanah (2), Morse (1), North York (1),

Glidden (2), Mellen (1), Undesignated (1).

3. Barron (2): Cumberland (1), Barron (1).

4. Bayfield (6): Cable (1), Drummond (2), Iron River (1), Benoit (1),

Undesignated (1).

5. Brown (3): DePere (1), State Reformatory (1), Green Bay (1).

6. Buffalo (2): Fountain City (2).

7. Burnette (2): Hertel (2).

8. Calumet (1): High Cliff (1).

9. Chippewa (3): Holcombe (1), Cornell (1)^ Bloomer (1).

10. Clark (7): Curtiss (1), Owen (1), Hoard Twp. (1), Dorchester (1),

Withee (1), Undesignated (2).

11. Columbia (8): Poynette (1), Wisconsin Dells (2), Fall River (2), Colum¬

bus (1), Pardeeville (1), Rio (1).

12. Crawford (1): Ferryville (1).

13. Dane (29): Madison (16), McFarland (2), Primrose Twp. (1), Water¬

loo (1), Dane (1), Deerfield (1), Albion (1), Belleville (1), Cambridge

(1), Undesignated (4).

14. Dodge (12): Mayville (2), Beaver Dam (2), Watertown (1), Juneau

(1), Horican (6).

15. Door (1): Sawyer (1).

16. Douglas (36): Brule (2), Superior (16), Salon Springs (4), Poplar (2),

Gordon (3), Foxboro (1), Lake Side (3), Maple (2), South Range (2),

Undesignated ( 1 ) .

17. Dunn (2): Menomonie (1), Undesignated (1).

18. Eau Claire (1): Eau Claire (1).

19. Florence (0).

20. Fond du Lac (9): Oakfield (1), Calumet Harbor (1), Rosendale (1),

Fond du Lac (3), Ripon (1), Undesignated (2).

21. Forest (7): Laona Twp. (1), Crandon (3), Wabeno (1), Armstrong

Creek (1), Nashville (1).

22. Grant (12): Fennimore (5), Platte ville (5), Boscobel (1), Livingston (1).

23. Green (25): Brodhead (9), Monroe (9), Browntown (3), Brooklyn (1),

Albany Twp. (1), Adams Twp. (1), Undesignated (1).

24. Green Lake (6): Berlin (4), Markesan (1), Undesignated (1),

25. Iowa (3): Dodgeville (2), Mineral Point (1).

26. Iron (4): Hurley (1), Gile (1), Kimball (1), Undesignated (1).

27. Jackson (0).

28. Jefferson (8): Lake Mills (2), Jefferson (1), Fort Atkinson (3), Sulli¬

van (1), Undesignated (1).

29. Juneau ( 1 ) : Cloverdale ( 1 ) .

30. Kenosha (7): Kenosha (7).

3 1 . Kewaunee ( 0 ) .

32. La Crosse (2): La Crosse (2).

33. Lafayette (16): Darlington (5), Woodford (1), Belmont (1), Argyle

Morgan — Tularemia in Wisconsin

11

(2), Blanchard ville (2), Shullburg (1), South Wayne (2), Calamine (1),

Undesignated (1).

34. Langlade (10); Summit Lake (3), Antigo (2), Elcho (2), Pearson (2),

Parrish ( 1 ) .

35. Lincoln (5): Grandfather Falls (1), Tomahawk (2), Merrill (1), Undes¬

ignated ( 1 ) .

36. Manitowoc (1): Two Rivers (1).

37. Marathon (14); Stratford (3), Hatley (1), Colby (1), Wausau (6),

Athens (1), Hamburg (1), Undesignated (1).

38. Marinette (4); Peshtigo (1), McAllister (1), Pound (1), Goodman (1).

39. Marquette (1): Montello (1).

40. Milwaukee (41): Milwaukee (37), Hales Corners (1), Cudahy (1), West

Allis (2).

41. Monroe (0).

42. Oconto (3): Lake Wood (1), Wheeler (1), Townsend (1).

43. Oneida (5): Rhinelander (3), Pelican (1), Harshaw (1).

44. Outagamie (7): Appleton (4), Kaukauna (3).

45. Ozaukee (0).

46. Pepin ( 1 ) : Stockholm ( 1 ) .

47. Pierce (0).

48. Polk (0).

49. Portage (4): Stevens Point (2), Junction City (2).

50. Price (11): Phillips (6), Lugerville (1), Prentice (1), Town of Knox (1),

Worcester Twp. (1), Kennen (1).

51. Racine (6): Racine (6).

52. Richland (2); Lone Rock (1), Richland Center (1).

53. Rock (36): Janesville (12), Beloit (13), Orfordville (1), Evansville (4),

Edgerton (1), Milton (2), Lima Center (1), Clinton (1), Undesig¬

nated (1).

54. Rusk (11): Bruce (1), Ladysmith (4), Conrath (3), Sheldon (2), Un¬

designated (1).

55. St. Croix (2): Baldwin (1), New Richmond (1).

56. Sauk (6): Lime Ridge (1), Loganville (2), Prairie du Sac (2), Hill-

point (1).

57. Sawyer (9): Winter (2), Hayward (4), Exeland (2), Reserve (1).

58. Shawano (3): Bernamwood (1), Matoon (1), Shawano (1).

59. Sheboygan (4): Plymouth (2), Sheboygan (2).

60. Taylor (9): Rib Lake (3), Gilman (2), Medford (3), Westboro (1).

61. Trempealeau (1): Osseo (1).

62. Vernon (0).

63. Vilas (6): Winegar (2), Arbor Vitae (1), Eagle River (1), Undesig¬

nated (2),

64. Walworth (7): Lake Geneva (3), Delevan (3), Whitewater (1).

65. Washburn (2): Spooner (2).

66. Washington (3); West Bend (2), Barton (1).

67. Waukesha (7): Sussex (1), Waukesha (2), Genesee Depot (2), Gene¬

see Twp, (1), Oconomowoc (1).

68. Waupaca (0).

69. Waushara (3): Lohrville (1), Pine River (1), Red Granite (1).

12

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

In further attempts to correlate the number of cases of human

tularemia with exposure to rabbits, several comparisons were made.

Figure 4 (A) shows the ten leading counties according to total human

population and their rank (Milwaukee, Dane, Racine, Winnebago,

Brown, Sheboygan, Marathon, Washburn, Rock and Outagamie). This

is compared to the ten counties having the largest rabbit population.

Fig. 4. (A) Ten leading counties according to total human population (B) Ten

counties with the largest rabbit population (C) Ten leading counties for cottontail

rabbit take (D) Ten leading counties for snowshoe hare take.

Morgan • — Tularemia in Wisconsin

13

Figure 4 (B). Three counties are represented in both figures, Rock,

Dane and Sheboygan. Figure 4 (E) shows the leading counties in

density of the human population per square mile as compared to

Figure 4 (F) which indicates the density of rabbit population per

square mile. The correlation is a little more pronounced as five coun-

Fig. 4. (^) Ten leading counties in density of human population per square mile

(F) Ten leading counties in density of rabbit population per square mile (G) Ten

leading counties for jack rabbit take (H) Ten leading counties for muskrat take.

14

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

ties are represented in both maps (Rock^ Kenosha, Racine, Waukesha

and Sheboygan). Figure 4 (C, D, G, H) shows the average take for

the cottontail, snowshoe, jack rabbit and muskrat, respectively, over

a five-year period.

Rabbits, which account for 66.4 per cent of all the human cases

of tularemia, are mostly located in southern Wisconsin. Milwaukee

County, where the use of firearms is prohibited, has the greatest

number of cases. This suggests that infection from rabbits is ac¬

quired by hunting in other counties.

It is interesting that Douglas County ranks fourth in snowshoe-

hare take over a five-year period and ranks second in the total

number of cases of tularemia. This would indicate that the snowshoe

rabbit is an important animal source of human tularemia in the

northern counties. Very little significance can be attached to the

jack rabbit population in the incidence of tularemia infection in man.

An epizootic of tularemia was reported in acquatic mammals in

March and April 1946 (musrat and beaver) near the Horicon Marsh,

Dodge County, Wisconsin. Six human cases of tularemia were as¬

cribed to infected muskrats in Dodge County which is the third lead¬

ing county for muskrat take.

One case of tularemia in Wisconsin was thought to be water borne.

Morgan (1947) found that six species of fish were not susceptible to

the disease. Acquatic mammals would appear to be the major source

of water-borne cases.

Summary

A total of 459 human cases of tularemia have been recorded from

61 counties in Wisconsin over a 19-year period (1928-1946), Ap¬

proximately 67 per cent of the cases were derived from direct contact

with rabbits. The mortality rate was 4.1 per cent. Of the four clinical

types of tularemia, 114 patients had the ulceroglandular type (22.4

per cent), 136 patients had the glandular type (30.4 per cent), 88

patients contracted the typhoidal type (19.6 per cent) and only 6

cases (1.2 per cent) had the oculoglandular tularemia. Due to in¬

complete records, 114 cases (22.4 per cent) were listed as unclassi¬

fied, Over one half of the cases occurred in ten counties: Milwaukee

(41), Rock (36), Douglas (36), Dane (29), Green (25), Lafayette

(16), Marathon (14), Ashland (14), Dodge (12) and Grant (12).

Tularemia is somewhat seasonal with November the high month,

which coincides with the hunting season. The high year was 1939

with 54 cases.

Morgan — - Tularemia in Wisconsin

IS

Acknowledgments

The writer wishes to thank Dn H. M. Guilford^ Wisconsin State

Board of Health, Madison, for permission to examine the original

records on file at the State Board of Health Office. Thanks are also

due to Mrs. Doris Orwig and Mr. Clayton Haberman for aid in com¬

piling these data.

Bibliography

Anonymous. 1929. Telegraphic morbidity reports from state health officers.

1930.

1931.

1932.

1933.

1934.

1935.

1936.

1937.

Public Health Reports. 44 (36):2171.

16

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

1937. Ibid.

1938. Ibid.

1939. Ibid.

1940. Ibid.

1941. Ibid.

1942. Ibid.

1942. /5id.

1942. Ibid.

1942. /£)/d.

1942. Ibid.

1942. /bid.

1942. Ibid.

1942. /bid.

1942. Ibid.

1942. /bid.

1943. /bid.

1943. Ibid.

1943. /bid.

1943. Ibid.

1943. /bid.

1943. Ibid.

1943. /bid.

1943. Ibid.

(35) : 1184.

(42): 1466.

(50) : 1843.

(3): 105.

(6):241.

(19):787.

(29) : 1263.

(32) : 1435.

(37) : 1676.

(42): 1899.

(46):2069.

(6) :238.

(7) :279.

(11) :452.

(33) : 1539.

(41): 1869.

(51) :2262.

(24): 1095.

(38) : 1750.

(49) : 2294.

(9) :409.

(10) :474.

(22):1179.

(36) :1811.

(13) :472.

(14) :516.

(6) :209.

(7) :244.

(9):316.

(12) :439.

(15) : 546.

(16) :596.

(30) : 1107.

(35): 1317.

(37) : 1388.

(39) : 1468.

(48): 1833.

(50) : 1914.

(51) :1958.

(52) : 1995,

(1) :27.

(2) :63.

(9):365.

(14) :581.

(15) :621.

(24):927.

(28): 1068.

(38) : 1418.

(39) : 1449.

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

Morgan — Tularemia in Wisconsin

17

_ 1943. Ibid. 58 (41): 1520.

_ 1943. Ibid. 58 (45): 1660.

_ 1943. Ibid. 58 (46): 1694.

_ 1944. Ibid. 59 (1):25.

_ 1944. Ibid. 59 (10):349.

_ _ 1944. Ibid. 59 (11):378.

_ 1944. Ibid. 59 (14):476.

_ 1944. Ibid. 59 (25):818.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (1):21.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (11):311.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (13):361.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (16):450.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (17):474.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (10):280.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (12):336.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (22):624.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (27):781.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (28):815.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (32):939.

_ _ 1945. Ibid. 60 (39): 1152.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (40): 1191.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (48): 1437.

_ 1945. Ibid. 60 (50): 1510.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (2):63.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (11):392.

_ _ 1946. Ibid. 61 (12):424.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (13):462.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (15):550.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (16):581.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (20):718.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (23): 838.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (24):907.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (25):937.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (26):967.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (28):1051.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (29): 1089.

_ 1946. Ibid. 61 (30):1120.

_ _ 1946. Ibid. 61 (32):1195.

Anonymous. 1930. The notifiable diseases. Public Health Reports. Supp. 79:59.

_ 1931.../bid. Supp. 88:57.

_ 1932. Ibid. Supp. 104:9.

_ 1932. Ibid. Supp. 105:13.

_ 1933.../fo/or. Supp. 109:13.

_ 1934. Ibid. Supp. 112:11.

_ 1935. Ibid. Supp. 117:11.

_ 1936. Ibid. Supp. 119:11.

_ 1938. Ibid. Supp. 134:12.

_ 1939. Ibid. Sapp. 147:12.

_ 1940. Ibid. Supp. 160:10.

18

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

_ 1941. Ibid. Sapp. 163:11.

_ 1941. Ibid. Supp. 166:11.

_ 1943.../ibid. Supp. 172:11.

_ 1944. Ibid. Supp. 174:11.

_ 1945. Ibid. Supp. 182:10.

Anonymous. 1930. Report to the State Board of Health by the local health

officers. Wisconsin State Board of Health Quarterly Bulletin.

5 (5):30.

Anonymous. 1932. Reports of human mortality due to tularemia. Wisconsin

State Board of Health Quarterly Bulletin. 5 (9): 24.

_ 1933. Ibid. 5 (13): 23.

_ 1933. Ibid. 5 (16):29.

_ 1934. Ibid. 5 (17): 24.

_ 1934. Ibid. 5 (20):29.

_ 1939. Ibid. 8 (13): 24.

Anonymous. 1930. Tularemia. Report of the State Board of Health of Wis¬

consin. 33:76.

_ 1932. Ibid. 34:54.

_ 1934. Ibid. 35:58-60.

_ 1936. Ibid. 36:87-88.

Morgan ■ — - Tularemia in Wisconsin

19

_ _ _ 1938. Ibid. 37:13.

____ 1940. Ibid. 38:24.

_____ 1942. Ibid. 39:28.

_ _ 1944. Ibid. 40:32.

Anonymous. 1927. Tularemia (Rabbit Disease) Wisconsin State Board of

Health Quarterly Bulletin. 4 (16): 5—6.

_________ 1930. New reportable disease. Ibid. 5 (4): 17-18.

_________ 1931. The 1930 tularemia picture. Ibid. 5 (5): 10.

_______ 1933. Tularemia increases. Ibid. 5 (14):15--16.

Guilford^ H. M. 1934. Tularemia incidence at new high. Ibid. 5 (17): 14-15.

Anonymous. 1936. Tularemia prevention. Ibid. 6 (4): 15.

_ _ _ 1941. Just a case of tularemia. Ibid. 6 (24): 12.

_ _ _ 1943. Tularemia. Ibid. 7 (7):31-32.

_ _ 1946. Wisconsin morbidity. Ibid. 8 (2): 60-61.

Simpson^ W. M. 1928. Tularemia (Francis’ Disease): Experiences with 53 cases

occurring in Dayton, Ohio. Wisconsin Medical Jour. 27:481-

485.

Anonymous. 1929. Tularemia in Wisconsin. Ibid. 28:369.

Smiles^ C. J. 1931. Report of case from bite of cat. Ibid. 30:988-989.

Tucker, W. J. 1932. Tularemia. Ibid. 31:391.

Pessin, S. B. 1936. Tularemia; Etiology, diagnosis and treatment. Ibid. 448-

451, 494.

Francis, E. 1928. A summary of present knowledge of tularemia. Medicine.

7:411-432.

Morgan, B. B. 1940. My experience with tularemia. Vet. Student. 2:51-52.

Morgan, B. B. 1941, My experience with tularemia. Amer. Nat. Fur Market

Jour. 19 (12): 13-15.

Morgan, B. B. 1941. The seasonal occurrence of tularemia in the North Central

States. Human Biology, 13:334-349.

McCabe, R. A. 1943. Population trends in Wisconsin cottontails. Jour. Mammol.

24:18-22.

Anonymous. 1946. Wisconsin Conservation Bulletin. 11 (5): 27.

McDermid, a. M. 1946. Report on muskrat disease outbreak. Ibid. 11(8/9):

21-22.

McDermid, A. M. 1946. Tularemia or rabbit fever. Ibid. 11 (12): 10-11.

Francis, E. 1937. Sources of infection and seasonal incidence of tularemia in

man. Public Health Reports. 52 (4): 103-113.

Morgan, B. B. 1947. Experimental studies with Pasteurella tularensis in fish.

American Journal of Tropical Medicine. (In Press).

Anonymous. 1938. Tularemia — - report of case. Proc. Staff Meet. Mayo

Clinic. 13:494-496.

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THE VEGETATION OF DANE COUNTY

WISCONSIN IN 1835

Robert Scott Ellarson

Dane County is located in south central Wisconsin in what is now

the heart of the rich dairy farming region of the state. Due to its ad¬

vantageous location and high quality soils, much of the total land

area is now under plow or is cleared pasture land; consequently, very

little of the original vegetative cover remains. It was with this in

mind that work was started to ascertain as closely as possible the

type and distribution of the vegetative cover before its disturbance

by white settlement.

Aside from the purely historical interest of this information, a map

showing the areal distribution of the native vegetation before settle¬

ment in this region is also of great interest to the plant ecologist

because Dane County lies within the prairie-forest ecotone and con¬

tains two widely divergent topographical regions.

The floristic associations recognized and mapped in this report

are based on a list of plant associations devised by Dr. N.C. Fassett and

used by him in mapping other areas within the state of Wisconsin. A

chromatic system of colors is used to indicate the various associations

and their inter-relationships. Eight different associations were recog¬

nized in the mapping of Dane County. The following is a list of these

associations and the color used to indicate each on the map:

1 Open Marsh _ Magenta

2 Low Prairie _ Blue 85 Dots

3 High Prairie _ Blue

4 Oak Opening _ Green

5 Oak Woods _ Green 85 Dots

6 Upland Hardwoods _ Yellow

7 Lowland Hardwoods-Magenta 85 Dots

8 Swamp Conifers _ Black

The principal sources of information used in compiling the accom¬

panying map (see Plate 1) were the survey notes made at the time

of the original land survey in the years 1832-35. These notes are on

21

22

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

file in the office of the Commissioners of Public Lands in the State

Capitol at Madison, and were made available through the courtesy

of Mr. Tester H. Bakken.

The original survey was made by two separate survey crews. The

first surveyed the exterior or township lines blocking off the land

into townships six miles square. A list of the deputy surveyors and the

exterior and interior township lines each was respectively responsible

for, together with the dates of these surveys, is to be found in Ap¬

pendix A.

The notes taken by the deputy surveyors during the course of this

work vary both in amount and in quality of information. However,

for the most part, sufficient information is incorporated to allow a

clear picture of the country, as it then appeared, to be drawn. The

only exception was found in the notes for the interior lines of town¬

ships 5 N., R. 6 E., and T. 5 N., R. 7 E., which were severely criticized

in an addendum from the surveyor general’s office for containing little

information and this of poor quality. It was not deemed advisable to

attempt to plot any of these data; hence, the omission of these two

townships from the map. The manner in which the information ob¬

tained from the survey notes was interpreted will be discussed later.

Since Dane County is divided into two distinct geological regions,

differing not only in relief and drainage patterns but also in soil-

parent material, it seems advisable to divide the discussion on the

basis of these two areas.

I. THE VEGETATION OF THE GLACIATED REGIONS

This area lies mostly east of the Johnstown terminal moraine.

However, there are areas lying to the west of the Johnstown moraine

which must also be considered. (See Plate 2.) The first consists of a

triangular tract of land partly in the southwest part of T. 5 N., R. 8 E.,

partly in the eastern portions of T. 5 N., R. 7 E., and in the south east

V4 of T. 6 N., R. 6 E., and extending into the north half of T. 8 N., R.

6 E. This region, while lying outside of the boundary formed by

the Johnstown terminal moraine, is partially covered by glacial till

of Illinoisian and early Wisconsin origin. The second of these areas

is located in the north V2 of T. 8 N., R. 6 E., and extends into T. 9 N.,

R. 6 E. This area was not actually covered by glacial ice but rather

by a deep layer of outwash material deposited by the Wisconsin River

at the time of the recession of the Wisconsin ice-sheet; consequently,

it is more closely allied to the glaciated region than to the Driftless

Area where the soils are primarily residual. There are still other areas

Ellarson Vegetation of Dane County

23

lying west of the Johnstown moraine and covered by outwash mate¬

rials. These areas as shown in Plate 2 are confined largely to the

bottom lands of streams leading away from the region of the Johns¬

town terminal moraine, and they too must be considered in the dis¬

cussion of the glaciated region.

/F/.)/- /?//£

24

Wisconsm Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

High Prairie

The principal type of prairie mapped in the glaciated area of Dane

County is the upland or high prairie. The surveyors* records make

no mention of specific plants found on these upland prairies except to

say that they contained ‘‘prairie grasses’* or sometimes “grasses and

weeds.” However, the treeless condition of these prairie areas is at¬

tested to by the fact that, instead of marking witness trees to indicate

section and quarter-section corners, the surveyors were forced to

build mounds of earth and sod to locate these points. The following

is an excerpt from the notes of the interior lines:

T.9.N. R,9.E. 4th Mer. N.W. Tery. = Territory North between

Sections 11 & 12

40.00 Set quarter section post h raised a mound of earth & sod

4 feet square 8e 2 V2 feet high

80.00 Set post 65 raised a mound of earth & sod corner to Sections

1. 2. 11 h 12 land hilly prarie h first rate Growth grass

The figures 40.00 and 80.00 indicate the number of chains^ from the

section corner at which the surveyor commenced.

Occasionally one of the men would write of the prairie as “short

grass prairie,” but no mention is made in the entire county of tall

grass on the prairie. Hence, it may be logical to assume that the sur¬

veyors were noting the exceptional short-grass prairies; but, since

prairie grasses are not listed by species, it is impossible to tell defi¬

nitely if this were true.

An attempt was made by the surveyors to classify land on the basis

of its agricultural value, and in this respect prairie was usually classed

as first-rate land, except in the more rolling and stony sections where

it was referred to as second rate.

When the map of the original vegetation is compared to the map

showing the surficial glacial deposits of Dane County, (see Plate 2)

it is found that the prairie in the glaciated portion of the county was

confined almost entirely to the areas covered by ground moraines

of the Green Bay glacier. There are, of course, small inclusions of

drumlins and outwash in these prairies, but the only major exception

was found in the northwest part of T. 5 N., R. 11 E., extending into

T. 6 N., R. 11 E., and into T. 6 N., R. 10 E,, where a prairie was

located entirely on a recessional moraine of the Green Bay lobe.

Another interesting correlation can be made between prairie areas

and topography. The prairies were confined to broad areas of level

Ellarson — • Vegetation oi Dane County

25

to gently rolling land which were undissicted by major streams or

marshes. In view of this fact, the occurrence of prairie on the afore¬

mentioned recessional moraine is more readily understood, since the

topography of this moraine is not characteristic of such deposits, but

resembles the topography of a typical, gently rolling, ground moraine.

The occurrence of high prairie on this particular type of topography

was probably due largely to the influence of prairie fires. Since fire

would encounter few natural barriers in these areas, such as steep

hillsides, streams, and marshes, it could attain a maximum intensity

and effectively eliminate or prevent the invasion of woody plant spe¬

cies, with the result that prairie was the only plant association capable

of maintaining itself.

Low Prairie

The major difficulty encountered in mapping this association was

caused by the apparent failure of surveyors, other than Orson Lyon

(see list of surveyors in Appendix A), to note its occurrence. No

plants are mentioned by Lyon in describing these areas (he simply

states that they were low or wet prairie). We are faced with the al¬

ternative of either discrediting this classification of low prairie or

assuming that the surveyor was actually describing the vegetative

association we consider today to be low prairie. The latter assump¬

tion appears to be a logical one, since Lyon appears to have de¬

liberately differentiated low prairie from open marsh which was

prevalent in the same townships.

From the present-day relict areas of low prairie, especially in

eastern Dane County, it would appear that the low-prairie association

was of much more frequent occurrence than the survey records

would indicate. Other evidence which seems to bear out the theory

that low prairie was more widespread than is indicated is the fact

that in several localities, notably in townships 9 N., R. 11 E., T. 5 N.,

R. 1 1, E., T. 5 N., R. 9 E., and T. 6 N., R. 9 E., high prairie and open

marsh are shown lying adjacent with no definite boundaries shown to

exist between the two by the surveyors. In view of what we know

about these two plant associations, it is logical to assume that there

were transitional zones of low prairie separating the two. However,

for the sake of uniformity and lack of sufficient field evidence, only

those areas actually described by the surveyors as low prairie are so

indicated on the map.

Open Marsh

Open marsh was the principal type of lowland vegetation at the

26

Wisconsin Academy oi Sciences, Arts and Letters

time of the original land surveys. Little mention is made of the spe¬

cific plants found growing in these marshes except in general terms,

such as marsh grass, reeds, rushes, or flags, (see Appendix B) and, in

most cases, no mention at all is made of vegetation, and the land is

simply described as marsh. The following quotation from the sur¬

veyor’s notes is one of the most graphic descriptions of open marsh

found in the notes of eastern Dane County:

T. 7 N. R. 12 E. 4th Mer. N.W. Tery. = Territory North be¬

tween Sections 22 & 23

40.00 Set post in Marsh for Vk Sec. = Section Cor. = Corner

2 No bearing trees near

44.40^ To a creek 80 links wide crs. =: Course East

64.50 to a creek .50 crs. N.E. current dull

80.00 Set post in Marsh far cor. to Sections 14 15 22 fis 23 bearing

(Bur Oak 12. N. 74. E. 3.74^ This mile is flat marsh covered

with blue flag & reeds and high coarse grass and is not suscep¬

tible of cultivation poor 3rd rate land.

(Note: Witness trees, used to locate the section corner, are not

in the marsh but on high ground lying to the east of the marsh.)

Marshes form a characteristic pattern in eastern Dane County

tending to run in more or less parallel lines bearing from northeast

to southwest. This, of course, is due to their being formed in the

lowlands created by glacial ice as it flowed in this same direction.

In contrast, in the morainic regions, marshes tended to be more or less

isolated as a result of their occurrence in glacial kettle holes.

In general, the marshes were usually classed as either second- or

third-rate (as suitable for cultivation) land, by the surveyors, who

probably arrived at this classification on the basis of the amount of

water present in them. Notes were sometimes made regarding the value

of the streams in the marshes for such uses as sources of water, mill-

dam sites, and transportation. The following are a few excerpts from

the general notes which were included as summaries of some of the

townships.

T7N — R HE

From the N.E. to the S.W. part of the twp there is a line or

chain of marshes that lies so low 85 flat that cannot be drained

so as to be of any use. — ^The streams are deep and muddy bot¬

tom current dull 8e sluggish. There are no springs except those

that rise up in the marshes. This two (sic) might be classed

as second rate.

T 5 N — R 10 E

A deep creek rises near the N.W. corner, meanders across diag-

Ellarson — - Vegetation of Dane County

27

onally leaves at the S.E. corner which with its tributaries forms

a stream of some importance — - but it is without sufficient

fall for machinery its bottom is wide and marshy as will be

seen by the map.

Referred to in this last excerpt is the sketch-map which was included

in the survey notes for each township. These sketch-maps were of

considerable value in furnishing the outlines of the marsh areas be¬

tween the points of intersection with the town and section lines.

There may be some areas in which errors occur in the general out¬

line of the marshes since these lines were sketched in between section

lines without the surveyors’ actually traversing the marsh; however,

when the marshy areas of the vegetational map are compared to

present-day maps showing marsh soils, a high correlation is found

between the two. Consequently, errors in marsh boundaries are un¬

doubtedly negligible. Another possible source of error is in the failure

of the surveyors to note small areas of marsh or other vegetation that

lie wholly within a section. From the map it may be noted that a

number of small marshes are recorded directly on the township

section lines, but few, if any, are recorded as lying entirely within a

section. This is, of course, because the surveyors surveyed the section

lines and not the interiors of the sections.

Oak Opening

The oak opening was by far the most widespread and abundant

plant association at the time of the original land surveys. The term

oak opening, as used here, refers to a plant association in which the

oaks, primarily bur and white, but often black, are the dominant mem¬

bers of the association. It differs from oak woods in that the trees are

rather widely and evenly spaced so that sufficient sunlight reaches

the ground to sustain an undergrowth composed primarily of prairie

grasses and forbs, although hazel and oak underbrush are frequently

mentioned also. Blue-green is used to designate oak opening on the

map because it appears to be a transitional form between the high

prairie (blue) and true oak woods (green).

It is necessary here to review briefly the surveying technique used

by these men so that the interpretation of the survey notes can be

better understood. The usual survey crew was composed of five or

six men whose duties appear to be as follows: the deputy surveyor

was the instrument man and chief of the party, one marker marked

the witness trees, and two axe-men cleared the brush and probably

cut down any trees which were found directly on the line. The notes

28

Wisconsin Academy oi Sciences, Arts and Letters

which were written by the deputy surveyor consisted of a running

description of the town or section line in which was noted the land

cover and the points on the line where changes occurred^ such as

from timber to prairie or from prairie to swamp. Also noted were the

trees which were found directly on the line, their species, their diam¬

eter at breast height, and the exact point on the line where they

appeared.

For each section and quarter section, except when in an open marsh

or on open prairie, two or more witness trees were marked. The

species of tree, its diameter, and its distance and compass bearing from

the true corner were noted. Upon completion of each section line, a

brief summary of the land and vegetation was given, and when timber

occurred along the line the tree species were usually given along

with the type of undergrowth.

In interpreting the surveyors’ notes, certain rather arbitrary dis¬

tinctions sometimes had to be drawn to separate oak opening from

true oak woods. In most cases however, the oak opening was fairly

well defined. The following excerpt from the surveyors’ notes for

the interior lines of T. 9 N., R. 8 E., is an example of a clear-cut

description of oak opening.

North between sec = section 35 8e 36

40.00 B. = Black Oak 12 Va sec. corner

67.78 Burr oak 7

80.00 Set oak post far corner to sections 25, 26, 35, & 36

Burr oak 10 N 56° E .71 = links

do. 10 S 50 N .85

Land rolling 2nd rate thinly timbered with black and Bur oak.

From the foregoing it may be seen that only two trees, both of them

bur oaks, were encountered directly on the line, and at the section

corner the witness trees, both bur oaks, were respectively 46 and 57

feet from the corner and standing in opposite directions from the

corner, so that the distance between these trees was approximately

100 feet. The descriptive summary further confirms the impression

of the open nature of the country by the surveyors’ use of the term

“thinly timbered.”

Still another description of a well-defined oak opening is found in

the interior notes of T. 5 N., R. 8 E.

North between section 4 & 5

40.00 Set Va sec. = section post.

Bearings (B.O. = Black Oak 14 in. N. 9° W .45 L = Links

(Do. llin.N.62°30E.42L

77.83 intersect town line 28 L = Links N of post

Ellarson — Vegetation of Dane County

29

Set post corner of sec = section 4 & 5

B (B.O. 10 in. S. 53° E 14.00 L

(Do. 14 in. S. 62° N .63 L

Land S part rolling N level 2nd rate B. W. & J, black, white, and

jack Oak and hazel undergrowth brake Rosin and Rattlesnake

week Prairie grass etc.

(See Appendix B for scientific names of above-listed plants.)

On this particular section line no trees were encountered and the

witness trees ranged from 27 feet to 924 feet from the quarter section

and section corners. The point of particular interest in this description

lies in the notes regarding the timber and undergrowth. The timber

was apparently all oak, as is to be expected in an oak opening. The

mention of oak and hazel undergrowth plus brake (bracken fern),

which may be considered components of an oak woods is somewhat

confusing; but, upon reading further, we find that rosin and rattle¬

snake weed and prairie grasses were also present. Since the latter

^ are good prairie indicators and common in oak opening we may

conclude that the plant association was oak opening rather than oak

woods.

From these two examples of well-defined descriptions of oak

opening, there are gradations which approach a point where it be¬

comes difficult to determine whether oak opening or oak woods is

being described. When this point is reached, it is necessary to use

some arbitrary divisions upon which to decide whether any given

tract was oak woods or opening. Several factors must be taken into

consideration before any conclusions can be reached. First, the tree

species and size are considered. Trees such as ash, basswood, elm,

and black walnut are not found in oak openings. Hickory, cherry,

and aspen are occasionally found in oak opening, but are seldom over

eight or ten inches in diameter. The trees of the black oak group, i.e.

black, red, and jack oak, also follow this same pattern although in

some areas of oak opening the black oaks are almost as numerous as

white and burr though they seldom are of large size. In contrast to

this, in oak woods, many black oaks were found to be two feet or

more in diameter. The above conditions were undoubtedly brought

about by the selective nature of the fires which swept this region.

Fires tend to eliminate trees of the black oak group from all but the

unburned or seldom burned areas; whereas, white and bur oaks are

less severely damaged because of their higher fire resistance. The

presence of a relatively high percentage of black oaks in certain oak

openings can be explained on the basis of their ability to sprout from

roots after the tops ha\ e been fire-killed. White oak was not found

30

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

to be a satisfactory indicator of oak opening, while bur oak was

most valuable in this respect. The latter was usually found in abim-

dance in oak openings, but was mostly lacking or represented by only

one or two individuals in oak woods, and was never mentioned by the

surveyor as a component of the forest in summarizing the timber

of oak woods.

Second, the undergrowth of the forest serves as an important clue

in determining whether an area is oak woods or oak opening, and

as previously stated, the presence of prairie plants is a good indi¬

cation of oak opening.

Third, the number of trees found on a line is a good index to the

relative density of the stand. While this in itself does not constitute

conclusive evidence when linked with the other factors, it is possible

to reconstruct a fairly accurate picture of the vegetation.

The following notes are an illustration of the type which offered

problems in interpretation:

T. 8 N., R. 12 E., 4th Mer. N.W. Tery. = territory North Between

Sections 22 85 23

.96 Bur Oak 18 inches diameter

26.28 Red Oak 18 inches diameter

40.00 Set quarter Section Post

bearings (Bur Oak 16. S. 59. W. 44

(Black Oak 18. N. 22. E. 62

62.86 Bur Oak 18 inches diameter

80.00 Set post corner to Sections 14 15 22 85 23

bearings (Bur Oak 12. S. 37 W 1.27

(Do. 11. S. 56 E .64

Land level 85 2nd rate. Timber White, Bur, Red 85 Black Oak 85

Hickory. Undergrowth Oak, grass 85 weeds

Mon. June 9th 1834

The presence of a large red and black oak, the occurrence of hickory,

and the fact that three trees were present on the line would point

toward this being oak woods. However, the large number of bur oaks

listed, two on the line and three as witness trees, must result in its

being classified as oak opening.

Further evidence which tends to substantiate the widespread oc¬

currence of oak opening was found in a paper by L. S. Cheney and

R. H. True on the flora of Madison and vicinity. The paper deals

with the flora of the region lying adjacent to Lakes Mendota, Monona,

Waubesa, and Kegonsa. They describe the vegetation of this region

as follows:

The vegetation of the region under consideration varies some-

Ellarson — Vegetation oi Dane County

31

what with elevation and character of soil. The woods, confined

chiefly to the uplands, are made up largely of oaks, with occa¬

sional limited areas characterized by maples, cottonwood, or

White elm . . . Generally speaking, the low marshy meadow bor¬

dering on the lakes and streams yields chiefly grasses and sedges.^

The following is a list of plants with notes about their abundance

taken from the same paper.

Ceanothus americana

Throughout the region on high land.

Lupinus perennis — - Common.

Atnorpha canescens — Throughout the region on dry soil.

Liatris scariosa (= Aspera)

Along railroads and dry wild land; everywhere.

Asclepias tuberosa

Dry open woods — common.

Euphorbia corollata

Dry ground everywhere.

Andropogon iurcatus

Common in the dry portions of all wild lands, in fields and

along rail roads.

Andropogon scoparius

Growing with A, iurcatus. Much less common.®

This list, selected by the author as representative of the herbaceous

species common to both oak opening and open prairie, plus the de¬

scriptive passage in which oaks are characterized as the dominant

trees, points to a widespread occurrence of oak opening in this area.

While this information is not contemporary with the surveyors’ rec¬

ords, it is even more significant since it emphasizes the persistence of

oak opening even after settlement, during which time, due to the ces¬

sation of fires, much additional tree growth is known to have taken

place.

Oak Woods

The oak woods association consisted of a forest made up primarily

of white and black oak trees which differed from the trees of the oak

opening in being more closely grown and taller. It also had an admix¬

ture of other trees such as aspen, hickory, cherry, white ash, black

walnut, and occasionally basswood.

The understory differed quite markedly from the oak opening in

that it was completely lacking in prairie plants. The surveyors re¬

ferred to the undergrowth as hazel and brush oak, briers, and weeds

(and, in this case, the weeds undoubtedly referred to the usual herba¬

ceous vegetation present on the floor of the oak woods).

32

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

The following excerpt from the survey notes is a good example of

the type of cover classed as oak woods:

T 7 N R 12 E 4th Mer NW Tery = territory North between

Sections 10 & 11

3.69 White Oak 12 inches diameter

25.76 Aspen 20 inches diameter

40.00 Set post for Vk Section corner

bearings (White Oak 8 S 78 W .15

(B.O.=Black Oak 20 N 61 E 21

46.61 Aspen 18 inches diameter

60.57 White Oak 10 inches diam

68.00 Entered Swamp

80.00 Set post in swamp corner to Sections 2. 3. 10 & 11

bearings (Tamarac 12 S 45 E 5.10

(White Oak 18 S 24 E 7.45

Land level 85 2nd rate

Timber Aspen Black Oak

White Oak 85 Tamarac undergrowth same.

The oak woods were confined exclusively to a small area of land

on the eastern edge of the county in townships 7 N., R. 1 1 E., and T. 8

N., R. 11 E. The woods were found on a series of drumlins in this

area which were separated from each other by low-lying marshes

and tamarack bogs. It is of considerable significance to note here

that, with only two exceptions, the only tamaracks recorded in the

entire county were in the bogs adjoining these oak woods. This phe¬

nomena appears to be due primarily to the affect of fires and shall be

discussed more fully later.

More evidence tending to substantiate the occurrence of oak

woods in the tract just described was found in the field notes kept

by Mr. John Hooper^ of Jefferson County during the years 1904-08,

at which time he engaged in the collection of ginseng (Panax quinque-

folium). One entry is listed for the “Big Woods” at Goose Lake, Dane

County, which is located in the area shown as oak woods and tamarack

on the map. The remaining six entries are recorded as Deerfield, Dane

County. Deerfield Township is T. 7 N., R. 12 E. Since ginseng is a

plant confined exclusively to deep woodland areas it is probably

significant that the collecting was limited to the areas shown as woods

on the map. It will be noted that oak woods is also shown on the

small island in Hook Lake located in the southwest V4 of T. 6 N.,

R. 10 E. The island was not surveyed at the time of the first gov¬

ernment survey by Leonard Smith, and at this time oak woods was

found to be the vegetative cover of the island. Hence it is entirely

Ellarson — Vegetation of Dane County

33

possible that oak woods was present in 1835 even though it was not

mentioned in the original notes.

Maple Basswood

Maple basswood forest appears to be the climax forest association

in Dane County today; although, at the time of the land surveys, as

today, this forest type was confined to three relatively small tracts,

all of which were located on the northeast or east side of the Madison

chain of lakes. The first of these was located on a point of land in

section 19, T. 6 N., R. 11 E., which juts out from the northeast shore

of Lake Kegonsa. Lorin Miller, the deputy surveyor responsible

for the notes on this township, included a description of these woods

in his summary of the township. This summary is presented here

in its entirety because of the interesting observations and thoughts

it contains.

T6N R11E4 Mer. = meridian

Remarks

This Township tho divided by its share of Crooked Marshes

may be ranked as Good 2nd rate land.

The Soil is generally a warm light sandy loam which will

richly repay the cultivator.

It may be said to be well watered by the narrow marshes in

which is running water in some places contracted into brooks but

mostly Expanded on the marsh.

The Foot & Outlet of the First Lake on sec 19.30 etc. a beauti¬

ful sheet of pure water abounding in Excellent Fish & great

variety of water fowl offer fine inducements to the sportsman.

The Catfish Cr. at a moderate expense in deepening the Chan¬

nel may become (and undoubtedly will) navigable for stream

boats from Rock River to this Lake a distance by its meanders,

of about 20 miles.

A branch of the White Water Creek rises on Section 24 run¬

ning N. leaves the town on Section 12.

The surface of the country is for the most part rolling Timber

Bur, White, & Yel. Oak rather thinly — a fine old Sugar Grove

is noticed on Sec. 20.

The evident remains of artificial Mounds, Embankments etc.

furnish food for the speculation of the Curious.

Lorin Miller March 4th, 1834

The second of these maple woods was located on a point of land

on the eastern shore of Lake Waubesa, just north of the mouth of

the Yahara River in sections 3 and 4 of T. 6 N., R. 10 E., and extend¬

ing northward along the lake shore into section 33 of T. 7 N., R. 10 E.

This tract, while being small in size, had a variety of tree species

present, as listed by the surveyors, which leaves little doubt as to its

34

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

being a true maple-basswood association. The following tree species

were listed as occurring along the line between sections 3 and 4 : sugar-

maple, black and white ash, hickory, elm, black walnut, butternut,

hornbeam, and blue beech. The undergrowth was listed as “grass,

vines, bittersweet, briers, etc.”

The largest and most extensive tract of maple-basswood forest was

situated north of the Yahara River between Lakes Mendota and

Monona, extending around the northeast shore of Lake Mendota to

just beyond Governor’s Island. The following is a quotation from the

surveyors’ records regarding this forest:

In sec 1 there is a perpendicular bluff of rocks about 60 feet

high. There is on N.W. part of Sec 1 a fine grove of sugar tree

containing about 200 acres of ground.

From this description, it would seem that the maple-basswood forest

was actually much more restricted than is shown by the map; how¬

ever, the situation probably found by the surveyors was one in which

there was a central core of mature maple-woods centering in the

vicinity of the present village of Maple Bluff. Surrounding the ma¬

ture maple-basswood forest were woods in various successional stages

between oak woods and fully mature maple-basswoods. A further quo¬

tation from the surveyors’ notes from the section line between sections

34 and 35, T. 8 N., R. 9 E., tends to bring out the gradation between

the mature central core and the outer edge of this forest. Here at the

outer edge, the surveyors describe the timber as being black and white

oak with sugar-tree undergrowth. Therefore it might be argued that

the outer edges of this area should be classed as oak woods, but, since

either basswood or sugar maple, or both, are mentioned on all of the

lines within the area it has been decided to classify it as maple-bass-

wood.

Another line of evidence which substantiated the evidence found in

the surveyors’ records was found in Cheney and True’s report^ from

which the following list of plants was extracted.

Isopyrum biternatum

Lakes Waubesa and Kegonsa. Local.

Dicentra canadensis

Two specimens found on Governor’s island

N.E. shore Lake Mendota growing with D. Culcullaria. Rare.

Cornus alternifolia

Observed in Fuller’s woods east of Madison. Rare.

Asarum canadense

In low woodlands northeast of Lake Waubesa. Rare.

Claytonia virginica

Ellarson Vegetation of Dane County

35

In rich woods. Local.

Erythronium albidum

Rich woods about the Lakes.

Trillium erectum

In rich woods east of Lake Mendota. Not common.

These plants were selected by the author as being representative

of the herbaceous flora of a typical mature maple-basswood associa¬

tion. All of the descriptions of range given for these plants emphasize

its restricted nature, and for several species the range coincides

exactly with those areas shown to be maple-basswood forest by the

surveyors.

The peculiar distributional pattern of the maple-basswood forest

leads to the conclusion that its confinement to these protected points

of land was a result of fires which swept across the county, driven

by the prevailing southwesterly winds. These fires would have elim-

eliminated or prevented the development of a climax forest except in

locations protected on the southwest by bodies of water broad enough

to stop flying embers.

Swamp Hardwoods

The swamp hardwoods of Dane County fall into three distinct

categories although no attempt has been made to differentiate them

in the mapping.

The first of these are the swamp hardwoods bordering the Wis¬

consin River in T. 8 N., R. 6 E. These are characterized by a rela¬

tively high percentage of red or river birch (Betula nigra) present in

them. The following surveyor’s note is a summary of the short section

line between sections 29 and 30, T. 9 N., R. 6 E.: “Land level 2nd

rate timber oak elm maple birch etc.” The maple referred to here

is undoubtedly silver maple, since this species is at the present time

plentiful in the river-bottom woodlands.

The second of the swamp hardwood types was classified by the

surveyors as black-ash swamp and was found in only two places on

the eastern shore of the Madison chain of lakes. The first is along

the Yahara River where it leaves Lake Mendota in T. 7 N., R. 9 E.,

and the second is on the section line between sections 28 and 33 in

T. 7 N., R. 10 E., where the following tree species are mentioned:

oak, ash, maple, and willow, while in the former swamp the area is

described simply as being black-ash swamp.

The third category of swamp hardwoods was small areas east of

the Madison lakes primarily in the northern two tiers of townships

characterized as willow swamps. Since no trees are recorded on the

36

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

line in any of these swamps, it is probably safe to conclude that they

contained willow brush similar to the cover present in many of these

areas today. Here again it may be pointed out that trees unable to

withstand repeated fires are confined to the protected portions of

lake shores or river banks, while swamp hardwoods (in this case wil¬

lows) are maintained in the scrub or brush stage in the areas sub¬

jected to frequent burning.

Swamp Conifers

The swamp conifers found at the time of the land surveys were

all of one species, tamarack. These trees were recorded in only three

localities in the entire county. Tamaracks are mentioned in the sum¬

mary of the timber occurring along the section line between sections

27 and 28, T. 7 N., R. 10 E. However, no swamp conifers were plot¬

ted on this line because of lack of any evidence about their location

in relation to the line.

The survey notes contain a reference to a small tamarack swamp

lying about 40 chains south of the quarter-section corner of the east-

west line between sections 7 and 18, T. 5 N., R. 12 E. The definite

location of this small swamp allowed it to be plotted as shown on

the map.

The most extensive tract of tamarack recorded in the county was

situated in the eastern portions of T. 7 N., R. 12 E., and T. 8 N., R. 12

E. As previously mentioned, the occurrence of tamarack in the low¬

lands was associated with oak woods on the uplands. The question

immediately arises as to why this situation should obtain in this

particular area and no other. A partial answer to this question may

be afforded by information gained by the author while employed as

engineering aide by the U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service during

the summer of 1943. At this time, a reconnaissance survey was made

by the Soil Conservation Service to determine the feasibility of

draining a portion of this area for agricultural purposes. The survey

was started at Koshkonong Creek in section 15, T. 7 N., R. 12 E., and

from there ran northward through sections 15, 10, 9, 4, and 3, and end¬

ed at the town line between townships 7 and 8 north. When this line

was plotted, it was found that a relatively step gradient existed for the

first 3,000 feet; this flattened considerably for the next 12,000 feet,

and was almost level for the last 5,000 feet. When this observation

is compared with the vegetational map, it can be seen that the steepest

portion of this lowland, the first 3,000 feet, was open marsh, whereas

the remainder of flatter portions with poorer drainage was tamarack

Ellarson — Vegetation oi Dane County

37

swamp. It would appear that tamarack swamp occurred where sur¬

face drainage was sufficiently impeded to allow an area to remain

wet throughout the year. This is probably not so important as a

soil-moisture factor in promoting tree growth, as it is a factor in

the prevention of fire from sweeping these areas regularly. While

both of these factors are undoubtedly of importance, the latter

would help to explain the presence of oak woods on the highlands

between the tamarack swamps, since a lessening of the frequency

of fires would allow the development of oak woods, while sur¬

rounding areas, frequently burned, would be maintained in the oak¬

opening stage. It might also be pointed out here that the occurrence

of these oak woods can scarcely be attributed to a high water table

influenced by the adjoining bogs, since the oak woods were all on

steeply sloping glacial drumlins whose crests extend as much as 100

to 150 feet above the surrounding lowlands.

It will be noted that no definite lines of demarkation are shov/n

between open marsh and tamarack bog. This is because the surveyors

were indefinite in defining the boundaries existing between the two.

II. THE VEGETATION OF THE NON-GLACIATED REGION

The vegetation throughout the Driftless Area of Dane County

forms a relatively simple pattern which conforms closely to the topo¬

graphy of the region. In general, the steep hillsides and narrow ridge

tops were timbered, the broad ridge tops were prairie, and the bottom

lands were either prairie or marsh, although in a few areas these too

were timbered.

As previously noted, T. 5 N., R. 6 E., and T. 5 N., R. 7 E., have been

omitted from the map due to lack of sufficient information in the

field notes. Although it is possible to determine from the field notes

that the predominant vegetative cover of these two townships was

oak opening, the prairie and marsh areas were so poorly defined that

mapping was impossible. However, this omission should not interfere

seriously with the overall picture of the vegetation, because there is a

close correlation between topography and vegetation, and a corre¬

spondingly close similarity of topography throughout the Driftless

Area. In all, four different plant associations were mapped : oak open¬

ing, open marsh, high prairie, and low prairie. These associations will

be taken up and discussed individually.

Oak Opening

The oak opening was by far the most widespread and abundant

plant association present in the unglaciated part of Dane County at

38

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

the time of the surveys. It differed from the oak opening of the gla¬

ciated regions in that it appeared to have contained a somewhat

larger proportion of bur oak.

It is unfortunate that the surveyor responsible for most of the

townships within this area did not record any of the herbaceous species

of plants found as undergrowth in the oak opening. Even without

this information there can be little doubt as to the actual plant asso¬

ciation, since throughout the field notes the descriptive phrases “thinly

timbered with oak” and “timber scattering” are repeated over and over

again. The following example from the field notes is typical of most

of the section lines in the oak opening of the Driftless Area:

East boundary of Twp = Township 7 N., R 6 E 4th Mer

Meridian North on east side of Sec = Section 13

40.00 Set Oak post for V4 Sec. = Section corner

Mark 1/4 S 13

B = Black Oak 7 S 20 W .43 links

W = White Oak 18 N 6 W 1.31

Marked 1/4 S 13

80.00 Set Oakpost corner to sections 12 and 13 Marked

R6ET7N 12 85 13

Burr Oak 16 S 47 W .89

Do 10 N 71 W 1.70

Land hilly and stony 3rd rate thinly timbered with oak

Oct 6th 1938

A description such as the foregoing eliminates any doubt about the

timber, and needs no corroboration by the addition of herbaceous

species to the description to enable it to be classed as oak opening.

Oak opening was found on practically all of the steep hillsides and

ridge tops, and according to the field notes, appears to have been

present in most of the narrower valley bottoms. A problem arises

when the vegetation map is compared to a present-day soils map

because all of the valley bottoms, regardless of their width, are shown

as having prairie soils. Owen, one of the first geologists to work in

Wisconsin, described the scenery of the Driftless Area in these terms:

We have clumps of trees, disposed with an effect that might

baffle the landscape gardener, now crowning the grassy height,

now dotting the green slope with partial and isolated shade.

From the hilltops the intervening valleys wear the aspect of

cultivated meadows and rich pasture grounds, irrigated by fre¬

quent rivulets that wend their way through fields of wild hay

fringed with flourishing willows. Here and there occupying its

nook, on the bank of some stream, at some favorable spot, occurs

the solitary wigwam, with its scanty appurtenances. On the

summit levels spread the wide prairie, decked with flowers of

Ellarson — Vegetation oi Dane County

39

the gayest hue; its long undulating waves stretching away till

sky and meadow mingle in the distant horizon.^

This vivid description tends to substantiate further the author’s

opinion that the valley bottoms were primarily prairie while the hill¬

sides were covered with oak openings. It is quite possible that the sur¬

veyors simply neglected to record prairie in the narrow valleys be¬

cause the rest of the country was so thinly timbered that the contrast

between the two might not have seemed important enough to record.

It is significant that in most cases, where the valleys broaden out,

either prairie or marsh is recorded.

High Prairie

High prairie was found to occupy the broad, level ridges and the

level valley bottoms in the Driftless Area of the county. The only

major ridge prairie was that covering Military Ridge in T. 6 N., R.

6 E., and T. 6 N., R. 7 E. The prairie followed the level summit of

this ridge, ran down the crest to where the sides break abruptly, and

then gave way to oak opening. Nothing was said in the survey notes

about the nature of the prairie; it was simply referred to as prairie.

At one point in the northeast corner of T. 6 N., R. 6 E., the Military

Ridge prairie was continuous with a prairie which extended down into

the bottom land in the southern quarter of T. 7 N., R. 7 E. This was

the only place where ridge prairie and bottom land prairie were con¬

tinuous; in all other places, there occurred between the two an in¬

tervening band of oak opening.

The prairies of the bottom land were not differentiated from the

ridge prairie in any way by the surveyors, and since no plant species

were listed for either of the two, it is impossible to tell today if any

differences did exist.

Open Marsh

Open marsh in the Driftless Area was limited to lands immediately

adjacent to the streams in the valley bottoms, and was found primarily

in the narrower valleys. The discontinuous and isolated nature of

most of these marshes suggest that they may have been more or less

continuous along these streams, but due to variations in width, they

were recorded only at their widest points where section intersected

them. This is brought out in the following quotation from the sur¬

vey notes:

Township 7 North Range 7 East North Between sections 8 & 9

24.00 Enter Marsh

40.00 Set Oak post for V4 sec. = section corner

Burr Oak 6 S 871/2 N = North S .30

No other near

40

W isconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

49.25 Stream 8 C. = Course N.E.

54.00 Same C. N.W.

63.00 Same C. N.E.

68.00 Leave Marsh

80.00 Set Oak post far Corner to Sections 4. 5. 8. 9.

B. = Black Oak 14 S 76 W .83

Burr Oak ION 1/2 E 1.41

Land level & marshy

The section line followed a valley bottom, crossing and recrossing

a stream, and we find marsh recorded as continuous along the stream,

whereas in T. 6 N., R. 7 E., and T. 6 N., R. 8 E., marshes are recorded

primarily as small tracts on the section lines where these lines inter¬

sect the streams.

In townships 8 N., R. 6 and 7 E., two relatively large marshes

were recorded in the wider valleys. It is difficult to determine the

exact nature of these areas listed as marsh, as is shown by the fol¬

lowing description:

Township 8 North Range 6 East North Between sections 23 & 24

20.00 Top of a high ridge E 85 N

40.00 Set Oak post for V4 sec. = section corner

Burr Oak 10 S 66 E 48

W = White Oak 7 S 18 W 73

58.00 Entered Marsh

80.00 Set Oak Post for corner to sections 13 14 23 24

Raised a mound of sods 3 feet square & 3 feet high

Land third rate first half hilly & stony last half marsh

No plants are listed, but the surveyors built a mound of “sods” three

feet square and three feet high which would strongly indicate that

the area was actually low prairie, since it is hardly conceivable that

such a mound would be built in an area wet enough to be considered

marsh. This view is further strengthened by the fact that only one

small tract of low prairie was recorded by the surveyors in the Drift¬

less Area where it was presumably more common than this would

indicate. However, since there is no conclusive evidence to prove

that these marsh areas were actually low prairie they have been shown

as open marsh on the map.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The principal sources of information used in compiling the map of

the vegetation of Dane County as it appeared in 1835 were the survey

notes taken at the time of the government land surveys during the

years 1832—35.

Eight different plant associations, as inferred from the surveyors’

Ellarson — Vegetation of Dane County 41

descriptions, were recognized in mapping the county.

Dane County contains two widely differing geological regions and

a discussion of the vegetative cover can be conveniently divided on

the basis of these two regions.

Three major factors, namely, topography, drainage, and fires, seem

to have had the greatest influence on the distribution and pattern of

vegetational types found in the county in 1835.

In those areas which had a flat to gently rolling topography, and

were undissected by streams or marshes, fires were undoubtedly most

severe, and these areas were found to be predominantly high prairie.

Hillier areas and areas broken by marshes and streams were found to

be oak opening, since fires would have been less severe in these

locations. Lowlands were of three different types: open marsh or

willow brush in those areas frequently burned; swamp hardwood in

areas protected from fire by wide lakes or rivers; and tamarack bog

in those areas with surface drainage so poor that fire was excluded.

Climax forest (maple-basswood) was found only on points of land

on the northeast shores of the Madison chain of lakes which received

complete protection from fires sweeping up from the southwest.

Oak woods were found only on drumlins in the glaciated regions

where they received at least partial fire protection from the tamarack

bogs adjoining or surrounding them.

Low prairie was mapped in only a few localities within the county,

yet relict areas of low prairie are so extensive today that it is quite

possible that many areas of this association were overlooked by the

surveyors.

Bibliography

Alden, William C. 1918. The Quarternary Geology of Southeastern Wisconsin

with a chapter on the Older Rock Formations, United States Geological

Survey, Professional Paper 106, Washington, D. C.

Cheney, L. S. and True, R. H. 1893. On the Flora of Madison and Vicinity, A

Preliminary Paper on the Flora of Dane County, Wisconsin. Transactions

of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts and Letters : 9 Part 1 : 45 — 136.

Martin, Lawrence. 1932. The Physical Geography of Wisconsin, 2nd edition,

Madison.

Moore, E. B. and Sanford, Russell. 1940. Spring Flora on Farmers’ Island,

Lake Mills, Wisconsin. Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences,

Art and Letters, 32 : 67-76.

Whitson, A. R., Geib, W. J. et ah 1917. Soil Survey of Dane County, Wisconsin.

Madison.

APPENDIX A

Interior Lines

Twp 5 N R 6 E not used J. W. Stephenson 1833

42 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Ellarson — - Vegetation of Dane County 43

44 Ty/scons/n Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Exterior

North and South Lines

APPENDIX B

A list of common plant names used by the surveyors and their scientific equivalent

as interpreted by the author.

Ash

Black _ Fraxinus nigra

White _ Fraxinus americana

Aspen _ Populus grandidentata

Basswood _ Tilia americana

Birch _ Betula nigra

Ellarson — Vegetation of Dane County

45

Bittersweet - —

Black walnut — - - -

Blue Beech „ — - — - - — . —

Brake - - — - - - - — .

Briers - - ........ -

Butternut - — — . — —

Cherry - - - - - -

Elm _ _ _ _ _

Flags — - - —

Hazel _ _ _

Hickory _ _ _ — ...

Horn beam _ _ — - - -

Marsh grass - - - -

Maple - - - - -

Oak

Black ........... _ _ _

Bur _ _ ....

Red ... _ _ _ ...... _ ...... _

White _ _ ............... _ .................

Yellow .... _ ............................ _

Prairie grass _ _ .......... _ _ _ _ _

Rattlesnake weed _ _ _ ..... _ _

Reeds ............... _ _ _ _ _ .......

Rosin weed _ _ _

Rushes ...... _ ....... _ .......... _ ....

Sugar maple _ _ ........ _ ...

Tamarack .......... _ ........ _ ..... _

Willow _ _ ............. _ _ _

... - Celastrm scandens?

_ _ _ _ _ —Juglans nigra

_ _ _ Carpinm caroliniana

... _ _ _ ...Pteris aquilina

_ _ _ _ Rubus sp.

_ _ _ - _ Juglans cinerea

_ Prunus serotina

....... - Ulmm atnericana

_ Iris virginica?

_ Corylus atnericana

...... - Carya ovata

... - Ostrya virginiana

_ ?

_ _ _ Acer sacharrinum?

_ ... _ Quercus velutina

_ .... _ Q. macrocarpa

_ Q. ellipsoidalis?

... _ Q. rubra

.... - - — - - Q. alba

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Q. velutina

_ Andropogon Gerardi (furcatus) A.

scoparius and Sorghastrum

nutans etc.

- Eryngium yuccifolium

- Phragmites communis?

.... - ....Silphium sp.

_ _ _ _ ?

- - - Acer Sacharrum

- - - .Acer Sacharrum

- Larix laricina

- ..... — ... — - Salix spp.

1 1 chain = 66 feet

1 link =: 7.22 inches

100 links = 1 chain

80 chains = 1 mile

® Indicating, 44 chains and 40 links (about 2,928 feet) north of the corner.

® Indicating a bur oak 12 inches diameter, breast height, direction 74 degrees east of north,

distance from comer, 3 chains and 74 links (about 242 feet).

* Cheney, L. S. and True, R. H., *‘On the Flora of Madison and Vicinity, a Preliminary Paper

on the Flora of Dane County, Wisconsin.” Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of

Sciences, Arts and Letters; 9 Part 1:48. 1893.

^Ibld., 61—111.

® Moore, K. B. and Sanford, Russell, “Spring Flora of Farmer’s Island, Lake Mills, Wisconsin,”

Transactions ©f the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters; 32:71 — 74. 1940.

Cheney, L. S. and True, R. H., “On the flora of Madison and Vicinity, A Preliminary Paper

on the Flora of Dane County, Wisconsin.” Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of

Sciences, Arts and Letters, 9 Part 1 : S3--104. 1893.

® Martin, Lawrence, Physical Georgraphy of Wisconsin. 2nd edition, Madison, 42. 1932.

FUNGI OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN ARBORETUM^

H. C. Greene

The extension of our already considerable knowledge of the fungi

parasitic on plants which occur in Wisconsin is the writer’s special

interest. Intensive and regular collecting has been carried on in the

University Arboretum during the five seasons of 1942 through 1946.

The results are striking in showing how much can be found by per¬

sistent collecting in even a relatively small area.

The University Arboretum at Madison is a 1200-acre tract which

has a diversity of soil types, from almost pure sand to peat and heavy

clay, and a variety of habitats from marsh to upland meadow and

natural oak woods. There are numerous plantings of both coniferous

and hardwood forest types, and several representative prairie areas

have been established. Because of the plantings there is perhaps a

larger number of species of higher plants growing in the Arboretum

than would usually be encountered in an area of this size in southern

Wisconsin. The sandier portions of the Arboretum and the coniferous

plantings offer environmental conditions which especially favor the

development of certain types of fleshy fungi, while the relatively large

number of potential host species favors the presence of a diverse

parasitic fungus flora.

Madison is in the region of forest-prairie transition, and a good

many species of higher plants, primarily more western in their distri¬

bution, do well in the vicinity. The presence of essentially western

hosts naturally favors the presence of western parasitic fungi, and

collections made in the Arboretum have very materially extended

the known eastward range of several species of such fungi.

A total of about 1250 items, involving 795 species of fungi, in¬

cluding non-parasitic fungi and parasitic fungi on 467 hosts, have

been determined. Only a start has been made in the listing of non-

parasitic forms, but it is felt that the account of parasites and their

hosts is quite comprehensive. Specimens of most of the parasites have

1 Journal Paper No. 10, University of Wisconsin Arboretum.

47

48

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

been placed in the University of Wisconsin Cryptogamic Herbarium

under a special Arboretum label. The larger fleshy fungi have been

collected and determined, but in most cases have not been preserved.

Approximately 615 species of parasites have been determined. Of

these, 33 have been described as new species or varieties. Seventy-

seven species previously described, but not before reported to occur

in Wisconsin, have been found, making a total of 110 species not

hitherto listed for the state. In addition to this, parasites have been

collected on about 135 host plants not previously reported to bear

the fungi mentioned in Wisconsin. A considerable number of these

host records are new, not only to Wisconsin, but to all other localities,

so far is known. Where new or noteworthy, the results of these inves¬

tigations have been incorporated into a series of eleven papers, already

published or in press. Although these papers are not exclusively based

on Arboretum collections, a very large, if not the major, portion of the

material contained in them is derived from that source. The papers

have appeared, or will appear, in the Transactions of the Wisconsin

Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, Farlowia and the American

Midland Naturalist.

The list of fungi which follows is alphabetical. When the fungi are

parasites the host plants on which they occur are mentioned. Also,

where non-parasitic fungi have developed on recognizable dead plants,

such substrata are listed. Fungi, such as those mushrooms which occur

on soil or much rotted wood, are catalogued by name only. In the

case of parasites, new species are indicated by f* preceding the name,

species not hitherto reported for the state by f preceding the name,

and additional hosts by * preceding the name.

ACANTHOSTIGMA OCCIDENTALE (Ell. 8e Ev.) Sacc.

On Artemisia ludoviciana, Cirsium discolor

AECIDIUM PHYSALIDIS Burr.

On ^Physalis heterophylla

ALBUGO BLITI (Biv.) O. Ktze.

On Amaranthus retroflexus

ALBUGO CANDIDA (Pers.) O. Ktze.

On Capsella bursa-pastoris, Cardamine bulbosa,

*Lepidium campestre, Rorippa palustris var.

glabrata, Sisymbrium altissimum, S. officinale.

ALBUGO PORTULACAE (DC.) O. Ktze.

On Portulaca oleracea

ALBUGO TRAGOPOGONIS (DC.) S. F. Gray

On Cirsium muticum

ALEURODISCUS OAKESII (B. & C.) Cke.

On Quercus alba

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49

ALTERNARIA sp.

On Petalostemum candidum

ALTERNARIA BRASSICAE (Berk.) Sacc.

On Brassica arvensis

AMANITA COTHURNATA Atk.

AMANITA FROSTIANA Peck

AMANITA MUSCARIA (L.) Pers.

AMANITA PECKIANA Kauffm.

AMANITA PHALLOIDES (Fr.) Quel.

AMANITA RUBESCENS Pers.

AMANITA SOLITARIA Bull.

AMANITA STROBILIFORMIS Vitt.

AMANITA VERNA (Bull.) Quel.

AMANITA VIROSA (Fr.) Quel.

AMANITOPSIS VAGINATA (Bull.) Roze

ARMILLARIA MELLEA (Vahl) Quel.

ASCOCHYTA sp.

On Chrysanthemum balsamita var. tanacetoides,

Leonurus cardiaca.

ASCOCHYTA COMPOSITARUM J. J. Davis

On Eupatorium urticaefolium

ASCOCHYTA GRAMINICOLA Sacc.

On *Muhlenbergia foliosa, ^Panicum capillare

f* ASCOCHYTA HYDROPHYLLI-VIRGINIANI H. C. Greene

On Hydrophyllum virginianum

ASCOCHYTA LOPHANTHI J. J. Davis

On Lycopus americanus, L. uniflorus

ASCOCHYTA NEPETAE J. J. Davis

On Nepeta cataria

ASCOCHYTA PISI Lib.

On Lupinus perennis, Vida villosa

•[•ASCOCHYTA SYRINGAE Bres.

On Syringa vulgaris

•[•ASCOCHYTA VERBENAE Siemaszko

On Verbena strict a

ASCOCHYTA WISCONSINA J. J. Davis

On Sambucus canadensis

ASTERINA RUBICOLA Ell. 85 Ev.

On Rubus occidentalis, R. strigosus.

ASTEROMA RIBICOLUM Ell. 85 Ev.

On Ribes americanum

ASTEROMA TILIAE Rud.

On Tilia americana

ASTEROMELLA ANDREWSII Petr.

On Gentiana andrewsii

ASTEROMELLA ASTERICOLA J. J. Davis

On ^ Aster ericoides, ^Solidago altissima.

BASIDIOPHORA ENTOSPORA Roze 85 Cornu

On Aster novae-angliae, Erigeron canadensis.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

BOLETUS AMERICANUS Peck

BOLETUS CASTANEUS Bull.

BOLETUS GRANULATUS L.

BOLETUS SUBTOMENTOSUS L.

BOTRYTIS sp.

On Puccinia rubigo-vera on Thalictrum dasycarpum

BOTRYTIS sp.

On Vida villosa

BOVISTA PILA B. & C.

BREMIA LACTUCAE Regel

On Lactuca canadensis, *L. ludoviciana, L. scariola, L. spicata.

BULGARIA RUFA Schw.

CALVATIA CRANIFORMIS (Schw.) Fr.

CALVATIA GIGANTEA Batsch.

CANTHARELLUS AURANTIACUS Fr.

CANTHARELLUS CIBARIUS Fr.

CAPNODIUM (?) sp.

On Pinus strobus

CENANGIUM POPULNEUM (Pers.) Rehm

On Populus tremuloides

t*CERCOSEPTORIA BELPHILIAE H. C. Greene

On Blephilia ciliata, Pycnanthemum virginianum

t*CERCOSEPTORIA CERASTII H. C. Greene

On Cerastium vulgatum

CERCOSEPTORIA LEPTOSPERMA (Pk.) Petr.

On Aralia nudicaulis

CERCOSEPTORIA LONGISPORA (Pk.) Petr.

On Lupinus perennis

CERCOSPORA ACALYPHAE Peck

On Acalypha virginica

tCERCOSPORA ACETOSELLAE Ell.

On Rumex acetosella

tCERCOSPORA ACNIDAE Ell. & Ev.

On Acnida tuberculata

CERCOSPORA ALISMATIS Ell. & Holw.

On Alisma plantago-aquatica

CERCOSPORA ALTHAEINA Sacc.

On Althaea rosea. Hibiscus trionum.

CERCOSPORA AMPELOPSIDIS Peck

On P seder a vitacea

CERCOSPORA ARCTI-AMBROSIAE Hals.

On Arctium minus

tCERCOSPORA ASTRAGALI Woronichin

On Astragalus canadensis

CERCOSPORA AVICULARIS Wint.

On Polygonum achoreum, P. aviculare

CERCOSPORA BARBAREAE (Sacc.) Chupp

On Barbarea vulgaris

51

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tCERCOSPORA BERTEROAE Hollos

On Berteroa incana

CERCOSPORA BIDENTIS Tharp

On Bidens cernua, *B. coronata.

CERCOSPORA BLEPHILIAE Chupp & Greene

On Lycopus uniflorus

t*CERCOSPORA BOUTELOUAE Chupp h Greene

On Bouteloua curtipendula

tCERCOSPORA CANNABIS (Kara) Chupp

On Cannabis sativa

CERCOSPORA CARICINA Ell. & Dearn.

On *Carex interior, C. rosea, *C. stipata.

CERCOSPORA CEANOTHI Kell. & Sw.

On Ceanothus americanus

tCERCOSPORA CHENOPODIICOLA Bres.

On Chenopodium hybridum

CERCOSPORA CICHORII J. J. Davis

On Cichorium intybus

CERCOSPORA CIRCUMSCISSA Sacc.

On Pranas virginiana

CERCOSPORA CLAVATA (Ger.) Cke.

On Asclepias incarnata, A. syriaca.

CERCOSPORA COMANDRAE Ell. & Dearn.

On Comandra umbellata

CERCOSPORA CORDATAE Chupp & Greene

On *Zizia aurea

CERCOSPORA CORNI J. J. Davis

On Comas racemosa

CERCOSPORA CUCURBITAE Ell. & Ev.

On Cucurbita maxima

tCERCOSPORA CYNOGLOSSI Van Hook

On Lappula virginiana

CERCOSPORA CYPRIPEDII Ell. 85 Dearn.

On Cypripedium candidum

CERCOSPORA DAVISII Ell. & Ev.

On Meli lotus alba, M. officinalis.

CERCOSPORA DEPAZEOIDES (Desm.) Sacc.

On Sambucus canadensis

CERCOSPORA DESMODII Ell. & Kell.

On Desmodiam acuminatum

tCERCOSPORA DESMODIICOLA Atk.

On Desmodium canadense

CERCOSPORA DIFFUSA Ell. & Ev.

On Physalis heterophylla, P. virginiana.

CERCOSPORA DUBIA (Riess) Wint.

On Airiplex patula var. littoralis, Chenopodium album.

CERCOSPORA DULCAMARAE (Pk.) Ell. 85 Ev.

On Solanum dulcamara

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

CERCOSPORA ECHINOCHLOAE J. J. Davis

On Echinochloa crusgalli

CERCOSPORA ECHINOCYSTIS Ell. 85 Mart.

On Echinocystis lobata

tCERCOSPORA ELAEOCHROMA Sacc.

On Asclepias amplexicaulis

CERCOSPORA FINGENS J. J. DAVIS

On Thalictrum dasycarpum

CERCOSPORA FUSIMACULANS Atk.

On ^Leptoloma cognatum, ^Panicum perlongum, *P. praecocius,

*P. scribnerianum.

CERCOSPORA GALII Ell. 8e Holw.

On Galium triflorum

CERCOSPORA GEI Fckl.

On Geum triflorum

tCERCOSPORA GENTIANICOLA Ell. & Ev.

On Gentiana procera

CERCOSPORA GERARDIAE Ell. 85 Dearn.

On Gerardia grandiflora

CERCOSPORA GNAPHALIACEA Cke.

On Gnaphalium polycephalum

CERCOSPORA GRANULIFORMIS Ell. 85 Holw.

On Viola cucullata

CERCOSPORA GRAPHOIDES Ell.

On Prunus serotina

tCERCOSPORA GRISEA Cke. 85 Ell.

On Poly gala sanguinea

CERCOSPORA HELIANTHI Ell. 85 Ev.

On Helianthus occidentalis

CERCOSPORA HEUCHERAE Ell. 85 Mart.

On Heuchera sp.

tCERCOSPORA INCARNATA Ell. 85 Ev.

On Asclepias verticillata

CERCOSPORA LAXIPES J. J. Davis

On Spiraea salici folia

t*CERCOSPORA LECHEAE Chupp 85 Greene

On Lechea intermedia

tCERCOSPORA LEPIDII Peck

On Lepidium campestre

CERCOSPORA LEPTANDRAE J. J. Davis

On Veronica virginica

CERCOSPORA LESPEDEZAE Ell. & Dearn.

On Lespedeza capitata

t*CERCOSPORA LITHOSPERMI Chupp 8e Greene

On ^Lithospermum canescens, L. croceum.

tCERCOSPORA LOBELIAE Ell. 85 Ev.

On Lobelia spicata

tCERCOSPORA LONGISSIMA Sacc.

On Lactuca scariola

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53

tCERCOSPORA LYCn Ell. 85 Halst.

On Lycium halimifolium

CERCOSPORA LYTHRI (West.) Niessl

On Lythrum alatum

tCERCOSPORA MACROMACULANS Heald & Wolf

On Syringa vulgaris

t*CERCOSPORA MADISONENSIS Chupp 8b Greene

On Gerardia grandiflora

tCERCOSPORA MALVARUM Sacc.

On Malva rotundiiolia

CERCOSPORA MEDICAGINIS Ell. 85 Ev.

On Medicago lupulina

CERCOSPORA MICROSORA Sacc.

On Tilia americana

CERCOSPORA MUHLENBERGIAE Atk.

On Muhlenbergia foliosaf M. racemosa.

CERCOSPORA NASTURTII Pass.

On Nasturtium officinale, Rorippa palustris var. hispida.

CERCOSPORA OMPHACODES Ell. 85 Holw.

On Phlox pilosa

CERCOSPORA OSMORHIZAE Ell. 8b Ev.

On OsmorMza claytoni

CERCOSPORA PARVIMACULANS J. J. Davis

On *Solidago altissima, *S. juncea, riddellii, S. rigida,

S. serotina, S. uliginosa.

CERCOSPORA PASTINACAE (Sacc.) Peck

On Pastinaca sativa

CERCOSPORA PENTSTEMONIS Ell. 85 Kell.

On *Pentstemon digitalis

CERCOSPORA PERFOLIATA Ell. & Ev.

On Eupatorium maculatum, E. perfoliatum, E. urticaefolium

CERCOSPORA PHYSALIDIS Ell.

On Physalis heterophylla

CERCOSPORA PLANTAGINIS Sacc.

On *Planiago rugelii

CERCOSPORA POLYGONACEA Ell. & Ev.

On ^Polygonum, convolvulus, P. tenue.

CERCOSPORA POLYGONORUM Cke.

On Polygonum hydropiper var. projectum

t^CERCOSPORA POTENTILLAE Chupp 8b Greene

On Potentilla norvegica var. hirsuta, P. recta,

t*CERCOSPORA QUARTA Chupp & Greene

On Aster umbellatus

CERCOSPORA RACEMOSA EIL & Mart.

On Teucrium occidentale

CERCOSPORA RATIBIDAE Ell. 85 Barth.

On Lepachys pinnata

CERCOSPORA RHOINA Cke. 8s Ell.

On Rhus glabra, R. typhina.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

tCERCOSPORA RIBIS Earle

On Ribes americanum

CERCOSPORA ROSICOLA Pass.

On Rosa sp.

CERCOSPORA SAGITTARIAE Ell. & Kell.

On Sagittaria latifolia

CERCOSPORA SEDOIDES Ell. 85 Ev.

On Penthorum sedoides

CERCOSPORA SENECIONICOLA J. J. Davis

On *Senecio balsamitae

CERCOSPORA SETARIICOLA Tehon 8e Daniels

On Setaria lutescens

CERCOSPORA SILPHII Ell. & Ev.

On Silphium laciniatum, S. terebinthinaceum.

t*CERCOSPORA SOLIDAGINIS Chupp & Greene

On Solidago juncea

t*CERCOSPORA TERTIA Chupp 85 Greene

On Aster ptarmicoides

tCERCOSPORA TRAGOPOGONIS Ell. 85 Ev.

On Tragopogon pratensis

CERCOSPORA TRIFIDAE Chupp

On ^Ambrosia artemisiifolia, A. trifida.

CERCOSPORA UMBRATA Ell. h Holw.

On Bidens vulgata

CERCOSPORA VARIA Peck

On Viburnum lentago, V. opulus L.

CERCOSPORA VELUTINA Ell. & Kell.

On Baptisia leucophaea (bracteata)

tCERCOSPORA VERBASCICOLA Ell. &; Ev.

On Verbascum thapsiiorme, V. thapsus.

CERCOSPORA VERBENICOLA Ell. 85 Ev.

On Verbena stricta

CERCOSPORA VERNONIAE Ell. & Kell.

On Vernonia fasciculata

CERCOSPORA VEXANS C. Massal.

On Fragaria virginiana

CERCOSPORA VIOLAE Sacc.

On ^Viola pedata, *F. sagittate.

tCERCOSPORA VULPINAE Ell. & Kell.

On Vitis vulpina

t^CERCOSPORA WISCONSINENSIS Chupp & Greene

On Prenanthes alba, P. racemose.

tCERCOSPORA XANTHICOLA Heald 8e Wolf

On Xanthium italicum

CERCOSPORA ZEBRINA Pass.

On Trifolium hybridum, T. pratense.

CERCOSPORELLA APOCYNI (E. 85 K.) Trel.

On Apocynum cannabinum

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55

CERCOSPORELLA CANA Sacc.

On Erigeron annum, E. canadensis, *E. philadelphicua, E. ramosus.

CERCOSPORELLA DEARNESSII Bubak 8s Sacc.

On Solidago altissima, *S. riddellii.

CERCOSPORELLA EXILIS J. J. Davis

On Phryma leptosiachya

CERCOSPORELLA FILIFORMIS J. J. Davis

On Anemone patens var. wolfgangiana

CERCOSPORELLA NIVEA Ell. & Barth.

On *Solidago seroiina

tCERCOSPORELLA ONTARIENSIS Sacc.

On Euthamia graminifolia

CERCOSPORELLA PYRINA Ell. & Ev.

On Pyrus foensis

CERCOSPORELLA SAXIFRAGAE Rostr.

On Saxifraga pennsylvanica

CHLOROSPLENIUM AERUGINOSUM (Oed.) de Not.

CICINNOBOLUS CESATI DeBary

On Erysiphe cichoracearum

CINTRACTIA JUNCI (Schw.) Trel.

On *'Juncus dudleyi

CLADOSPORIUM sp.

On Acer negundo

t*CLADOSPORIUM AMERICANUM H. C. Greene

On Prunm americana

CLADOSPORIUM AROMATICUM Ell. U Ev.

On Rhus copallina, R. glabra, R. typhina.

CLADOSPORIUM ASTERICOLA J. J. Davis

On * Aster sagittifolim, *Solidago altissima, *S. nemoralis,

*S. speciosa, *S. ulmifolia.

t^CLADOSPORIUM LYSIMACHIAE H. C. Greene

On Lysimachia terrestris

CLADOSPORIUM TRIOSTEI Peck

On Triosteum aurantiacum

CLADOTRICHUM LEERSIAE Atk,

On Leersia oryzoides

CLAVICEPS PURPUREA (Fr.) TuL

Sclerotia on Agropyron repens, Bromus inermis, Calamagrostis canadensis,

Dactylis glomerata, Glyceria borealis, Koeleria cristata, Phalaris arun~

dinacea, Secale cereale.

CLITHRIS QUERCINA (Pers.) Fr.

On Quercm sp.

CLITOCYBE DEALBATA Sow.

CLITOCYBE INFUNDIBULIFORMIS (Schaeff.) Fr.

CLITOCYBE MULTICEPS Peck

CLITOCYBE OCHROPURPUREA Berk.

CLITOPILUS ABORTIVUS (B. & C.) Sass.

COCCOMYCES DENTATUS (Kze. & Schum.) Sacc.

On Quercus velutina

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

COCCOMYCES LUTESCENS Higgins (Cylindrosporium stage)

On Prunus serotina

tCOLEOSPORIUM DELICATULUM (A. ^ K.) Hedge. 85 Long

On Euthamia graminifolia

COLEOSPORIUM SOLIDAGINIS (Schw.) Thum.

On Aster azureus, A. ericoides, A. laevis, A, lateriflorus, A. lacidulus, A.

macrophyllus, A. novae-angliae, A. oblongifolius, pilosus, A. sagitti-

folius, A. tradescantif A. umbellatus, Pinus banksiana, P. resinosa, Solidago

altissima, *S. juncea, S. nemoralis, S. riddellii, rigida, S. serotina,

S. uliginosa, S. ulmifolia.

COLEOSPORIUM TEREBINTHINACEAE (Schw.) Arth.

On *Silphium terebinthinaceum

COLEOSPORIUM VIBURNI Arth.

On Viburnum lentago, *V. opulus L.

COLLETOTRICHUM sp.

On Pyrola elliptica

COLLETOTRICHUM GRAMINICOLUM (Ces.) Wils.

On Calamagrostis canadensis, Panicum virgatum.

COLLETOTRICHUM HELIANTHI J. J. Davis

On Helianthus strumosus

COLLETOTRICHUM SILPHII J. J. Davis

On *Silphium integrifolium

COLLETOTRICHUM SOLITARIUM Ell. & Barth.

On ^Solidago juncea, S. riddellii.

COLLETOTRICHUM SORDIDUM J. J. Davis

On Menispermum canadense

COLLETOTRICHUM VIOLAE-ROTUNDIFOLIAE (Sacc.) House

On *Viola pedata, V. sp.

COLLYBIA RADICATA var. FURFURACEA Peck

CONIOSPORIUM ARUNDINIS (Cda.) Sacc.

On Phragmites communis

CONIOTHECIUM TORULOIDES Cda.

On Salix sp.

CONIOTHYRIUM CONCENTRICUM (Desm.) Sacc.

On Yucca filamentosa

COPRINUS ATRAMENTARIUS (Bull.) Fr.

COPRINUS COMATUS Fr.

CORTICIUM INVESTIENS (Schw.) Bres.

On Quercua sp.

CORTICIUM SCUTELLARE B. h C.

On Quercus sp.

CREPIDOTUS VERSUTUS Peck

CRONARTIUM COMANDRAE Peck

On Comandra umbellata

CRYPTOSPHAERIA POPULINA (Pers.) Sacc.

On Populus deltoides

CRYPTOSPORELLA ANOMALA (Pk.) Sacc.

On Corylus americana

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57

CYCLOMYCES FUSCUS Ktze.

CYLINDROSPORIUM APOCYNI Ell. & Ev.

On Apocynum androsaemifolium

CYLINDROSPORIUM ARTEMISIAE Deam. & Barth.

On Artemisia ludoviciana

CYLINDROSPORIUM BETULAE J. J. Davis

On *X Betula sandbergii

CYLINDROSPORIUM CALAMAGROSTIDIS Ell. 8e Ev.

On Calamagrostis canadensis

CYLINDROSPORIUM CAPSELLAE Ell. & Ev.

On Capsella bursa-pastoris

tCYLINDROSPORIUM CELTIDIS Earle

On Celtis occidentalis

CYLINDROSPORIUM CRESCENTUM Barth.

On Pastinaca sativa

CYLINDROSPORIUM EMINENS J. J. Davis

On Helianthemum sp.

CYLINDROSPORIUM ERYNIGII Ell. 65 Kell.

On Erynigium yuccifolium

CYLINDROSPORIUM GLYCERIAE Ell. & Ev.

On Glyceria striata

CYLINDROSPORIUM SALICIFOLIAE (Trel.) Davis

On Spiraea salicifolia

CYLINDROSPORIUM THALICTRI Ell. 85 Ev.

On Thalictrum dasycarpum

CYLINDROSPORIUM TOXICODENDRI (E. 85 M.) Ell. 8e Ev.

On Rhus toxicodendron

CYLINDROSPORIUM TRIFLORI H. C. Greene

On Geum triflorum

CYTOSPORA RHOINA Fr.

On Rhus glabra

CYTOSPORA RUBI Schw.

On Rubus allegheniensis

DACRYMYCES sp.

DAEDALEA CONFRAGOSA (Bolt.) Pers.

DAEDALEA UNICOLOR (Bull.) Fr.

DARLUCA FILUM (Biv.) Cast.

On various Uredineae

DAVISIELLA sp.

In Phyllachora boutelouae

DIAPORTHE ORTHOCERAS (Fr.) Nitsch.

On Lactuca canadensis

DIATRYPE AMERICANA var. QUERCUS Rehm

On Quercus macrocarpa

DIATRYPE STIGMA (Hoffm.) Fr.

On Quercus sp.

DICOCCUM NEBULOSUM Ell. 8b Ev.

On Fraxinus americana

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

DILOPHOSPORA ALOPECURI Fr.

On Calamagrostis canadensis, *Phalaris arundinacea.

DILOPHOSPORA GERANII Schroet.

On Geranium maculatum

DIPLOCARPON ROSAE F. A. Wolf (Actinonema stage)

On Rosa sp.

DIPLODIA TAXI (Sow.) De Not.

On Taxus sp.

DOASSANSIA ALISMATIS (Nees) Cornu

On Alisma plantago-aquatica

tELLISIELLA CAUDATA (Pk.) Sacc.

On Andropogon iurcatus, Sorghastrum nutans, ^'Sporobolus heterolepis.

ELSINOE VENETA (Speg.) Jenkins

On Rubus occidentalis

ENTOLOMA GRAYANUM Peck

ENTOLOMA SERICATUM Britz.

ENTOMOSPORIUM THUEMENII (Cke.) Sacc.

On Crataegus mollis

ENTYLOMA AUSTRALE Speg.

On Physalis virginiana

ENTYLOMA COMPOSITARUM Farl.

On Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Lepachys pinnata, Senecio aureus.

ENTYLOMA LOBELIAE Farl.

On Lobelia inilata

ENTYLOMA NYMPHAEAE (Cunn.) Setch.

On Castalia sp.

ENTYLOMA POLYSPORUM (Pk.) Farl.

On Ambrosia trifida

EPICOCCUM NEGLECTUM Desm.

On Andropogon scoparius, Sporobolus heterolepis.

ERYSIPHE CICHORACEARUM DC.

On ^Acalypha virginica. Ambrosia artemisiifolia, A. trifida, *Aster azureus,

A. lucidulus, novae-angliae, A. oblongifolius, pilosus, A. sagittifolius,

A. tradescanti, Cirsium discolor, C. muticum, Eupatorium maculatum,

*E. urticae folium, ^Galium aparine, Helianthus strumosus, Lactuca cana¬

densis, L, scariola, L. spicata, Lappula virginiana, Mentha arvensis var.

canadensis, ^Monarda fistulosa, Parietaria pennsylvanica, Plantago rugelii,

^Scutellaria lateriflora, Solidago altissima, *S. riddellii, *S. serotina.

Verbena hastata, V. stricta, V. urticaefolia, Vernonia fasciculata.

ERYSIPHE GALEOPSIDIS DC.

On Chelone glabra, ^Eupatorium urticae folium.

ERYSIPHE GRAMINIS DC.

On Agropyron repens (perithecia produced), Poa palustris, P. pratensis.

ERYSIPHE POLYGONI DC.

On Caltha palustris, Lupinus perennis, Oenothera biennis, Ranunculus

abortivus, Thalictrum dasycarpum, Tri folium hybridum, T. pratense.

tEXOSPORIUM DEFLECTENS Karst.

On Juniperus communis var. depressa, */. virginiana.

Greene — Fungi of Univ. of Wis. Arboretum

59

FABRAEA RANUNCULI (Fr.) Karst.

On Ranunculus pennsylvanicus

FAVOLUS CURTISII Berk.

On Quercus sp.

FAVOLUS EUROPAEUS Fr.

On Quercus sp.

FLAMMULA POLYCHROA Berk.

FLAMMULA SAPINEA (Fr.) Quel.

FOMES APPLANATUS (Pers.) Gill.

On Quercus velutina

FROMMEA OBTUSA (Str.) Arth.

On Potentilla canadensis

FUMAGO VAGANS Pers.

On Populus tremuloides

FUSICLADIUM DEPRESSUM (B. & Br.) Sacc.

On Angelica atropurpurea

FUSICLADIUM DEPRESSUM var. PLATYSPORA (E. & H.) Davis.

On *Oxypolis rigidior

FUSICLADIUM RADIOSUM (Lib.) Lind.

On Populus grandidentata, P. tremuloides.

GANODERMA LUCIDUM (Fr.) Karst.

On Quercus sp.

GEASTER HYGROMETRICUS Pers.

GLOEOSPORIUM BETULARUM Ell. & Mart.

On Betula nigra

GLOEOSPORIUM CANADENSE Ell. & Ev.

On Quercus alba, Q. macrocarpa.

GLOEOSPORIUM CORYLI (Desm.) Sacc.

On Corylus americana

tGLOEOSPORIUM HEPATICAE Peck

On Hepatica acutiloba

tGLOEOSPORIUM LEPTOTHYRIOIDES Kab. & Bub.

On Betula papyrifera, X B. sandbergii.

GLOEOSPORIUM RIBIS (Lib.) Mont. 85 Desm.

On Ribes americanum, R. rrdssouriense.

GLOEOSPORIUM SALICIS Westd.

On Salix sp.

GLOEOSPORIUM SEPTORIOIDES Sacc.

On Quercus velutina

GLOMERULARIA LONICERAE Peck

On Lonicera tatarica

GLONIUM STELLATUM Muhl.

GNOMONIA ULMEA (Schw.) Thum.

On Ulmus americana

GRAPHIUM GRACILE Peck

On Rubus strigosus

GRAPHYLLIUM sp.

On Phragmites communis

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GYMNOCONIA PECKIANA (Howe) Trotter

On Rubus allegheniensis, R. occidentalis.

GYMNOSPORANGIUM GLOBOSUM Farl.

On Crataegus mollis

GYMNOSPORANGIUM JUNIPERI-VIRGINIANAE Schw.

On Juniperus virginiana, Pyrus prunifolia, P. ioensis.

HELMINTHOSPORIUM AVENAE Eidam

On Avena sativa

HELMINTHOSPORIUM BROMI Died.

On Bromus inermis, japonicus.

tHELMINTHOSPORIUM INCONSPICUUM var. BUCHLOES Ell. & Ev.

On Bouteloua curtipendula, B. hirsuta.

tHELMINTHOSPORIUM ROSTRATUM Drechsler

On Eragrostis cilianensis, *E. pectinacea, *E. spectabilis.

HELMINTHOSPORIUM SATIVUM Pamm., King & Bakke

On ^Agropyron repens, *Muhlenbergia foliosa.

HELVELLA MITRA L.

HENDERSONIA CELTIFOLIA Cke.

On Celtis occidentalis

HENDERSONIA TYPHAE Oud.

On Typha angusti folia

HETEROSPORIUM GRACILE (Wallr.) Sacc.

On Iris sp.

t*HYALOTHYRIDIUM CALAMAGROSTIDIS H. C. Greene

On Calamagrostis canadensis

HYDNUM OCHRACEUM Pers.

HYDNUM REPANDUM L.

HYPHOLOMA SUBLATERITIUM Schaeff.

HYPOXYLON PRUINATUM (Kl.) Cke.

On Populus tremuloides

INOCYBE RIMOSA (Bull.) Quel.

IRPEX CINNAMOMEUS Fr.

ISARIOPSIS ALBOROSELLA (Desm.)

On Cerastium vulgatum, Stellaria aquatica.

ITHYPHALLUS IMPUDICUS (L.) E. Fisch.

KUEHNEOLA UREDINIS (Lk.) Arth.

On Rubus allegheniensis

LACCARIA LACCATA (Scop.) B. 85 Br.

LACTARIUS DELICIOSUS (L.) Fr.

LACTARIUS PIPERATUS (Scop.) Fr.

LACTARIUS VOLEMUS Fr.

LENTINUS LECONTEI Fr.

LENTINUS LEPIDEUS Fr.

LEPIOTA CLYPEOLARIA Fr.

LEPIOTA CRISTATA Alb. & Schw.

LEPIOTA PROCERA Scop.

LEPTOSPHAERIA OGILVIENSIS (B. & Br.) Ces. & DeNot.

On Lactuca canadensis

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61

LEPTOSTROMA PINASTRI Desm.

On Pinus resinosa

LEPTOTHYRIUM DRYINUM Sacc.

On *Quercus macrocarpa

tLEPTOTHYRIUM PUNCTIFORME B. & C.

On Erigeron annuus, E. ramosus.

LEPTOTHYRIUM SIMILISPORUM (Ell. 85 Davis) Davis

On ^Solidago altissima, *S. nemoralis, S. rigida, S. serotina.

LOPHODERMIUM ARUNDINACEUM (Schrad.) Chev.

On Gramineae indet.

LOPHODERMIUM JUNIPERINUM (Fr.) DeNot.

On Juniperus communis var. depressa, J. virginiana.

tLOPHODERMIUM NITENS Darker

On Pinus strobus

LOPHODERMIUM PINASTRI (Schrad.) Chev.

On Pinus resinosa

LYCOPERDON GEMMATUM Batsch.

MACROSPORIUM SARCINAEFORME Cav.

On Trifolium pratense

MARASIMIUS CAMPANULATUS Peck

MARASIMIUS SICCUS (Schw.) Fr.

MARSONIA CORONARIAE Sacc. & Dearn.

On Pyrus ioensis

MARSONIA FRAXINI Ell. 8e Davis

On Fraxinus americana

t*MARSONIA GLOEODES H. C. Greene

On Fraxinus americana

MARSONIA JUGLANDIS (Lib.) Sacc.

On Juglans cinerea, J. nigra.

MARSONIA KRIEGERIANA Bres.

On Salix longifolia

MARSONIA MARTINI Sacc. & Ell.

On Quercus alba, Q. macrocarpa.

MARSONIA POPULI (Lib.) Sacc.

On Populus deltoides

MARSONIA POTENTILLAE (Desm.) Fisch.

On Potentilla arguta, P. palustris.

MARSONIA POTENTILLAE var. TORMENTILLAE Trail

On Fragaria vesca var. americana, Rubus triflorus.

MELAMPSORA ABIETI-CAPREARUM Tub.

On Salix longifolia

MELAMPSORA BIGELOWII Thum.

On Salix sp.

MELAMPSORA MEDUSAE Thum.

On Populus deltoides, P. tremuloides. ^

MELASMIA ULMICOLA B. & C.

On Ulmus americana

MERULIUS TREMULLOSUS Schrad.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

MICROSPHAERA ALNI (Wallr.) Wint.

On Betula sandbergii, Corylus americana, Lonicera tatarica, Quercus

alba, Q. macrocarpa, Q. velutina, Syringa vulgaris. Viburnum affine,

V, lentago.

MICROSPHAERA ALNI var. LUDENS Salm.

On Desmodium canadense

MICROSPHAERA DIFFUSA C. & P.

On *Desmodium illinoense, Lespedeza capitata.

MICROSPHAERA GROSSULARIAE (Wallr.) Lev.

On Sambucus canadensis

MICROSPHAERA RUSSELLII Clinton

On Oxalis europea, O. stricta.

MICROSTROMA JUGLANDIS (Bereng.) Sacc.

On Carya ovata, Juglans cinerea, J. nigra.

MOLLISIA DEHNII (Rabh.) Karst.

On Potentilla norvegica var. hirsuta

MORCHELLA CRASSIPES (Vent.) Pers.

MYCENA CORTICOLA (Sebum.) Quel.

MYCENA FILIPES Bull.

MYCENA GALERICULATA (Scop.) Quel.

t^MYCOSPHAERELLA CALAMAGROSTIS H. C. Greene

On Calamagrostis canadensis

MYCOSPHAERELLA IMPATIENTIS (Pk. & Clint.) House

On Impatiens bi flora

MYCOSPHAERELLA KRIGIAE (Ell. & Ev.) Greene

On Krigia biflora (amplexicaulis)

MYCOSPHAERELLA LETHALIS Stone (with imperfect ASCOCHYTA

MELILOTI stage)

On Meli lotus alba

MYCOSPHAERELLA THALICTRI (E. & E.) Lind.

On Thalictrum dasycarpum

NAEMACYCLUS NIVEUS (P. ex Fr.) Sacc.

On Pinus sylvestris

NAPICLADIUM ARUNDINACEUM (Cda.) Sacc.

On Phragmites communis

NECTRIA CINNABARINA (Tode) Fr.

On Ulmus fulva

tNEOTTIOSPORA ARENARIA Sydow

On Carex rostrata

NUMMULARIA ATROPUNCTA (Schw.) v. Hoehn.

On Quercus sp.

NUMMULARIA BULLIARDI Tul.

On Quercus sp.

OIDIUM spp.

Undetermined powdery mildews have been collected on the following hosts:

Achillea millefolium. Aster laevis, A. linariifolius, A. umbellatus, Cacalia

tuberosa, Ceanothus americanus, Coreopsis palmata, Cornus racemosa,

Desmodium acuminatum, Erucastrum gallicum, Euthamia graminifolia,

Hieracium canadense, H. longipilum, Lactuca ludoviciana, Pilea pumila.

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63

Ranunculus recurvatus, Rosa sp., Rubus allegheniensis, Rudbeckia hirta,

R. laciniata, Solanum carolinense, Solidago speciosa,

OMPHALIA CAMPANELLA Batsch.

tOPHIODOTHIS HAYDENI (B. & C.) Sacc.

On Aster lucidulus, A. tradescanti.

OVULARIA MONOSPORIA (West.) Sacc.

On Rumex crispus

OVULARIA PULCHELLA var. AGROPYRI J. J. Davis

On *Bromus inermis

PANUS STYPTICUS (Bull.) Fr.

On Quercus sp.

PASSALORA FASCICULATA (C. 85 E.) Earle

On Euphorbia corollata

PATELLARIA ATRATA (Hedw.) Fr.

PATELLINA sp.

On Penthorum sedoides

PAXINA ACETABULUM (L.) Kze.

PAXINA SULCATA (Pers.) Kze.

tPELLICULARIA FILAMENTOSA (Pat.) Rogers

On Equisetum arvense, Lepidium campestre, Melilotus officinalis, Physalis

heterophylla.

PENIOPHORA CINEREA (Pers.) Cke.

On Quercus sp.

PERICONIA BYSSOIDES Pers.

On Erigeron philadelphicus. Polygonum pennsylvanicum.

PERONOSPORA ALTA Fckl.

On ^Plantago purshii, P. rugelii.

PERONOSPORA CALOTHECA DeBary

On Galium aparine, G. boreale, G. triflorum.

PERONOSPORA CORYDALIS DeBary

On Dicentra cucullaria

PERONOSPORA EFFUSA (Grev.) Rabh.

On Chenopodium album

PERONOSPORA GRISEA Unger

On Veronica peregrina

PERONOSPORA HEDEOMAE Kell. & Sw.

On Hedeoma hispida

PERONOSPORA HYDROPHYLLI Waite

On Hydrophyilum virginianum

PERONOSPORA LINARIAE Fckl.

On Linaria canadensis

PERONOSPORA PARASITICA (Pers.) Tul.

On Brassica arvensis, Dent aria laciniata, Nasturtium officinale. Sisymbrium

altissimum.

PERONOSPORA POTENTILLAE DeBary

On Agrimonia gryposepala, Geum canadense, Potentilla norvegica var. hirsuta.

PEZIZA SYLVESTRIS (Boud.) Sacc. & Trott.

PHACIDIUM sp.

On Taxus sp.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

tPHAEOSEPTORIA CALAMAGROSTIDIS R. Sprague

On Calamagrostis canadensis

tPHAEOSEPTORIA FESTUCAE var. MUHLENBERGIAE R. Sprague

On Elymus virginicus

PHLEBIA RADIATA Fr.

PHLEBIA ZONATA B. 85 C.

On Populus tremuloides

PHLEOSPORA ACERIS (Lib.) Sacc.

On Acer rubrum

PHLEOSPORA ANEMONES Ell. & Kell.

On Anemone virginiana

PHLEOSPORA MORI (Lev.) Sacc.

On Morns sp.

PHOMA QUERCINA (Pk.) Sacc.

On Quercus sp.

PHOMA REVELLENS Sacc.

On Corylus americana

PHOMA THAPSI Ell. & Ev.

On Verbascum thapsus

PHOMOPSIS DIACHENII Sacc.

On Pastinaca sativa

PHOMOPSIS MISSOURIENSIS Bubak

On Asclepias incarnata

PHRAGMIDIUM AMERICANUM (Pk.) Diet.

On Rosa Carolina

PHRAGMIDIUM DISCIFLORUM (Tode) James

On Rosa sp. (cult.)

PHRAGMIDIUM IVESIAE Sydow

On *Potentilla norvegica var. hirsuta, P. recta.

PHYLLACHORA AMBROSIAE (B. & C.) Sacc.

On Ambrosia artemisiifolia

PHYLLACHORA BOUTELOUAE Rehm

On Bouteloua curtipendula

PHYLLACHORA GRAMINIS (Pers.) Fckl.

On Agropyron repens, Calamagrostis canadensis, Elymus canadensis, E.

virginicus, *Hordeum jubatum, Panicum virgatum.

PHYLLACHORA LESPEDEZAE (Schw.) Sacc.

On Lespedeza capitata

PHYLLACHORA LUTEOMACULATA (Schw.) Orton

On Andropogon furcatus

PHYLLACHORA PUNCTA (Schw.) Orton

On ^Leptoloma cognatum, Panicum latifolium, P. scribnerianum.

PHYLLACHORA VULGATA Theiss. 8e Syd.

On Muhlenbergia foliosa, M. racemosa.

PHYLLACTINIA CORYLEA (Pers.) Karst.

On Celastrus scandens, Cornus racemosa, C. stolonifera, Quercus sp.

PHYLLOSTICTA SPP.

On Carya ovata, Osmorhiza claytoni, Syringa vulgaris. Viburnum opulus L.,

Zizia cordata.

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65

tPHYLLOSTICTA ACETOSELLAE Smith & Ramsb,

On Rumex acetosella

PHYLLOSTICTA ANEMONICOLA Sacc. & Syd.

On * Anemone cylindrica

tPHYLLOSTICTA ANGELICAE Sacc.

On Angelica atropurpurea

PHYLLOSTICTA ANTENNARIAE Ell. & Ev.

On Antennaria fallax

PHYLLOSTICTA APOCYNI Trel.

On Apocynum androsaemifolium, A. cannabinum.

PHYLLOSTICTA ASTERICOLA Ell. 85 Ev.

On Aster umbellatus

tPHYLLOSTICTA CANNABIS (Kirchn.) Speg.

On Cannabis sativa

tPHYLLOSTICTA CHENOPODII-ALBI Siemaszko

On Chenopodium album

tPHYLLOSTICTA CIRSII Desm.

On Cirsium undulatum, C. vulgare.

t*PHYLLOSTICTA COREOPSIDIS H. C. Greene

On Coreopsis palmata

PHYLLOSTICTA CRUENTA (Fr.) Kickx.

On Polygonatum commutatum

PHYLLOSTICTA CRUENTA var. PALLIDIOR (Pk.) Davis

On Smilacina racemosa, S. stellata.

PHYLLOSTICTA DECIDUA Ell. & Kell.

On Aralia racemosa, Epilobium sp., *Geum strictum, *Monarda fistulosa,

*Solanum dulcamara.

PHYLLOSTICTA DESMODII Ell. 85 Ev.

On *Desmodium canadense, D. illinoense.

tPHYLLOSTICTA GROSSULARIAE Sacc.

On Ribes missouriense

tPHYLLOSTICTA GUTTULATAE Halst.

On Oxalis europea, O. stricta.

tPHYLLOSTICTA HIERACII Allesch.

On Hieracium longipilum

PHYLLOSTICTA IRIDIS Ell. & Mart.

On Iris virginica var. shrevei

PHYLLOSTICTA LIATRIDIS J. J. Davis

On ^Liatris spheroidea (scariosa)

PHYLLOSTICTA LIVIDA Ell. & Ev.

On Quercus macrocarpa

PHYLLOSTICTA MINUTISSIMA Ell. 85 Ev.

On Acer rubrum

tPHYLLOSTICTA MONARDAE Ell. 85 Barth.

On Blephilia ciliata, Mentha arvensis var. canadensis, Monarda fistulosa.

PHYLLOSTICTA NEBULOSA Sacc.

On *Silene dichotoma, *S. latifolia.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

PHYLLOSTICTA NEGUNDINIS Sacc. 85 Speg.

On Acer negando

PHYLLOSTICTA PHOMIFORMIS Sacc.

On Quercus alba, Q. macrocarpa.

tPHYLLOSTICTA POLYGONORUM Sacc.

On Polygonum natans f. hartwrightii

PHYLLOSTICTA PRUNICOLA Sacc.

On Prunus serotina

tPHYLLOSTICTA ROSAE Desm.

On Rosa sp.

PHYLLOSTICTA RUDBECKIAE Ell. & Ev.

On Rudbeckia laciniata

tPHYLLOSTICTA SALICICOLA Thum.

On Salix sp.

t*PHYLLOSTICTA SICCATA H. C. Greene

On Solidago serotina

t*PHYLLOSTICTA SOLIDAGINICOLA H. C. Greene

On Solidago serotina

tPHYLLOSTICTA SOLIDAGINIS Bres.

On Solidago serotina

tPHYLLOSTICTA SOLITARIA Ell. 85 Ev.

On X Pyrus prunifolia

PHYLLOSTICTA SPERMOIDES Peck

On Vitis vulpina

PHYLLOSTICTA STEIRONEMATIS Beam. 8b House

On Steironema ciliatum

tPHYLLOSTICTA TILIAE Sacc. 8s Speg.

On Tilia americana

PHYLLOSTICTA TYPHINA Sacc. 8s Malb.

On Typha lati folia

t*PHYLLOSTICTA UMBRINO-FUMOSA H. C. Greene

On Eupatorium urticaefolium

PHYLLOSTICTA VERBASCICOLA Ell. 8s Kell.

On *Verbascum thapsiforme, V. thapsus.

PHYLLOSTICTA VIOLAE Desm.

On Viola sp.

PHYLLOSTICTA VITICOLA (B. 8s C.) Thum.

On Psedera vitacea, Vitis vulpina.

t*PHYLLOSTICTA ZANTHOXYLI H. C. Greene

On Zanthoxylum americanum

PIGGOTIA FRAXINI B. 8s C.

On Fraxinus americana

PIGGOTIA NEGUNDINIS Ell. 8s Dearn.

On Acer negundo

PILACRE FAGINEA Fr.

PILEOLARIA TOXICODENDRI (B. 8s Rav.) Arth.

On Rhus toxicodendron

PIRICULARIA GRISEA (Cke.)

On Setaria viridis

Sacc.

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PIRICULARIA PARASITICA Ell. 85 Ev.

On Phyllachora graminis, *P. vulgata.

PLACOSPHAERIA PUNCTIFORMIS (Fckl.) Sacc.

On Galium boreale

PLASMOPARA GERANII (Pk.) Berl. 8e DeToni

On Geranium maculatum

PLASMOPARA HALSTEDII (Farl.) Berl. & DeToni

On Ambrosia artemi si i folia, A. trifida, Bidens cernua, B. vulgata, Erechtites

hieracifolia, Eupatorium urticaefolium, Helianthus grosseserratus, *H.

rigidus, H. strumosus, Silphium integri folium, S. terebinthinaceum.

PLASMOPARA HUMULI Miyabe & Takah.

On Humulus americanus

PLASMOPARA ILLINOENSIS (Farl.) Davis

On Parietaria pennsylvanica

PLASMOPARA OBDUCENS Schroet.

On Impatiens biflora

PLASMOPARA PYGMAEA (Ung.) Schroet.

On Anemone canadensis, A. quinquefolia, Hepatica acutiloba.

PLASMOPARA VITICOLA (B. 85 C.) Berl. 85 DeToni

On Vitis vulpina

PLEOSPORA sp.

On Curcurbita maxima

PLEUROTUS OSTREATUS Jacq.

On Quercus sp.

PLOWRIGHTIA (DIBOTRYON) MORBOSA (Schw.) Sacc.

On Prunus serotina, P. virginiana.

PLUTEUS CERINUS Schaeff.

PODOSPHAERA OXYACANTHAE (DC.) DeBary

On Prunus virginiana. Spiraea salici folia.

POLYPORUS ADUSTUS (Willd.) Fr.

On Populus deltoides

POLYPORUS BETULINUS Fr.

On Betula papyrifera

POLYPORUS BRUMALIS Fr.

POLYPORUS DICHROUS Fr.

POLYPORUS FRONDOSUS Fr.

POLYPORUS GIGANTEUS (Pers.) Fr.

POLYPORUS GILVUS Schw.

On Quercus sp.

POLYPORUS NIDULANS Fr.

POLYPORUS POCULA B. & C.

POLYPORUS SULPHUREUS (Bull.) Fr.

On Quercus sp.

POLYSTICTUS (POLYPORUS) CINNABARINUS (Jacq.) Fr.

On Quercus sp.

POLYSTICTUS CONCHIFER (Schw.) Sacc.

POLYSTICTUS HIRSUTUS Fr.

POLYSTICTUS PERGAMENUS Fr.

POLYSTICTUS VERSICOLOR (L.) Fr.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

POLYTHRINCIUM TRIFOLII Kze.

On Tri folium hybridum, T. repens.

tPROTOCORONOSPORA NIGRICANS Atk. 85 Edg. emend. Wolf

On Vida villosa

PSEUDOPEZIZA AUTUMNALIS (Fckl.) Sacc.

On Galium tinctorium

PSEUDOPEZIZA MEDICAGINIS (Lib.) Sacc.

On Melilotus alba

PUCCINIA ABSINTHII (Hedw. f.) DC.

On Artemisia ludoviciana

PUCCINIA ANDROPOGONIS Schw.

On Andropogon furcatus, A. scoparius, Comandra umbellata.

PUCCINIA ANEMONES-VIRGINIANAE Schw.

On Anemone cylindrica, A. virginiana.

PUCCINIA ANGUSTATA Peck

On Lycopus americanus, ^Monarda fistulosa, Scirpus atrovirens, S. cyperinus

var. pelius.

PUCCINIA ARGENTATA (Schultz) Wint.

On Impatiens biflora

PUCCINIA ASPARAGI DC.

On Asparagus officinalis

PUCCINIA ASTERIS Duby

On Aster ericoides, A. lucidulus, A. tradescanti.

PUCCINIA BARDANAE (Wallr.) Cda.

On Arctium minus

PUCCINIA BOLLEYANA Sacc.

On Sambucus canadensis

PUCCINIA CALTHAE (Grev.) Link

On Caltha palustris

PUCCINIA CALTHAECOLA Schroet.

On Caltha palustris

PUCCINIA CARICIS (Schum.) Schroet.

On Carex lacustris, C. stricta, Ribes americanum, R. missouriense, Urtica

gracilis.

PUCCINIA CIRCAEAE Pers.

On Circaea lutetiana

PUCCINIA CIRSII Lasch.

On Cirsium discolor, C. vulgare.

PUCCINIA CNICI Mart.

On Cirsium vulgare

PUCCINIA CONVOLVULI (Pers.) Cast.

On Convolvulus sepium

PUCCINIA CORONATA Cda.

On *AgTopyron repens, *Agrostis alba, Calamagrostis canadensis, ^Elymus

canadensis, Rhamnus cathartica.

PUCCINIA CYPERI Arth.

On Cyperus filiculmis, Erigeron annuus, E. ramosus.

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69

PUCCINIA ELEOCHARIDIS Arth.

On *EIeocharis acicularis, E. palustris, Eupatorium maculatum, E. perfoliatum.

PUCCINIA EMACULATA Schw.

On Panicum capillare

PUCCINIA EXTENSICOLA Plowr.

On Aster lucidulus, A. sagittifolius, A. tradescanti, A. umbellatus, ^Carex

interior Bailey, C. muhlenbergii, C. scoparia, *C. stellulata var. cepha-

lantha, C. vulpinoidea, Erigeron annuus, E. ramosus, Hieracium canadense,

H. longipilum, H. scabrum, Lactuca canadensis, L. spicata, Oenothera

biennis, Phryma leptostachya, Solidago altissima, S. serotina, *S. ulmifolia.

PUCCINIA GRAMINIS Pers.

On Agropyron repens, Agrostis alba, Berberis vulgaris, Hordeum jubatum,

Phleum pratense.

PUCCINIA HELIANTHI Schw.

On Helianthus giganteus, H. grosseserratus, *H. occidentalis, H. rigidus,

H. strumosus.

PUCCINIA HIERACII (Schum.) Mart.

On Hieracium canadense, H. scabrum, ^Taraxacum erythrospermum, T.>

officinale.

PUCCINIA KUHNIAE Schw.

On Kuhnia eupatorioides

PUCCINIA LIATRIDIS (Webber) Bethel

On Koeleria cristata, Liatris pycnostachya, L. spheroidea (scariosa),

squarrosa.

PUCCINIA MALVACEARUM Bert.

On Althea rosea, Malva rotundifolia.

PUCCINIA MENTHAE Pers.

On Mentha arvensis var. canadensis, Monarda fistulosa, M. punctata,

Pycnanthemum virginianum.

PUCCINIA OBTECTA Peck

On ^Scirpus acutus, S. americanus, S. validus.

PUCCINIA OBTEGENS (Lk.) Tul.

On Cirsium arvense

PUCCINIA PANICI Diet.

On Euphorbia corollata, Panicum virgatum.

PUCCINIA PERIDERMIOSPORA (Ell. 65 Tr.) Arth.

On Spartina pectinata

PUCCINIA PHRAGMITIS (Schum.) Korn.

On Phragmites communis

PUCCINIA PHYSALIDIS Peck

On *Physalis heterophylla, P. virginiana.

PUCCINIA PIMPINELLAE (Str.) Mart.

On Osmorhiza claytord

PUCCINIA POAE-SUDETICAE (West.) Jorstad

On Poa pratensis

PUCCINIA POLYGONI-AMPHIBII Pers.

On Geranium maculatum. Polygonum coccineum var. pratincola, P. convol¬

vulus, P. natans f. hartwrightii, P. scandens.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

PUCCINIA PUNCTATA Link

On Galium concinnum, G. triflorum.

PUCCINIA PYGMAEA Erikss.

On Calamagrostis canadensis

PUCCINIA RUBIGO-VERA (DC.) Wint.

On Agropyron repens, Agrostis alba, A. hyemalis, Bromus ciliatus, Elymus

virginicus, Hordeum jubatum, Thalictrum dasycarpum.

PUCCINIA SCHEDONNARDI Kell. 8s Sw.

On Muhlenbergia foliosa

PUCCINIA SEYMOURIANA Arth.

On Asclepias syriaca

PUCCINIA SILPHII Schw.

On Silphium integrifolium

PUCCINIA TUMIDIPES Peck

On Lycium halimifolium

PUCCINIA VERNONIAE Schw.

On Vernonia fasciculata

PUCCINIA VERONICARUM DC.

On Veronica virginica

PUCCINIA VEXANS Farl.

On Bouteloua curtipendula

PUCCINIA VIOLAE (Schum.) DC.

On Viola cucullata, V. eriocarpa.

tPUCCINIA VIRGATA Ell. 85 Ev.

On Sorghastrum nutans

PUCCINIA XANTHII Schw.

On Ambrosia trifida, *Xanthium italicum.

PUCCINIASTRUM AGRIMONIAE (Schw.) Tranz.

On Agrimonia gryposepala

PUCCINIASTRUM AMERICANUM (Farl.) Arth.

On Rubus strigosus

PUCCINIASTRUM PUSTULATUM (Pers.) Diet.

On Epilobium coloratum

RAMULARIA AEQUIVOCA (Ces.) Sacc.

On Ranunculus abortivus, *R. pennsylvanicus.

RAMULARIA ANOMALA Peck

On Polygonum persicaria

RAMULARIA ARVENSIS Sacc.

On Potentilla canadensis, P. norvegica var. hirsuta.

RAMULARIA ASTERIS (Phil. 85 Plowr.) Bubak

On Aster novae- angliae, A. pilosus.

RAMULARIA BRUNELLAE Ell. 85 Ev.

On Prunella vulgaris

RAMULARIA CALTHAE Lindr.

On Caltha palustris

RAMULARIA CELASTRI Ell. 85 Mart.

On Celastrus scandens

RAMULARIA CONCOMITANS Ell. 8s Holw.

On Bidens vulgata

Greene — Fungi oi Univ. of Wis. Arboretum

71

RAMULARIA DESMODII Cke.

On Desmodium canadense, D. illinoense.

tRAMULARIA EQUISETI C. Massal.

On Equisetum laevigatum

RAMULARIA GEI (Eliass.) Lindr.

On Geum strictum

RAMULARIA IMPATIENTIS Peck

On Impatiens biflora, I. pallida.

RAMULARIA LYSIMACHIAE Thum.

On Lysimacha thyrsiflora

RAMULARIA OCCIDENTALIS Ell. 85 Kell.

On Rumex britannica

t^RAMULARIA OVULARIOIDES H. C. Greene

On Anemone cylindrica

RAMULARIA PLANTAGINIS Ell. & Mart.

On Plantago sp.

RAMULARIA PRATENSIS Sacc.

On Rumex britannica

RAMULARIA PUNCTIFORMIS (Schl.) v. Hoehn.

On Epilobium color atum

RAMULARIA ROSEA (Fckl.) Sacc.

On Salix sp.

RAMULARIA RUFOMACULANS Peck

On Polygonum coccineum var. pratincola, P. natans f. hartwrightii.

RAMULARIA SPIRAEAE Peck.

On Physocarpus opulifolius

RAMULARIA STOLONIFERAE Ell. & Ev.

On Cornus stolonifera

RAMULARIA TARAXACI Karst.

On ^Taraxacum erythrospermum, T. officinale.

RAMULARIA TULASNEI Sacc.

On Fragaria virgin! ana

RAMULARIA UREDINIS (Voss) Sacc.

On Melampsora on Populus deltoides, Melampsora on Salix sp.

RAMULARIA URTICAE Ces.

On Urtica gracilis

RAMULARIA VARIABILIS Fckl.

On Verbascum thapsus

RAMULARIA VARIATA J. J. Davis

On Mentha arvensis var. canadensis, Monarda fistulosa.

RAMULARIA VIRGAUREAE Thum.

On * Aster ptarmicoides, umbellatus, Solidago altissima, *S. juncea,

S. nemoralis.

RHOPOGRAPHUS CLAVISPORUS (C. 85 P.) Ell. 85 Ev.

On Phragmites communis

RHYNCOSPORIUM SECALIS (Oud.) Davis

On Bromus inermis

RHYTISMA ACERINUM

On Acer saccharinum

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

“RHYTISMA” SOLIDAGINIS Schw.

On Euthamia graminifolia

ROSELLINIA AQUILA (Fr.) DeNot.

On Quercus sp.

ROSENSCHELDIA HELIOPSIDIS (Schw.) Theiss. 85 Syd.

On Helianthus (giganteus?) , rigidus.

RUSSULA ALUTACEA (Pers.) Fr.

RUSSULA VARIATA Bann.

SARCINELLA HETEROSPORA Sacc.

On Acer negundo, Ceanothus americanus, Cornus stolonifera, Corylus

americana.

SCHIZONELLA MELANOGRAMMA (DC.) Schroet.

On Carex pennsylvanica

SCHIZOPHYLLUM COMMUNE Fr.

On Sambucus canadensis

SCLERODERMA AURANTIUM (Vaill.) Pers.

SCLERODERMA BOVISTA Fr.

tSCLEROPHOMA PITHYOPHILA (Cda.) v. Hoehn.

On Larix laricina, Pinus banksiana, P. resinosa, P. strobus, P. sylvestris.

SCLEROTINIA FRUCTICOLA (Wint.) Rehm.

On Prunus americana

SCLEROTINIA SEAVERI Rehm

On Prunus serotina

tSCLEROTIUM MENDAX Sacc.

On Solidago altissima

SCOLECOTRICHUM GRAMINIS Fckl.

On Agrostis alba, Dactylis glomerata, ^Glyceria borealis, Muhlenbergia

racemosa, Phleum pratense, Poa compressa, *P. palustris, P. pratensis.

SCORIAS SPONGIOSA (Schw.) Fr.

On Alnus vulgaris

tSELENOPHOMA DONACIS (Pass.) Spr. & Johnson

On Panicum virgatum

SEPTOGLOEUM CONVOLVULI Ell. 8e Ev.

On ^Convolvulus arvensis

SEPTOGLOEUM ULMI (Fr.) Died.

On JJlmus americana

SEPTORIA sp.

On Lycium halimifolium

SEPTORIA AGRIMONIAE-EUPATORII Bomm. & Rouss.

On Agrimonia gryposepala

tSEPTORIA AGROPYRINA Lobek

On Agropyron repens

SEPTORIA ALNI Sacc.

On Alnus incana, *A, vulgaris

SEPTORIA AMPELOPSIDIS (E. 8s E.) Ell.

On Psedera vitacea

SEPTORIA ANDROPOGONIS J. J. Davis

On Andropogon furcatus

Greene — Fungi of Univ. of Wis. Arboretum

73

t^^SEPTORIA ANDROPOGONIS var. SORGHASTRI Sprague & Greene

On Sorghastrum nutans

SEPTORIA ANEMONES Desm.

On Anemone cylindrical A. virginiana.

SEPTORIA ANGULARIS Dearn. & Barth.

On Euthamia graminifolia

SEPTORIA AQUILINA Pass.

On Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum

SEPTORIA ASCLEPIADICOLA Ell. & Ev.

On Asclepias incarnata

SEPTORIA ASTERICOLA Ell. & Ev.

On * Aster pilosus

SEPTORIA ATROPURPUREA Peck

On Aster laevis, A. novae-angliae^ A. tradescanti^ ^Solidago altissima.

SEPTORIA BACILLIGERA Wint.

On Ambrosia trifida

SEPTORIA BETULAE (Lib.) West.

On Betula papyrifera

SEPTORIA BETULICOLA Peck

On Betula papyrifera, *X B. sandbergii.

SEPTORIA BRUNELLAE Ell. & Holw.

On Prunella vulgaris

SEPTORIA CACALIAE Ell. h Kell.

On Cacalia suaveolens, *C. tuberosa.

SEPTORIA CAMPANULAE (Lev.) Sacc.

On Campanula aparinoides

SEPTORIA CARICINELLA Sacc. & Roum.

On Carex bebbii

tSEPTORIA CARICIS Pass.

On Carex stricta

SEPTORIA CENCHRINA J. J. Davis

On Cenchrus carolinianus

SEPTORIA CHRYSANTHEMELLA Cav.

On Chrysanthemum leucanthemum var. pinnatifidum

SEPTORIA CIRSII Niessl

On Cirsium arvense, C. vulgare.

SEPTORIA COMMONSII Ell. & Ev.

On Cirsium discolor, C. muticum.

SEPTORIA CONSPICUA Ell. & Mart.

On Steironema ciliatum, S. lanceolatum, S. quadriflorum.

SEPTORIA CONVOLVULI Desm.

On Convolvulus arvensis

SEPTORIA CORNICOLA Desm.

On Cornus racemosa, C. siolonifera.

SEPTORIA CORYLINA Peck

On *Corylus americana

SEPTORIA CRYPTOTAENIAE Ell. & Rau.

On Cryptotaenia canadensis

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Wisconsin Academy of Scienc^es, Arts and Letters

SEPTORIA DEARNESSII Ell. 85 Ev.

On Angelica atropurpurea

SEPTORIA DIMERA Sacc.

On Silene latifolia

SEPTORIA DIVARICATA Ell. & Ev.

On Phlox divaricata

SEPTORIA EPILOBII Westd.

On Epilobium color atum

SEPTORIA ERIGERONTIS Peck

On Erigeron annuus, E. canadensis, E. philadelphicus, E. ramosus.

fSEPTORIA ERYNGICOLA Oud. 8b Sacc.

On Eryngium yuccifolium

tSEPTORIA EUPATORII Rob. 8b Desm.

On Eupatorium perfoliatum

SEPTORIA FUMOSA Peck

On *Solidago altissima, S. serotina, *S. ulmifolia.

SEPTORIA GEI Rob. 8b Desm.

On Geum canadense

SEPTORIA GLYCINES Hemmi

On Soja max

t^SEPTORIA GRINDELIICOLA H. C. Greene

On Grindelia squarrosa

SEPTORIA HELIANTHI Ell. 8b Kell.

On Helianthus decapetalus, H. grosseserratus, H. rigidus, H. strumosus,

H. tuberosus.

SEPTORIA KRIGIAE Beam. 8b House

On Krigae bi flora (amplexicaulis)

SEPTORIA LACTUCAE Pass.

On Lactuca scariola

SEPTORIA LACTUCICOLA Ell. 8b Mart.

On Lactuca canadensis, *L. ludoviciana, L. scariola, L. spicata.

SEPTORIA LAPPARUM Sacc.

On Arctium minus

SEPTORIA LEPACHYDIS Ell. 8b Ev.

On ^Echinacea purpurea, Lepachys pirmata.

SEPTORIA LEPIDIICOLA Ell. 8b Mart.

On Lepidium virginicum

SEPTORIA LEPTOSTACHYAE Ell. 8b Kell.

On Phryma leptostachya

SEPTORIA LIATRIDIS Ell. 8b Davis.

On ^Liatris cylindracae, L. ligulistylis, L. pycnostachya, L. spheroidea

(scariosa), *L. squarrosa.

t*SEPTORIA LINARIAE H. C. Greene

On Linaria canadensis

t* SEPTORIA LITHOSPERMI Davis 8b Greene

On Lithospermum canescens

SEPTORIA LOBELIAE Peck

On Lobelia siphilitica, L. spicata.

Greene — Fungi of Univ. of Wis. Arboretum

75

SEPTORIA LUPINICOLA Ell. 85 Deam.

On Lupinus perennis

SEPTORIA LYCOPI Pass.

On Lycopus uniflorus

SEPTORIA LYSIMACHIAE West.

On ^Lysimachia terrestris, *L. thyrsiflora.

SEPTORIA LYTHRINA Peck

On Lythrum alatum

SEPTORIA MELANDRII Pass.

On Lychnis alba, *Silene dichotoma.

tSEPTORIA MENTHAE (Thum.) Oud.

On Monarda fistulosa

SEPTORIA MENTHICOLA Sacc. & Let.

On Mentha arvensis var. canadensis

SEPTORIA MIMULI Ell. 85 Kell.

On Mimulus ringens

SEPTORIA NABALI B. 85 C.

On Prenanthes alba

SEPTORIA NEGUNDINIS Ell. 85 Ev.

On Acer negundo

SEPTORIA OENOTHERAE West.

On Oenothera biennis, O. pumila.

SEPTORIA PACHYSPORA Ell. 8e Holw.

On Zanthoxylum americanum

SEPTORIA PARIETARIAE J. J. Davis

On Parietaria pennsylvardca

SEPTORIA PENTSTEMONIS Ell. & Ev.

On Pentstemon digitalis

SEPTORIA PILEAE Thum.

On Pilea pumila

SEPTORIA PLANTAGINEA var. PLANTAGINIS-MAJORIS Sacc.

On Plantago aristata, P. purshii, *P. rugelii.

SEPTORIA POLYGONORUM Desm.

On Polygonum coccineum var. pratincole, P. lapathi folium, P. pennsylvani-

cum, P. persicaria.

SEPTORIA POPULI Desm.

On Populus deltoides, P. tremuloides.

SEPTORIA PSILOSTEGA Ell. 8e Mart.

On Galium boreale

t^SEPTORIA RECTAE H. C. Greene

On Potentilla recta

SEPTORIA RHOINA B. 85 C.

On Rhus typhina

SEPTORIA RIBIS Desm.

On Ribes americanum, R. missouriense.

SEPTORIA RUBI West.

On Rubus allegheniensis, R. occidentalis, R. strigosus.

SEPTORIA RUDBECKIAE Ell. 85 Hals.

On Rudbeckia hirta

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

SEPTORIA SACCHARINA Ell. & Ev.

On Acer saccharum

SEPTORIA SALICINA Peck

On Salix sp.

SEPTORIA SAMBUCINA Peck

On Sambucus canadensis

t^SEPTORIA SCROPHULARIAE var. AGALINIS H. C. Greene

On Gerardia (Agalinis) paupercula

SEPTORIA SCUTELLARIAE Thum.

On Scutellaria galericulata, S. lateriflora, *S. parvula var. ambigua,

SEPTORIA SENECIONIS-AUREI J. J. Davis

On *Senecio balsamitae

SEPTORIA SICYI Peck

On Echinocystis lobata

SEPTORIA SII Rob. & Desm.

On Cicuta maculata, Oxypolis rigidior, Sium suave.

SEPTORIA SILPHII Ell. & Ev.

On Heliopsis scabra, ^Silphium integri folium.

SEPTORIA SMILACINAE Ell. & Mart.

On Smilacina racemosa

SEPTORIA SOLIDAGINICOLA Peck

On Aster lucidulus, A. tradescanti, A. umbellatus, ^Solidago nemoralis,

S. serotina.

SEPTORIA STACHYDIS Rob. 85 Desm.

On St achy s palustris

SEPTORIA TANDILENSIS Speg.?

On Panicum implicatum, P. praecocius.

SEPTORIA URTICAE Rob.

On *Urtica gracilis

SEPTORIA VALERIANAE Sacc. & Fautr.

On Valeriana ciliata

SEPTORIA VERBENAE Rob. 85 Desm.

On Verbena bracteosa, V. hastata, V. urticaefolia.

SEPTORIA VERONICAE Desm.

On Veronica virginica

SEPTORIA VIOLAE West.

On ^Viola sagittata.

SEPTORIA WILSONI G. W. Clint.

On Chelone glabra

t*SEPTORIA WISCONSINA H. C. Greene

On Astragalus canadensis

tSPHACELOTHECA OCCIDENTALIS G. P. Clint.

On Andropogon furcatus

SPHAERIA SOLIDAGINIS Schw.

On * Aster lucidulus, Solidago serotina.

SPHAEROPSIS sp.

On Zanthoxylum americanum

SPHAEROPSIS CORYLI Ell. 8b Ev.

On Corylus americana

Greene — Fungi of Univ. of py/s. Arboretum

77

SPHAEROPSIS PINASTRI (Lev.) Sacc.

On Larix laricina

SPHAEROTHECA HUMULI (DC.) Burr.

On Agrimonia gryposepala, Geranium maculatum, Geum canadense, G.

strictum, G. virginianum, ^Humulus americanus, Rhus glabra, Rubus

triflorus.

SPAEROTHECA HUMULI var. FULIGINEA (Schl.) Salm.

On Bidens cernua, B. vulgata, Erigeron canadensis, Pedicularis lanceolata.

Taraxacum officinale, Veronica virginica.

tSPORODINIA GRANDIS Link

On Strobilomyces strobilaceus

STAGONOSPORA sp.

On Andropogon furcatus, Panicum scribnerianum, Phragmites communis,

Sorghastrum nutans.

STAGONOSPORA sp.

On Lycium halimifolium

STAGONOSPORA APOCYNI (Pk.) Davis

On Apocynum androsaemifolium, A. cannabinum.

STAGONOSPORA BAPTISIAE (E. 85 E.) Davis

On Baptisia leucantha

STAGONOSPORA BROMI Smith & Ramsb.

On *Bromus ciliatus, B. inermis.

STAGONOSPORA CARICINELLA Brun.

On Carex pennsylvanica

tSTAGONOSPORA CONVOLVULI Dearn. & House

On Convolvulus sepium

t*STAGONOSPORA CRYPTOTAENIAE H. C. Greene

On Cryptotaenia canadensis

STAGONOSPORA INTERMIXTA (Cke.) Sacc.

On Agrostis alba, Phalaris arundinacea.

t^STAGONOSPORA MACROMACULANS H. C. Greene

On Celtis occidentalis

STAGONOSPORA MELILOTI (Lasch) Petr.

On Medicago sativa, Melilotus alba, M. officinalis.

STAGONOSPORA SMILACIS (E. & M.) Sacc.

On Smilax herbacea

STAGONOSPORA SPARGANII (Fckl.) Sacc.

On Sparganium eurycarpum

t* STAGONOSPORA TEPHROSIAE H. C. Greene

On Tephrosia virginiana

STAGONOSPORA TETRAMERA J. J. Davis

On Carex lacustris

STAGONOSPORA ZONATA J. J. Davis

On Asclepias incarnata

STEREUM FASCIATUM Schw.

On Quercus sp.

STEREUM FRUSTULOSUM (Pers.) Fr.

STEREUM RUFUM Fr.

On Populus tremuloides

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

STEREUM UMBRINUM B. 85 C.

On Quercus sp.

STREPTOTHRIX FUSCA Cda.

On Ulmus americana

STROBILOMYCES STROBILACEUS Berk.

SYNCHYTRIUM ANEMONES (DBy) Wor.

On Anemone quinquefolia

SYNCHYTRIUM DECIPIENS Farl.

On Amphicarpa monoica

tSYNCHYTRIUM HOLWAYI Farl.

On Monarda fistulosa

TAPHRINA CAERULESCENS (Mont. & Desm.) Tul.

On Quercus velutina

TAPHRINA CORYLI Nishida

On Corylus americana

tTAPHRINA LUTESCENS Rostr.

On Dryopteris thelypteris

TAPHRINA POTENTILLAE (Farl.) Johans.

On Potentilla arguta.

TITAEOSPORA DETOSPORA (Sacc.) Bubak

On ^Equisetum laevigatum

TRANZSCHELIA FUSCA (Pers.) Diet.

On Anemone quinquefolia

TRANZSCHELIA PRUNI-SPINOSAE (Pers.) Diet.

On Anemone quinquefolia, Hepatica acutiloba, Prunus serotina.

TRANZSCHELIA THALICTRI (Chev.) Diet.

On Thalictrum dasycarpum

TREMELLA FRONDOSA Fr.

On Quercus sp.

TUBERCULINA PERSICINA (Ditm.) Sacc.

On Gymnoconia peckiana, *Puccinia panici.

UNCINULA NECATOR (Schw.) Burr.

On Psedera vitacea, Vitis vulpina.

UNCINULA SALICIS (DC.) Wint.

On Populus tremuloides, Salix bebbiana.

UREDINOPSIS MIRABILIS (Pk.) Magn.

On Onoclea sensibilis

UREDINOPSIS STRUTHIOPTERIDIS Storm.

On Athyrium angustum var. rubellum, Dryopteris thelypteris.

URNULA CRATERIUM (Schw.) Fr.

UROCYSTIS ANEMONES (Pers.) Schroet.

On Anemone quinquefolia, Hepatica acutiloba.

UROMYCES ACUMINATUS Arth.

On Phlox pilosa, Polygonatum commutatum, Spartina pectinata.

UROMYCES ASCLEPIADIS (Schw.) Cke.

On Asclepias syriaca

UROMYCES CALADII (Schw.) Farl.

On Arisaema triphyllum

Greene — Fungi of Untv. of Wis. Arboretum

79

UROMYCES GRAMINICOLA Burr.

On Panicum virgatum

UROMYCES LESPEDEZAE-PROCUMBENTIS (Schw.) Curt.

On Lespedeza capitata

UROMYCES PECKIANUS Farl.

On Plantago purshii

UROMYCES PROEMINENS (DC.) Pass.

On Euphorbia sp.

UROMYCES PUNCTATUS Schroet.

On Astragalus canadensis

UROMYCES SCIRPI (Cast.) Burr.

On Scirpus fluviatilis

UROMYCES SILPHII (Burr.) Arth.

On Juncus macer, Silphium integrifolium, S. terebinthinaceum.

UROMYCES SPARGANII C. 85 P.

On Sparganium eurycarpum

UROMYCES TRIFOLII (Hedw. f.) Lev.

On Trifolium hybridum, T. pretense

USTILAGO NEGLECTA Niessl

On Setaria lutescens

USTILAGO STRIIFORMIS (West.) Niessl

On Poa pratensis

USTILAGO UTRICULOSA (Nees) Tul.

On Polygonum pennsylvanicum

USTILAGO VIOLACEA (Pers.) Fckl.

On Arenaria lateriflora

VALSA AMBIENS (Pers.) Fr.

On Corylus americana, Rhus glabra, Tillia americana.

VALSA LEUCOSTOMA (Pers.) Fr.

On Prunus serotina

VALSA NIVEA (Hoffm.) Fr.

On Populus tremuloides

VENTURIA ACERINA Plakidas (Cladosporium stage)

On Acer rubrum

VENTURIA INAEQUALIS Wint. (Fusicladium stage)

On Pyrus ioensis, P. malus.

VERTICILLIUM sp.

On Omphalia campanella

XYLARIA DIGITATA (L.) Grev.

ADDENDA — 1947.

ASCOCHYTA COMPOSITARUM J. J. Davis

On ^Echinacea purpurea

ASCOCHYTA GRAMINICOLA Sacc.

On *Bromus commutatus

CERCOSPORA CLAVATA (Ger.) Cke.

On Asclepias phytolaccoides

CERCOSPORA GRISEA Cke. 85 Ell.

On *Polygala polygama

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

CERCOSPORA VIOLAE Sacc.

On * Viola pedatifida

*CLADOSPORIUM BAPTISIAE H. C. Greene

On Baptisia leucophaea

COLEOSPORIUM SOLIDAGINIS (Schw.) Thum.

On Solidago speciosa var. rigidiuscula

COLLETOTRICHUM GRAMINICOLUM (Ces.) Wils.

On Sorghastrum nutans

COLLETOTRICHUM SILPHII J. J. Davis

On Silphium perfoliatum

COLLETOTRICHUM VIOLAE-ROTUNDIFOLIAE (Sacc.) House

On *Viola pedatifida

CONIOTHYRIUM sp. ,

On Celtis occidentalis

DIDYMARIA ALISMATIS (Oud.) J. J. Davis

On Alisma plantago-aquatica

DILOPHOSPORA ALOPECURI Fr.

On *Leersia oryzoides

*DIPLODIA THALICTRI Ell. & Dearn.

On Thalictrum dasycarpum

EPICHLOE TYPHINA (Pers.) Tul.

On Koeleria cristata

ERYSIPHE CICHORACEARUM DC.

On Coreopsis palmata

ERYSIPHE GRAMINIS DC.

On Koeleria cristata

FUSARIUM MONILIFORME Sheldon

On Astragalus canadensis

^i^GLOEOSPORIUM BRUNNEO-MACULATUM H. C. Greene

On T rillium grandiflorum

HYPHOLOMA LACRIMABUNDUM Fr.

OIDIUM sp. (powdery mildew)

On Hieracium scabrum

PERONOSPORA FICARIAE Tul.

On Ranunculus fascicularis

PERONOSPORA PARASITICA (Pers.) Tul.

On Capsella bursa-pastoris

PHOMA lOWANA Sacc.

On Aster ptarmicoides

PHYLLOSTICTA spp.

On Aruncus Sylvester, Cenchrus carolinianus

^PHYLLOSTICTA CACALIAE H. C. Greene

On Cacalia tuberosa

^PHYLLOSTICTA PENTSTEMONICOLA H. C. Greene

On Pentstemon hirsutus

PHYLLOSTICTA PHASEOLINA Sacc.

On *Apios tuberosa

PHYLLOSTICTA VIOLAE Desm.

On *Viola pedatifida

Greene — Fungi of Urdv. of M^/s. Arboretum

81

POLYPORUS SQUAMOSUS Fr.

On Salix sp.

PUCCINIA EXTENSICOLA Plowr.

On Carex siccata, *Krigia virginica

PUCCINIA GRAMINIS Pers.

On Koeleria cristata

PUCCINIA RUBIGO-VERA (DC.) Wint.

On Agropyron trachycaulum var. glaucum

PUCCINIA SILPHII Schw.

On Silphium laciniatum, S. terebinthinaceum

RAMULARIA sp.

On Hieracium longipilum

RAMULARIA PRATENSIS Sacc.

On ^Rumex acetosella

SCLEROSPORA GRAMINICOLA (Sacc.) Schroet.

On Setaria viridis

SCOLECOTRICHUM GRAMINIS Fckl.

On Hordeum jubatum

SEPTORIA ASCLEPIADICOLA Ell. 85 Ev.

On *Asclepias phytolaccoides

SEPTORIA BROMI Sacc.

On ^Bromus commutatus

SEPTORIA CIRSII Niessl

On *Cirsium undulatum

SEPTORIA FUMOSA Peck

On *Solidago juncea, S. missouriensis var. glaberrima

* SEPTORIA HEDEOMAE Dearn. & House

On Hedeoma hispida

SEPTORIA KRIGIAE Dearn. fit House

On Krigia virginica

SEPTORIA MACROPODA Pass.

On Poa annua

SEPTORIA MALVICOLA Ell. 85 Mart.

On Malva rotundifolia

SEPTORIA OSTRYAE Peck

On Ostrya virginiana

SEPTORIA PTELEAE Ell. 8b Ev.

On Ptelea irifoliata

STAGONOSPORA ZONATA J. J. Davis

On *Asclepias ovalifolia

THELEPHORA TERRESTRIS Fr.

UROMYCES ACUMINATUS Arth.

On Polemonium reptans, Smilacina siellata

UROMYCES POLYGONI (Pers.) Fckl.)

On Polygonum aviculare

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

UROMYCES SILPHII (Burr.) Arth.

On Silphium perfoliatum

XENOGLOEA ERIOPHORI (Bres.) Syd.

On Scirpus atrovirens

A WISCONSIN CHEMICAL PIONEER —

THE SCIENTIFIC WORK OF LOUIS KAHLENBERG

Norris F. Hall

In the then small village of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, on the western

shore of Lake Michigan, during the early eighties of the last century,

a brilliant, adventurous boy with a love of boats and sailing was grow¬

ing to manhood. The son of an immigrant German butcher, Louis

Kahlenberg grew up in a community of Evangelical Lutherans. A

tradition of piety, study of the Bible, and strict standards of personal

conduct seem to have characterized the life of the little community,

still strongly oriented toward its cultural and linguistic Fatherland,

but also fully a part of the raw, driving opportunism and political

self-confidence of its new home. Early successes in mathematics, com¬

bined with his interest in sailing-craft, led Kahlenberg to master the

fundamentals of navigation and surveying while still a young boy,

and he was well on the way to become a midshipman at Annapolis

when he decided to take a quite different road, and to be a teacher.

One reason for this decision was apparently a stratagem on the part of

his mother, who had no liking for the sea. Another element was un¬

doubtedly the strong influence of a highly exceptional instructor.

This man, Arthur Birch, was the principal, and sole teacher, of the

little village high school. Here Birch, who evidently had a real

knowledge of nature and love of science, working with small groups

of students among whom at least one other beside Kahlenberg was

specially gifted, succeeded in inspiring the boys to such a degree that

Kahlenberg, for example, constructed in his own father’s workshop

many pieces of physical apparatus badly needed at the school and

made great progress in botany, mathematics and chemistry as well.

After graduating at the early age of fifteen, he spent the next five

years partly teaching school, and partly studying at Oshkosh and

Milwaukee, and in 1890 came to the University of Wisconsin from

which he received the B.S. degree in 1892 and the M.S. in 1893. During

his study for the master’s degree he held the first fellowship in Chem-

83

84

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

istry to be established at the University. His bachelor’s and master’s

theses each became the subject of a research paper published in col¬

laboration with H. W. Hillyer.

He was appointed instructor in Chemistry, and in this his first year

of University teaching, not only carried out an original research of

his own but also directed the chemical studies of his boyhood com¬

panion and lifelong friend Herman Schlundt, later to head the Chem¬

istry department at the University of Missouri. Both these investiga¬

tions were published in 1894, while Kahlenberg himself had gone to

Germany, there to study in the laboratory of Wilhelm Ostwald at

Liepsic, and also to spend some time with J. Wislicenus, Wiedemann,

Zirkel, and Pfeffer.

His Leipsic doctoral dissertation appeared in 1895, and obviously

dealt with a problem of his own choosing, since it was essentially an

extension of his bachelor’s and master’s work with Hillyer. His first

appointment on his return to Wisconsin the following year, was not

in Chemistry, but in Pharmacy, where a place was made for him by

Edward Kremers. Back in the Chemistry department the following

year, he passed rapidly through the intermediate grades, becoming

Professor of Chemistry in 1900, a position he held until his retire¬

ment in 1940. He died in 1941.

During his long and active association with the University he pub¬

lished over a hundred papers, including a large number of substantial

original investigations, and directed the work of several score candi¬

dates for advanced degrees. He was also the author of several text¬

books and a popular treatise on Chemistry. He was an associate editor

of both the Swiss and the American Journal oi Physical Chemistry,

was at one time President of the Electrochemical Society and the

Chemistry Section of the American Association for the Advancement

of Science. He also was a President of the Wisconsin Academy of

Sciences, Arts and Letters.

By his researches, as well as by his views on the theory of electro¬

lytic dissociation, which were forcefully sustained in the various chem¬

ical journals, and through his personal appearances in public sym¬

posia in this field, he became for a time widely known among chemists

both in this country and abroad. This phase of his scientific work

will be discussed more fully a little later. In a period of rapidly in¬

creasing specialization, he strongly emphasized the unity of the chemi¬

cal field, and although he was primarily an electrochemist and a

student of solutions, he never hesitated to invade other branches of

Dr. Louis Kahlenberg.

Hall — A Wisconsin Chemical Pioneer

85

chemistry and even ranged over pharmacy, physiology, and medicine

as his interests led him.

He had a boundless optimism and self-confidence, and never seemed

to doubt his powers to make worthwhile contributions to other spe¬

cialties than his own. He enjoyed broad, comprehensive but careful

surveys of a field, usually made with very simple equipment, and

seldom attempted measurements of high precision, developed novel

apparatus, or was greatly concerned with extreme purity of his re¬

agents. His joyful buccaneering spirit no doubt sustained him in his

battles with the high priests of orthodox solution theory, though he

was evidently grievously wounded that his views were not more sym¬

pathetically received.

In the last 12 years of his life, when I knew him, his pugnacity had

apparently somewhat abated, but he still seemed heartily to enjoy an

occasional political battle in Department or Faculty meeting —

Kahlenberg against the field! This side of his nature was one of the

things which contributed to his great success as a lecturer. He had a

ready wit and was a formidable debater, quick to seize upon any point

that could be turned to a laugh against his adversary, and was quite

unscrupulous in pursuing his advantages. His booming voice and

German accent, his quaint philippics against the use of tobacco and

similar vices, his amusing digressions on every conceivable topic, and

his great talent for making complex phenomena seem simple, and

mathematical theories ridiculous, all endeared him greatly to many

college generations of Freshmen. Few if any teachers at this Uni¬

versity have so vividly impressed so many students. On a more in¬

timate level, many men of his own generation and many advanced

students have testified to his friendly and helpful counsel, and his

penetrating and constructive criticism of their work. He was unu¬

sually conversant with chemical history, and for many years gave in¬

teresting lectures on this topic.

However, it is as a contributor to the edifice of science, and to that

of physical chemistry in particular, that his worth should chiefly be

assessed. Before he went to Germany, we hear of him spending his

Sunday holidays, v/hile on a summer job in the field of Geology,

studying Ostwald’s Grundriss, and he evidently became thoroughly

familiar at this time with the work of Arrhenius, Van’t Hoff and

Nernst.

One may search in vain through the first fourteen papers from

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Kahlenberg’s laboratory, published in the years 1893-1898, for any

sign of his later vigorous opposition to the theory of electrolytic dis¬

sociation. On the contrary, he speaks frequently of the successes of

this theory, of the “opposition it at first encountered,” and evidently

regards his own results as confirming its predictions. However, all the

work of this first period was carried out in water solution.

In 1899, he published with A. T. Lincoln,^ the results of a preliminary

investigation of “The dissociative power of solvents.” Here the solub¬

ilities of four metallic chlorides in over seventy non-aqueous liquids

were roughly tested and where solutions could be made, their con¬

ductivities were studied. The underlying idea was that if a conducting

solution was formed, then according to the dissociation hypothesis as

proposed by Arrhenius, the molar conductance should increase with

dilution, and the apparent molecular weight of the solute should be

abnormally low. In certain cases the observed results were in harmony

with this prediction, but various anomalies appeared, and the authors

raise the question: “Can it be true that after its glorious success in

explaining the properties of aqueous solutions of acids, bases and salts,

the dissociation theory will need the help of its old rival, the hydrate

theory, (perhaps in somewhat modified form), to explain the facts in

the case of non-aqueous solutions? Further diligent experimental in¬

vestigation only can definitely answer this question.”^ The “diligent

experimental work” was soon forthcoming. Lincoln extended his

studies to still other solvents. Kahlenberg measured the differences

of potential between metals and non-aqueous solutions of their salts.

Schlundt studied dielectric constants and transference numbers, while

Patten measured conductances over a wide concentration range in a

variety of solvents. Taken all together this work constitutes a very ex¬

tensive pioneering survey of the hitherto neglected electrochemistry

of non-aqueous solutions, — some of it, such as the work on liquid hy¬

drogen cyanide, and the study of metallic oleates dissolved in benzene,

is characterized by a high degree of originality, boldness, and experi¬

mental skill. At the same time, our author continued his work in

aqueous solutions as well, studying the toxic effects of many sub¬

stances on a number of different plant and animal organisms over a

wide concentration range.

As a result of all this labor, which brought the total number of

papers from his laboratory to 59 by 1904 and to 95 by 1911,

Kahlenberg had reached some very definite conclusions.

These were first set forth in detail in 1901 in a long paper in the

Hall — A Wisconsin Chemical Pioneer

87

bulletin of the University of Wisconsin.^ In the following year he made

a briefer statement of his position before the first general meeting of

theAmerical Electrochemical Society.^ In Britain, the Faraday Society

heard him present his views at a meeting in the autumn of 1904,^ and

the next spring the Chemiker-Zeitung^ brought them more directly to

the attention of German chemists. Now these ideas of Kahlenberg’s

were of the highest importance. The chemistry of solutions had been

dominated since 1895 by the Arrhenius theory of partial electrolytic

dissociation, which was regarded almost universally as having been

placed on a firm experimental basis by the studies of Ostwald on

weak acids, and Bredig on weak bases, and by the way in which it

accounted for the troublesome factor i in Van’t Hoff’s equation of

state for solutions. True, the fact that solutions of strong electrolytes

showed no approximation whatever to the Ostwald dilution law con¬

stituted a troublesome anomaly, but most investigators still felt that

in spite of inadequacies the theory was so successful in certain fields,

and gave such valuable guidance in the interpretation of analytical

chemistry, that it should be retained in spite of difficulties.

Not so Kahlenberg. According to Arrhenius, the molecular conduct¬

ivity must always increase with the dilution. Kahlenberg found cases

where it decreased, remained constant, or both increased and de¬

creased in different concentration ranges. According to the theory,

the degree of dissociation calculated from the colligative properties

should agree with that calculated from the conductance ratio. Kahlen¬

berg found many instances of wild divergence between these figures.

It was believed, following Nernst and Thomson, that the higher the

dielectric constant of a solvent, the more conducting should be the

solutions in it. Kahlenberg and Schlundt found that this rule had so

many exceptions as to appear valueless. It was widely held that the

only very rapid reactions are those between free ions. Kahlenberg

showed that many instantaneous ractions occurred in solutions which

conducted no better than pure benzene! The effect of excess precipi¬

tant, usually called the common-ion effect, was also demonstrated in

these solutions. Kahlenberg showed that many acids displayed their

characteristic acid properties when in completely non-conducting

solutions, and drew the natural conclusion that acids do not, as

claimed by Arrhenius, owe their properties to the presence of free

hydrogen ions. He attacked the notion that a solvent is a sort of

88

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

vacuum in which ionized and other solutes disport themselves, and

urged the importance of the specific mutual chemical interaction of

solvent and solute. Now on all these points he was on solid ground, —

but chemists were still so hypnotized by the observed regularities in

the behavior of a few dilute aqueous solutions that most of his

arguments fell upon deaf ears. His evidence was discounted, and his

conclusions greeted with hostility, incredulity, or silence. Actually,

contemplation of the evidence permitted two courses. On the one

hand one could reject the theory of electrolytic dissociation com¬

pletely, and fall back upon the notion that conductivity had nothing

to do with ionization, and that all the manifold phenomena the latter

was supposed to correlate were explicable only as the highly specific

behavior of individual groups of substances. This was in a sense a

counsel of despair, — but to the direct, courageous, and iconoclastic

mind of Kahlenberg it seemed the only possibility.

On the other hand, one could adopt an attitude of “wait and see.”

The triumph of Arrhenius’ theory had been so complete, within the

narrow range of its apparent applicability, and the evidence for the

existence of ions from other fields of physical science was accumulating

so rapidly, that most scientists were convinced of the theory’s essential

truth. Some attempted to bolster up the theory with auxilliary hypo¬

theses, — with the result in most cases, as Kahlenberg gleefully

pointed out, that the theory was stripped of its essential character, and

reduced to a collection of ad hoc assumptions and empirical formulae.

Others simply adopted a kind of dualistic philosophy, retaining a

faith in the underlying correctness of the theory, even though they

were forced to admit either tacitly or explicitly, that it was in many

cases contradicted by the facts.

Here the matter rested for several years. Kahlenberg continued to

uncover new inconsistencies, and became more and more convinced of

the untenability of the majority’s position. Other chemists continued

to exploit the dilute aqueous field, and to ignore the painful implica¬

tions of Kahlenberg’s facts, or to brush them aside as beyond the

proper range of application of the theory. In a sense, both sides were

later justified.

It was in the nineteen-twenties that a comparatively satisfactory

resolution of these difficulties was reached. At that time two ideas of

fundamental importance became prevalent: the idea of complete

dissociation and the idea of the electrical interaction of ions. After

Hall — A Wisconsin Chemical Pioneer

89

other preliminary attempts, Debye and Huckel succeeded in calcu¬

lating in a straight-forward manner many of the properties of con¬

ducting solutions from the principles of electrostatics and kinetic

theory. Their work was extended by Onsager and others and is still

being developed and further refined.

In many respects this development has vindicated Kahlenberg. The

tacit assumption of Arrhenius, that the mobility of ions is independent

of the presences of other ions, has been rejected. The direct calcu¬

lation of the degree of dissociation from conductance and colligative

properties is now inadmissible, and the agreements by which the

Arrhenius theory was first supported are seen to be, as Kahlenberg

claimed, largely fortuitous. On the other hand, many of the anomalies

uncovered by Kahlenberg in non-aqueous solutions, are now under¬

stood as the natural consequences of the greatly increased interionic

attractions in media of dielectric constant, and the conception of

ionization, far from being discarded, has proved continually more

useful.

In later years the interionic attraction theory, involving in the limit

no adjustable parameters at all, and no parameters peculiar to the

individual solutes studied, has been brilliantly confirmed in the field

of strong electrolytes, exactly where the original Arrhenius hypo¬

thesis was so signally inadequate, and has led to many novel develop¬

ments such as the Wien effect, and the high-frequency dispersion of

conductance.

What, then, was Kahlenberg’s reaction to such developments?

One would like to record that he had welcomed these clarifications,

and devoted his great gifts of poineering intuition to further illu¬

minating researches in this field. Unfortunately this is not the case.

As is so often observed with men who have attained great competence

in a scientific field, and advanced it by their own early researches,

he was unable to appreciate the later advances of others. Partly by

reason of the naturally empirical bent of his mind, — ■ and partly no

doubt because of his strong feeling of disillusionment both in the

theory to which he had subscribed in his youth, and in the other

scientists who had seemed to refuse him his due measure of esteem, —

he turned away. More and more he shut himself off from all advances,

not only of the theory of solutions but of all physicochemical theory,

and seemed determined to ignore not merely new theories, but even

90

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

new facts, unless they happened to appear important within the limits

of his self-imposed prison.

I do not mean to suggest in any sense that he abandoned scientific

work. On the contrary, he remained active and productive almost

until his retirement, but the innovating quality which had illumined

his earlier work was no longer there. His Freshman teaching was still

highly popular, - his knowledge of chemical facts was still encyclo¬

pedic, — his mind was clear and incisive, - and the researches which

he continued to direct were still numerous and creditable, — but he no

longer was a leader in the field of his specialty. His distrust of theory

drove him into a dogmatic empiricism which severly limited his scope,

and led him on occasion to condone both in himself and in graduate

students mere ignorance in the name of healthy scepticism.

In spite of these weaknesses, his scientific reputation rests on sound

foundations. Many excellent research problems could be found today

in working over and extending the paths he cut through the jungle of

non-aqueous solutions. His career must be judged against the back¬

ground of his time and his opportunities. He was a true pioneer. He

was a courageous architect of progress. Let it never be forgotten that

it was he more than any other man of his time, who brought to the

department of chemistry at Wisconsin the admirable tradition of

sound, careful, painstaking research, - of following the facts without

fear or favor, wherever they may lead, - and the hundreds of Doctors

of Philosophy who have been trained in our laboratories in the last

forty-five years, may proudly claim him as one of their spiritual

fathers.

I am greatly indebted to my colleague. Professor Henry A. Schuette,

President of this Academy, for making available to me his collection

of documents relating to the life and work of Professor Kahlenberg.

It has also been a great convenience to consult the bound collection

of Kahlenberg’s papers, assembled with great initiative, patience and

skill by Professor Schuette, and made available through the generosity

of a group of Kahlenberg’s former students.

N. F. H.

Madison, Wisconsin

April 12, 1946

Hall — A Wisconsin Chemical Pioneer

91

PUBLICATIONS

of

Louis Kahlenberg and Associates

1893-1902

Scientific Papers

— 1893 —

1. Louis Kahlenberg and H. W. Hillyer

The solubility of lead oxide in the normal organic salts with observations

on the rotary power of the solutions thus obtained.

Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 42, 101-104.

_ 1894

2. Louis Kahlenberg and H. W. Hillyer

Solubility of metallic oxides in normal potassium salts of tartaric and other

organic acids.

Am. Chem. J., 16, 94-107.

3. Louis Kahlenberg

On the speed of reduction of ferric chloride by stannous chloride.

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 16, 314-323.

4. Louis Kahlenberg

Note on Wilbur S. Scoville’s paper “Change of volume when different

densities are mixed.”

Am. J. Pharm., 66, 329.

5. Herman Schlundt

On the speed of the liberation of iodine in mixed solutions of potassium

chlorate, potassium iodide and hydrochloric acid.

Bull. University of Wisconsin Sci. Series 1, No. 1, 1-33.

— 1895 --

6. Louis Kahlenberg

Uber komplexe Tartrate und gewisse alkalische Loesungen des Kupfers

und des Bleies.

Z. physik. Chem., 17, 577-619.

— 1896 —

7. Louis Kahlenberg

New chemical balances.

Pharm. Rev., 14, 33.

8. Louis Kahlenberg

Roentgen’s rays.

Pharm. Rev. 14, 59-62.

9. Louis Kahlenberg

Ueber Borsaure und ihre Salze.

Z. physik. Chem., 20, 547—568.

10. Louis Kahlenberg and Rodney H. True

On the toxic action of dissolved salts and their electrolytic dissociation.

Botan. Gaz., 22, 81-124; J. Am. Med. Assoc., 27, 138-141.

92

PF/scons/n Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

— 1897 —

11. Louis Kahlenberg

The relative strength of antiseptics.

Pharmaceutical Rev., 15, 68-70.

— 1898 —

12. Louis Kahlenberg and Azariah T. Lincoln

Solutions of silicates of the alkalies.

J. Phys. Chem., 2, 77-90.

13. Louis Kahlenberg

The action of solutions on the sense of taste.

Bull. University of Wisconsin, No. 25, Sci. Series, 2, No. 1, 1-31.

14. Louis Kahlenberg and Oswald Schreiner

Die wasserigen Loesungen der Seifen.

Z. physik. Chem., 27, 552-566.

— 1899 —

15. Louis Kahlenberg and Azariah T. Lincoln

The dissociative power of solvents.

J. Phys. Chem., 3, 12-35.

16. Louis Kahlenberg, D. J. Davis and R. E. Fowler

The inversion of sugar by salts.

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 21, 1-23.

17. Louis Kahlenberg

Note on the inversion of cane suger in official syrups.

Pharm. Rev., 17, 10-12.

18. Louis Kahlenberg

Differences of potential between metals and non-aqueous solutions of

their salts.

J. Phys. Chem., 3, 379-403.

19. Louis Kahlenberg

Note on the preparation of metallic lithium.

J. Phys. Chem., 3, 274-276.

20. Edwin B. Copeland and Louis Kahlenberg

Influence of presence of pure metals upon plants.

Pharm. Rev., 17, 548-558.

— 1900 —

21. Louis Kahlenberg

The relation of the taste of acid salts to their degree of dissociation.

J. Phys. Chem., 4, 33-37.

22. Rodney H. True

The toxic action of a series of acids and of their sodium salt on lupinus

albus.

Am. J. Science, 9, 183-192.

23. Louis Kahlenberg

On the nature of ointments.

Pharm. Rev., 18, 156-159.

24. Louis Kahlenberg

On the electrolytic deposition of metals from non-aqueous solutions.

J. Phys. Chem., 4, 349-354.

Hall — A Wisconsin Chemical Pioneer

93

25. Louis Kahlenberg

The relation of the taste of acid salts to their degree of dissociation, II.

J. Phys, Chem., 4, 533»537,

26. Azariah T. Lincoln

The electrical conductivity of non-aqueous solutions.

Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci., 395--453,

27. Edwin Bingham Copeland and Louis Kahlenberg

The influence of the presence of pure metals upon plants.

Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci., 12, 454-474.

28. Louis Kahlenberg and R. M. Austin

Toxic action of acid sodium salts on lupinus albus.

J. Phys. Chem., 4, 553-569.

29. Louis Kahlenberg and J. B. Emerson

The toxic action of solutions of the leech and vinegar eel.

Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 49, 127.

30. Louis Kahlenberg

Differences of potential between metals and non-aqueous solutions of

their salts. II.

J. Phys. Chem., 4, 709-714.

— 1901 —

31. Louis Kahlenberg and Hugo F. Mehl

Toxic action of electrolytes upon fishes.

J. Phys. Chem., 5, 113-132.

32. Louis Kahlenberg, Arthur A. Koch, and Roy D. Hall

The theory of electrolytic dissociation as viewed in the light of facts

recently ascertained.

Bull. University of Wisconsin, No. 47, Science Series, 2, No. 5, 297-335.

33. Herman Schlundt

On the dielectric constants of nitriles.

J. Phys. Chem., 5, 157-169.

34. Louis Kahlenberg

On an improved method of determining latent heat of evaporation and

on the latent heat of evaporation of pyridine, acetonitrile and benzonitrile.

J, Phys. Chem., 5, 215-232.

35. Louis Kahlenberg

The latent heats of evaporation of a number of organic nitrogen-bearing

compounds.

J. Phys. Chem., 5, 284-288.

36. Herman Schlundt

On the dielectric constants of pure solvents.

Bull. University of Wisconsin, No, 49, Science Series, 2, No. 6, 353-389.

37. Louis Kahlenberg

Physical chemistry. (As part of the Report of the Census Committee.)

J. Am. Chem. Soc., Twenty-fifth Anniversary Number, 117-120.

38. Herman Schlundt

On the dielectric constants of pure solvents.

J. Phys. Chem., 5, 503-526.

94

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

39. Guy Maurice Wilcox

The optical rotatory power of cane sugar when dissolved in pyridine.

J. Phys. Chem., 5, 587-599.

— 1902 —

40. Louis Kahlenberg

Instantaneous chemical reactions and the theory of electrolytic dissociation.

J. Phys. Chem., 6, 1-14.

41. Louis Kahlenberg

Nitriles as solvents in molecular weight determinations.

J. Phys. Chem., 6, 45-49.

42. Herman Schlundt

On the relative velocities of the ions in solutions of silver nitrate in pyridine

and acetonitrile.

J. Phys. Chem., 6, 159-171.

43. Louis Kahlenberg

Current electrochemical theories.

Trans. Am. Electrochem. Soc., 1, 119—125.

44. Herman Schlundt

On the relative velocities of the ions in solutions of silver nitrate in pyridine

and acetonitrile.

Trans. Am. Electrochem. Soc., 1, 177-179.

45. Guy Maurice Wilcox

Note on the optical rotatory power of cane-sugar when dissolved in amines.

J. Phys. Chem., 6, 339-343.

46. Louis Kahlenberg

Differences of potential between metallic cadmium and solutions of cad¬

mium iodide in various solvents.

Trans. Am. Electrochem. Soc., 2, 89-91.

47. Louis Kahlenberg and Herman Schlundt

Solubility, electrolytic conductivity and chemical action in liquid hydro¬

cyanic acid.

J. Phys. Chem., 6, 477-482.

48. Harrison Eastman Patten

Influence of the solvent in electrolytic conduction.

J. Phys. Chem., 6, 554-600.

Book Reviews'**

— 1899 —

1. J. Traube

Physico-chemical Methods, translated by W, L. Hardin, 1898.

Pharm. Rev., 17, 39-40.

2. Ch. Van Deventer

Physical Chemistry for Beginners, Translated by B. B. Boltwood, 1899.

Pharm. Rev., 17, 279-280.

3. W. Ostwald

Lehrbuch der allgemeinen Chemie, Vol. 2, Pt. 2, 1899.

Pharm. Rev., 17, 279-280.

Hall — A Wisconsin Chemical Pioneer

95

4. J. Livingston R. Morgan

The Elements of Physical Chemistry, 1899.

Pharm. Rev., 17, 280-281,

5. S. H. Burbory

A Treatise on the Kinetic Theory of Gases, 1899.

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 21, 1070-1071.

— 1900 —

6. H. Meyer

Determination of Radicles in Carbon Compounds, Translated by J. B.

Tingle.

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 22, 50.

7. S. E. Tillman

Descriptive General Chemistry.

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 22, 221—222.

8. H. C. Jones

The Theory of Electrolytic Dissociation and Some of its Applications.

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 22, 228-229.

9. James Walker

An Introduction to Physical Chemistry, 1899,

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 22, 229-231.

10. O. F. Meyer

The Kinetic Theory of Gases. Elementary treatise with mathematical

appendices, translated from 2d rev. ed. by R. E. Bayhes, 1899.

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 22, 235-236.

11. F. Buckingham

An Outline of the Theory of Thermodynamics, 1900.

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 22, 779-780.

12. H. Behrans

Mikrochemische Technik, 1900.

Pharm. Rev., 18, 384.

13. W. Sternberg

Geschmack und Chemismus.

Phych. Rev., 7, 91-92.

— 1901 —

14. Jacques Loeb

Comparative Physiology of the Brain and Comparative Psychology, 1900.

J. Phys. Chem., 5, 193-194.

— 1902 —

15. J. Livingston R. Morgan

The Elements of Physical Chemistry, 2 ed., 1902.

Pharm. Rev., 20, 281-282.

16. H. S. Norris (Norman H. Schneider)

Induction Coils, 1901.

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 24, 283-284.

17. J. Livingston R. Morgan

The Elements of Physical Chemistry, 2 ed., 1902.

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 24, 485-486.

96

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

\

18. F. E. Blaise |

A Travers la Matiere et V Energie, 1902. f

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 24, 585-587. J

19. J. H. Van’t Hoff ^ |

Acht Vortraege ueber Physikalische Chemie, 1901. |

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 24, 1217-1218 I

1 L. Kahlenberg and A. T. Lincoln; J. Phys. Chem., 3, 12 — 35 (1899). |

2 L. Kahlenberg and A. T. Lincoln, 1. v. pp. 34—35. \

i

® L. Kahlenberg, A. A. Koch, and R. D. Hall. “The theory of electrolytic dissociation as viewed '

in the light of facts recently ascertained,” Bull. University Wise., No. 47, Science Series 2, ,

No. 5, 297—335 (1901). V

* L. Kahlenberg, “Current electrochemical theories,” Trans. Amer. Electrochem. Soc., 1, 119 — |

125 (1902).

® L. Kahlenberg, “Recent investigations bearing on the theory of electrolytic dissociation,” -

Trans. Farad. Soc. J, 42—53 (1904).

® L. Kahlenberg, “Ueber das Problem des Loesungen,” Chenuker-Zeitung, 29, 1081 — 83, (1905).

* List not complete.

ANTIBIOTIC ASPECTS OF COPPER TREATMENT OF LAKES

Arthur D. Hasler

Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin

Nearly everyone knows that the life span of a lake is comparatively

short. It is here today and gone tomorrow, geologically speaking. A

flight over Wisconsin reveals clearly the boggy remains of many

former Wisconsin lakes. In the youthful stage lakes are generally

unproductive; seldom do algae erupt to a point where they cause a

nuisance. As the aging process progresses the water becomes

enriched and the lake gets shallower due to accumulated erosion and

organic debris. This stage may be accelerated by encroachments from

civilization: fertilizers from eroded lands, agricultural and domestic

drainage.

Once the lake has progressed toward this enriched (eutrophic)

stage, massive developments of algae scums may be anticipated,

varying in intensity and persistence, of course, with edaphic condi¬

tions.

Lake use, be it for bathing, boating, fishing, esthetic appreciation,

or municipal water is affected by the biological events that arise from

increased enrichment (Hasler, 1947).

When algae blooms begin to decay all of the uses cited above are

reduced — a problem arises. In this enriched state scums form on the

surface which are repulsive to the nose, abhorrent to bathers, re¬

pugnant to boaters, unsightly to visual esthetics, a hazard to health,

and a problem in filtration and treatment for tastes and odors if the

water is used municipally.

Obviously many methods have been employed to prevent such

nuisances. Most effective has been to spray the surface waters, at a

time when a bloom is anticipated, with CUSO4 solution so that the

surface waters attain a concentration toxic to algae (the Cu combines

with the plant substance to kill it). If done properly this anticipated

bloom may be inhibited.

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This treatment imposes a serious problem because, if we adopt the

maxim that ideal lake use is to maintain the lake in its natural state

for the longest possible period, copper becomes an antagonizing

agent. Not only is it toxic at the moment, but being a heavy metal it

is not destroyed nor made biologically inert even after combining

with carbonate or organic substances. It is accumulative — after

many years of use concentrations may be built up to a level where

many forms of aquatic life cannot exist.

The question is not how little can be used to avoid killing fish, but

what will be the effect of accumulations of copper in lake muds or as

fine colloidal particles swept about by currents.

Specifications and precautions for copper treatment of lakes have

been advanced by the Wisconsin Committee on Water Pollution

(1939, 1946). They claimed the copper was precipitated rapidly as

insoluble copper carbonate in hard water and that the real copper

concentration left in the water was not high. They stated further that

in soft water the killing dose is much smaller, a fact also stressed by

Ellis (1937). Riley (1939) concluded that at least five factors affect

the naturally occurring copper content of lake waters. They are:

1. Precipitation which lowers Cu content by dilution.

2. Sedimentation; removal from solution by adsorption on organic

matter.

3. Regeneration from mud.

4. Liberation of Cu in autumn from decomposition of littoral

vegetation; they also remove it in summer.

5. Liberation of Cu in autumn by decomposition of vegetation

surrounding the lake.

The Wisconsin report (l.c.) states that fish would tolerate as much

as 250 p.p.m. (equivalent to 250 parts of CUSO4 in one million parts

of water) of CUSO4 during short exposures (in Lake Mendota water

with 150 p.p.m. CaCOs). No studies were made over longer periods.

Short time experiments, however, may have little significance as a

measure of toxicity levels of copper customarily used in lake treatment.

Clarke (1946) has proved barnacles and mussels to be sensitive to

prolonged exposure to copper but after absorbing enormous quanti¬

ties (in some cases 100 times as much as normally present) they will

excrete much of the excess to survive if returned to fresh sea water.

Experiments by DeGiusti (1941) on the effect of copper on mixed

cultures of animals and plants, showed that 1.25 p.p.m. killed goldfish,

Daphnia magna, tadpoles, and the alga Cladophora in 14 days or less.

Hasler — Antibiotic Aspects oi Copper Treatment of Lakes

99

while 0,25 p.p.m. did not kill any of these forms within 20 days.

Riley (l.c.c.) found the tolerance level of ten representative fresh¬

water invertebrates was from 0.03 to 0.5. p.p.m. of copper. He recorded

also that in some lakes it is normally high enough in autumn to be

toxic to some animals and plants, but in the other months naturally

occurring copper, though present, was largely combined with organic

matter. In addition his studies showed that copper was contributed to

the lake water from the bottom mud.

According to a personal communication from Dr. D. H. Thompson,

formerly of the Illinois Natural History Survey, the city of Blooming¬

ton, Illinois, has put about 500 lbs. of CUSO4 into a 900 acre lake

every week, presumably in summer, since 1930. He stated that no

aquatic plants exist there and that “blooming” no longer occurs.

In “A fishery survey of important Connecticut lakes” (1942)

several comments are made which indicate that fish populations have

suffered from the practice of copper sulphate treatment of lakes.

Allee, et al. (1940) claim that traces of copper in distilled water

markedly increase the death rate of goldfish.

Guilford and Noland (1943) investigated the effect of copper ion

on the large pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis, using Madison municipal

water which contains 341 parts per million calcium carbonate. He

found they could not tolerate 0.25 p.p.m. of dissolved copper for

more than 64 hours but would tolerate 0.12 p.p.m.

In Africa a disease in humans, Bilharzia (schistomiasis), is con¬

trolled by eliminating snails which are intermediate hosts to the

organism causing the disease. Copper sulfate is employed extensively

in Egypt to exterminate snails. Worthington (1946) was critical of

a $10,000,000 snail control project in Egypt because of the careless

methods proposed. In addition he says, “The copper sulfate may not

kill fish but it certainly kills the bulk of their food supply and so

influences the fisheries.”

Locally, in Michigan and Wisconsin, snails are eliminated from

bathing beaches where swimmers’ itch has ocurred, by spreading

copper carbonate (Wis. Committee on Water Pollution, 1946).

Though a comparatively insoluble copper salt it dissolves sufficiently

to be toxic to snails.

Plant physiology and ecology students, working in recent years

with Professors Curtis and Stauffer in the Department of Botany at

the University, have studied the effect of copper on the growth of

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

various algae and higher aquatic plants. They have demonstrated

that many floating plants are inhibited or killed by lower concentra¬

tions of copper than those needed to control algae. For instance

Elser (1941) found that Spirodela, Azolla, Lemna and Riccia

were all killed at 0.3 p.p.m. of copper in Lake Mendota water, while

the last two species were inhibited by 0.03 p.p.m. Churchill (1946)

reported that the addition of copper to mixed cultures of algae in

Lake Mendota water greatly altered the composition of the popula¬

tion, since the free floating, unicellular plankton algae were all killed

by 0.25 p.p.m. of copper (some were killed at 0.08 p.p.m.) while the

filamentous forms were inhibited by 0.33 p.p.m., but not killed at

concentrations less than 0.66 p.p.m. Thus it can easily be seen that the

continued treatment of a lake with copper might result in profound

changes in the populations of the basic food plants.

In view of evidence that copper is absorbed by aquatic animals

from very dilute solutions a reappraisal of the physiological effects

of copper toxicity should be made. The total quantity of copper avail¬

able may be more significant than its immediate concentration in

parts per million. For this reason the volume of the test container

should be considered as an important experimental factor. One part

per million in a 100 ml. flask might not be lethal, whereas 1 part per

million in a liter might be toxic because of the greater quantity of

copper available for absorption.

Sawyer, et al. (1945), also Nichols, et al. (1946) have analyzed

the bottom deposits of the Madison lakes. Surface muds of Mendota,

Monona, Waubesa and Kegonsa contained 85, 605, 300 and 223

milligrams of copper per kilogram of dry mud, respectively. Lake

Mendota had not been treated with copper sulfate while the other

three received regular treatments for several years. What is the

effect of these large quantities of a toxic, heavy metal on the bottom

organisms? The circumstantial evidence suggests an unfavorable

effect. Lakes Mendota and Monona are quite similar eutrophic lakes,

limnologically speaking, yet the above report stated that the summer

standing crop of bottom-dwelling organisms, as measured in 1944 by

Sarah Elizabeth Jones, is about 9,000 per square meter in Lake

Mendota muds and only 800 per square meter for Monona. It is also

significant that there were no small clams (Pisidium) in the muds

of Monona.

Frey (1940), in a doctoral thesis on growth and ecology of the carp

in four lakes of the Madison region, points out that both the aquatic

Haslet — Antibiotic Aspects of Copper Treatment of Lakes

101

vegetation and the molluscan fauna of Monona, Waubesa and

Kengonsa have decreased in recent years concomitantly with the

addition of copper.

More recently the toxicity of copper to marine organisms has been

thoroughly studied because its use in paints is known to be effective

in preventing the fouling of ships’ bottoms. In a study by Ketchum,

et al. (1945), it was concluded that to maintain a uniform adequate

copper leaching rate for one year, a paint film must contain at least

3.6 mg. of copper per sq. cm. of surface area. It has been shown that

the solution of 10 micrograms of copper per sq. cm. of paint surface

per day will prevent attachment of marine growths, such as barnacles,

which normally present a serious problem.

From the above citations of copper toxicity for aquatic organisms

one must admit this substance is a poison which, even on a single

application, may cause serious disturbances in the balance of aquatic

environments. Repeated treatment may result in its accumulation to

a point where toxic quantities dissolve from the lake bottom (as

proved by Riley) just as from a ship-bottom paint.

The crux of the argument is then, why should a permanent poison

be employed to combat a temporary nuisance? This question becomes

a challenge to the scientist, conservationist and public official to

initiate alternative programs which will aid in alleviating the nuisance.

Some proposals are:

1. Establishment of a large scale and coordinated study of the

causes of lake blooming, algae nutrition, and also a search for an

organic compound to replace copper much as 2-4D in recent years has

replaced heavy metals in the control of weeds on land.

2. Populations of algae and large aquatic plants should be con¬

sidered as a natural crop from a productive medium, just as hay is

from an area of soil. Any productive area of the globe produces a

surplus crop. Why should a lake’s crops decompose in the lake? Why

should it be its own cesspool returning the nutrients to aggravate the

cycle in the next season? The author suggests this crop be utilized and,

as in Milwaukee, use its elements on the market to help defray the

costs of keeping lakes beautiful. In a world scarce in food and ferti¬

lizers are we justified in any wastage? Why not sponsor some engi¬

neering research for the design of machinery to harvest this crop?

With a well organized, enthusiastically directed public program

bathing beaches of lakes could be seined several times daily with a

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

fine mesh seine as a sanitary measure. Most of the clumps of algae

which antagonize an esthetic bather could be collected this way,

buried or removed from the vicinity. Large aquatic plants in bays and

selected shallows could be cut and removed with their associated

filamentous algae. Again, to devise adequate machinery to harvest

the aquatic crops is indeed a challenge to engineers.

3. A zoning plan has been suggested wherein certain lakes would

be set aside for bathing and boating; others for wildlife and fish. The

former could be controlled with copper until an effective but non¬

accumulating toxic agent is discovered.

4. Since it is well established that the watershed of a lake contri¬

butes nearly all of the lake’s fertility, a soil erosion control program

should be initiated to prevent or diminish the inflow of nutrients.

Once more, the question is not: How little can be used to avoid

killing fish? but, What will be the effect of a slow accumulation of

copper in lake muds? The question is similar to an agricultural one—

How little arsenic can be sprayed on apples to kill insects but not

kill the man who eats the apple? A slow accumulation of arsenic in

orchards because of repeated sprayings has upset the soil biota and

the trees have become sick (Rodale, 1945). Therefore man is in¬

directly affected.

Literature Cited

Allee, W. C., a. J. Finkel and W. H. Hopkins. 1940. The growth of goldfish

in homotypically conditioned water; a population study in mass physiology.

Jour. Exp. Zool. 84(3) : 417-443.

Churchill, Bruce. 1946. Ms. Dept, of Botany, U. W. (Plant Physiology).

Clarke, George L. 1947. Poisoning and recovery in barnacles and mussels.

Biol. Bull. 92 (1) : 73-91.

Connecticut Geol. Survey. 1942. A fishery survey of important Connecticut

lakes. Conn. Geol. Surv. Bull. 63 s 339 pp.

DeGiusti, Dominic L. 1941. Ms. Dept, of Botany. (Plant Physiology).

Ellis, M, M. 1937. Detection and measurement of stream pollution. Bull. U. S.

Bur. Fish. 58 : 365-437.

Elser, a. J. 1941. Ms. Dept, of Botany, U. W. (Plant Physiology).

Frey, David G. 1940. Growth and ecology of the carp, Cyprinus carpi o Linnaeus,

in four lakes of the Madison region, Wisconsin. Doctoral dissertation (Ms.),

University of Wisconsin.

Guilford, Harry, and L. E. Noland, 1943. Effect of copper on Lymnaea stag-

nalis, Ms. Dept, of Zool., U. W.

Ketchum, Bostwick, John D. Ferry, Alfred C. Redfield and Arthur E.

Burns. 1945. Evaluation of antifouling paints by leaching rate determina¬

tions. Ind. Eng. Chem. 37 (5) : 456-460.

Hasler — Antibiotic Aspects of Copper Treatment of Lakes

103

Nichols, M. Starr, Theresa Henkel and Dorothy McNaul. 1946. Copper

in lake muds from lakes of the Madison area. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 38:

333—350.

Riley, G. A. 1939. Limnological studies in Connecticut. Ecol. Monog. 9 : 53—94.

Rodale, J. I. 1945. Pay Dirt. Devin-Adair Co., N. Y. 242 pp.

Sawyer, C. N., J. B. Lackey and R. T. Lenz. 1945. An investigation of the

odor nuisance occurring in the Madison Lakes, particularly Monona, Wau-

besa and Kegonsa from July, 1943 — July, 1944. Rept. Governor’s Committee,

92 pp., 25 fig., 27 tables.

Thompson, D. H. 1944. Personal communication.

Wisconsin Committee on Water Pollution. 1939. Chemical treatment of

lakes and streams. Wis. State Bd. Health Com. on Water Pollution.

Wisconsin Committee on Water Pollution. 1946. Aquatic nuisance control

in Wisconsin. 35 pp. Madison, Wis.

Worthington, E. B., 1946. Middle East Science. A survey of subjects other

than agriculture. His Maj. Stat. Off., London. 239 pp.

f

STREAM POLLUTION ABATEMENT STUDIES IN THE PULP

AND PAPER INDUSTRY

By Willis M. Van Horn, Research Associate

The Institute of Paper Chemistry, Appleton, Wisconsin

I. The Importance of Water in Pulp and Paper Manufacture.

In the light of present technological knowledge it would be im¬

possible to manufacture pulp or paper without water. Water is used

both directly and indirectly in this important industry. Directly it is

used in digesting the wood, which is the raw material of most pulp and

paper manufacture, it is used in treating the pulp after digestion,

and it is used in the formation of the sheet on the paper machines.

Indirectly it is used for power and steam generation. It is used for

cooling bearings, for condensers, for vacuum evaporators. Finally it

is used as a means of carrying wastes away from the plant (1).

Indeed, water is so essential to the pulp and paper manufacturing

process that, in locating a new plant, first consideration is given to

the availability of a cheap source of water of suitable properties (2).

II. Problems Arising From The Use of This Water.

Because large amounts of water are so essential and because, in

using this water, materials are added, a pulp or paper mill is usually

responsible for polluting the stream to some degree. To be sure, there

are cases where the degree of pollution is so small as to be insignifi¬

cant. But, in other cases, the pollution is in extent sufficient to create

changes in the stream which may harm its aesthetic value, as well as

affect the aquatic environment so that the stream biota may be

changed or even destroyed.

The situation confronting the pulp and paper manufacture is this:

(1) Large amounts of water are essential to the manufacturing pro¬

cess; (2) the only economically favorable source of such water is

from surface bodies, such as rivers, and (3) the use of this water by

the pulp and paper industry may decrease or destroy its value to

other users. The question then arises: How can the industry return

this water to the stream in essentially the same condition that it

found it?

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

III. The Attack on the Problem.

A. Organizations Participating.

Everyone familiar with the problem of stream improvement in

Wisconsin knows of the contributions made by the Bureau of Sanitary

Engineering. This organization has poineered both in the state and in

the nation in its efforts to clean up our streams. It is logical that, in a

state such as ours, its attention should be directed to the pollution

problems of the pulp and paper industry. Naturally, abatement

activities must be based on the technology and capacities of the

particular industries involved. Many years ago a Special Advisory

Committee was set up, consisting of representatives of the Wisconsin

Pulp and Paper Industry and of the Bureau of Sanitary Engineering.

The purpose of this committee is to exchange technical and other in¬

formation and to study ways and means of applying such information

to achieve pollution abatement. The accomplishments of this com¬

mittee pointed the way for the activities described in the following

paragraphs.

At first, the problem was attacked in the individual mill labora¬

tories and considerable progress was made. Notable was the work

done by the Marathon Corporation described below.

In 1939, the sulphite pulp manufacturers in Wisconsin organized

into what was known as The Sulphite Pulp Manufacturers Committee

on Waste Disposal (3). The name of this organization has recently

been changed to the Sulphite Pulp Manufacturers Research League,

Inc. The investigations conducted by this group are supported en¬

tirely by the participating companies. The Sulphite League has di¬

rected its attention to the problem of sulphite waste liquor. Its

research program may be roughly classified into two phases. One is

concerned with the chemical utilization of the waste materials.

Investigations in this field are being pursued by the staff of The

Institute of Paper Chemistry. The other phase is concerned with

biological disposal of the waste. These investigations are under the

direction of the League’s own technical staff, in residence at the

Institute.

In the field of kraft waste studies, there has been organized the

Committee on Kraft Waste Disposal, consisting of representatives

of kraft companies of the state and of the Bureau of Sanitary Engin¬

eering. The activities of this committee are discussed below.

Recently there has been organized the National Council for Stream

Van Horn — Stream Pollution Abatement Studies

107

Improvement of the Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Industries, In¬

corporated. This organization draws its support from the pulp and

paper industry on a national scope and, therefore, its research ac¬

tivities are similarly on a national scope. Various Wisconsin compa¬

nies have been co-operating with the National Council.

Outside of Wisconsin several pulp and paper groups have made

notable contributions which will be discussed later.

B. Problems Arising from Chemical Pulping.

1. Acid Pulping Sulphite Waste Liquor.

In the sulphite pulping process the wood is treated, at high tem¬

perature and at high steam pressure, with an aqueous solution of

sulphurous acid in which lime or some other base has been dissolved.

The action of this liquor is to free the cellulose fibers from the lignin,

hemicelluloses, and other cementing materials in the wood. At the

conclusion of a “cook”, therefore, a digester contains the free cellulose

fibers suspended in the spent cooking liquor in which is dissolved the

constituents of the wood other than the fibers. When the digesters are

emptied, this spent liquor is drained from the fibers, or pulp, and is

commonly called sulphite waste liquor.

This liquor contains the soluble products of digestion, amounting

to slightly more than 50% of the original wood. In other words, for

every ton of pulp produced, about one ton of these soluble products

are waste. There are about 2500 gallons of this waste liquor for every

ton of fiber produced. It contains normally 10% solids, the bulk of

which are lignin and carbohydrates. Because, in the past, this sulphite

waste liquor has been sent to the river, it has constituted, and does

now constitute, the most serious waste disposal problem facing the

industry.

The approach to this problem has ranged all the way from

measures which would change the fundamental pulping process to

simple lagooning of the wastes. In general there have been two

approaches to the problem, one of the utilization of the liquor and one

of disposal.

One of the first significant advances was the development of the

Howard Process at the Marathon Corporation in Wisconsin (4). By

fractional precipitation of the liquor solids with lime, it is possible to

recover material that can be sent to the boilers for heat and chemical

recovery; another fraction can be used in plastic manufacture, and

still another fraction can be used in the manufacture of vanillin.

Although the process is suitable for operation in all sulphite mills, the

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

market for the products is limited and, therefore, the process does not

offer an opportunity for use in all mills.

The Sulphite Pulp Manufacturers Research League has, for a

number of years, been investigating ways and means of utilizing

and/or disposing of this waste. They have explored the possibilities of

utilizing the waste as road binder, its use in the manufacture of

adhesives, for binders in the manufacture of coal briquets, for alcohol

production, the economics of evaporating and burning the liquor, and

many more.

This group has carried out exhaustive researches on the feasibility

of disposing of the sulphite waste liquor by methods employed in

sanitary sewage disposal, with emphasis on the trickling filter process.

This work has been carried through laboratory and pilot-plant stages.

The results indicated that the B.O.D. of sulphite waste liquor could be

reduced materially if nutrient materials, such as nitrates and phos¬

phates, were added. There are a number of phases of this investiga¬

tion that require further exploration before the process can be made

generally applicable.

More recently The Sulphite Manufacturers Research League has

been investigating the possibility of reducing the B.O.D. of the liquor

by biological utilization. It has been shown that, under carefully

controlled conditions, fodder yeast can be grown using the sugars in

the liquor as a source of food. Laboratory experiments indicate that,

by this process, the B.O.D. contribution of a sulphite mill may be

reduced as much as 60%. The process shows enough promise so that

a commercial scale plant is to be constructed on the premises of one

Wisconsin sulphite mill. It has been calculated that, if similar plants

are erected to process the waste liquor from the mills located on the

Lower Fox River; the B.O.D. requirements of the liquor would be

lowered to the extent that considerable improvement in the dissolved

oxygen content would be effected.

Besides these activities. The Sulphite Manufacturers Research

League is supporting at The Institute of Paper Chemistry a long range

research program involving the fundamental aspects of waste lignin

utilization. Much progress has been made. Among the products of this

investigation is ethyl vanillate, a compound that promises wide use

as a food preservative (5). This material is extremely effective in

controlling the growth of certain types of bacteria, and yet it has been

shown that it is nontoxic to human beings in the concentrations used.

Van Horn — - Stream Pollution Abatement Studies

109

Another phase of the treatment of sulphite waste liquor by fer¬

mentation is that of ethyl alcohol production. Investigations of this

method of treatment have been in operation for a great many years.

At present, at least two plants are actively producing alcohol, one in

Thorold, Ontario (6) and one in Bellingham, Washington. Some

people believe that alcohol produced from sulphite waste liquor can¬

not successfully compete on the market with that made from molasses.

Others apparently feel differently. A final verdict on this outlet will

probably not be reached until present abnormalities have evened

themselves out and the long range cost factors are brought into proper

balance.

It should be pointed out that, in Germany and Scandanavia, many

sulphite pulp plants have for years, operated yeast and alcohol plants.

Their successful operation is due to the fact that there is a greater

premium on both products in those countries than there is in our own.

Another significant contribution to the sulphite waste liquor dis¬

posal problem has been made by the Pulp Division of the Weyer¬

haeuser Timber Company in Longview, Washington (7). These

people have devised a method in which magnesium replaces calcium

in the cooking liquor. This substitution makes it possible to eva¬

porate the waste liquor to approximately 40% to 50% solids, and

bum it in the boilers, thus recovering heat as well as chemicals which

are re-used in forming more cooking liquor. The economic success of

this process depends upon almost complete recovery of the chemicals

and it has been indicated on the pilot-plant scale that the method is

feasible. At the present time the Weyerhaeuser people are building a

large plant based on this process, and the industry as a whole is

watching the progress of this plant with great interest.

Several attempts have been made in times past to evaporate and

burn calcium base sulphite waste liquor, but these attempts for one

reason or another have not been successful.

Other mills in the United States have been entirely or partially

successful in disposing of their sulphite waste liquor by utilizing its

lignin. Among the products so manufactured are those that can be

used as adhesives, for hardening cement, in the manufacture of ceram¬

ics, as insecticides, in the manufacture of dyes, in electroplating, in

emulsions, as fertilizer, in soaps, and in tanning. In many of these

uses a single 100-ton mill would produce in one day the amount of

sulphite waste liquor necessary to manufacture the product in amount

sufficient for the nation's annual demand. For that reason such util-

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

ization of the liquor promises little in the way of pollution abate¬

ment (8).

2. Alkaline Pulping.

During recent years the sulphate pulping process, and its modifi¬

cation, the kraft process, have come to occupy a major position in the

pulp and paper industry. These are alkaline processes, as compared

with the acid sulphite process, and depend, for their economic feasi¬

bility, on the ease by which the spent cooking liquor is recovered,

and the chemicals contained therein re-used in the formation of new

cooking liquor.

It will be recalled that, in the sulphite process, the spent liquor

is waste and, therefore, the source of a major pollution problem. In

the kraft process, however, the spent cooking liquor is sent to a

recovery plant. Here it is reduced in volume by evaporation, until

it is readily combustible, and burned in specially designed furnaces.

The heat of combustion is recovered as steam, and the chemicals

recovered as sulphides, carbonates and caustic. As indicated above,

these chemicals are reworked to form fresh cooking liquor.

Theoretically, if a kraft pulp mill and its recovery plant are effi¬

ciently operated, there should be a minimum stream pollution prob¬

lem. However, when the pulp is washed after being blown from the

digester, there comes a time when the wash water contains such a

small amount of spent liquor that it is no longer feasible to evaporate

it, so it is sent to the sewer. This very dilute wash water is one of the

major sources of polluting material coming from this type of

mill. Other polluting materials may be found in the condensate com¬

ing from the evaporators, from the digester de-gassing condensates,

and from the digester blow-down condensate.

It was stated that the principal stream polluting effect of sulphite

waste liquor was its action in reducing the dissolved oxygen content

of the river water, or in other words its high B.O.D. The normal waste

from a kraft mill does not have a very high B.O.D. Indeed, if there

is adequate stream flow this aspect of the waste is not particularly

troublesome. It has been shown by several investigators, however,

that kraft wastes contain chemicals that are toxic to fish and other

aquatic forms, if present in sufficient volume.

For example, the condensates, referred to above, may contain mer-

captans, sulphides, turpentine, disulphides, and methyl alcohol. Fur¬

thermore, it has been demonstrated that, in addition to these chemi-

Van Horn — Stream Pollution Abatement Studies

111

cals, the dilute wash waters may contain certain amounts of what is

known as “sulphate soap.” This soap is the sodium salt of the resin

and fatty acids which are extracted from the wood in the cooking

process. In addition to these products, the black liquor washings may

contain other sodium salts, any one of which may be dangerous to

the aquatic environment, if present in sufficient quantities.

Many years ago the Wisconsin State Board of Health, through its

Bureau of Sanitary Engineering, initiated at its own expense, a re¬

search program designed to determine (a) the cause of dangerous

pollution from a kraft mill and (b) such remedial measures as could

be devised to prevent such pollution. This work (9) definitely con¬

firmed earlier observations by workers in Scandinavia (10) that

there were toxic materials in kraft pulping wastes.

Later the Wisconsin kraft mills organized a Waste Disposal Com¬

mittee which, working in close co-operation with The Bureau of

Sanitary Engineering, extended these observations and initiated a

critical study of the kraft process with the objective of modifying it

so that the undesirable wastes could be prevented from reaching the

stream. This committee is now closely co-operating with the National

Council for Stream Improvement and the investigational work is

being done at The Institute of Paper Chemistry.

In an effort to remove these objectionable materials from the

wastes, a quick easy method for their detection has been devised.

At the present time the work is concerned with a critical analysis

of all waste waters produced in Wisconsin kraft mills; the objective

is to find the place in the mill where the materials are formed and

to treat them before they reach the stream.

It would be pertinent to discuss here some of the pollution abate¬

ment measures currently in use in this industry. One great source

of toxic material was eliminated when the mills adopted the practice

of recovering turpentine from their digester blow-down condensates.

The process is quite simple and from one to three gallons of turpentine

per ton of product is recovered. Similarly, most mills are now re¬

covering tall oil from the black liquor skimmings. This material is

rich in fats and is widely used in the manufacture of soaps and paints.

In this case, however, the effect on pollution abatement is less, because

the tall oil was formerly burned in the boilers.

3. Other Types of Pulping.

As a source of cellulose fiber, old paper may be regarded as im¬

portant. In this case the pulping process consists of breaking the waste

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

sheet into its component parts, which includes the fiber, the filler and,

in some cases, size and ink. From the pollution point of view the de-

inking wastes are important. Such wastes contain a high percentage

of inorganic solids which renders their treatment difficult. One mill

has successfully met this problem by the construction of a lagoon,

large enough to retain the wastes for a period of three months. During

the period of retention the solids settle out, and bacterial action fur¬

ther reduces the organic materials present to the extent that the

effluent from the lagoon is suitable for emptying into the stream.

At the present time, the National Council for Stream Improvement

is maintaining an active and fruitful research program on de-inking

wastes in the Kalamazoo Valley in Michigan.

The waste from ground wood pulping is relatively harmless when

compared with those thus far discussed. Its B.O.D. is moderate and it

contains no toxic materials.

D. Paper Machine Wastes.

Large amounts of water are used on a paper machine. Suspended

in this water are the materials of which the paper is made. These may

be classified as follows ( 1 ) :

1. The cellulose fibers, the basic materials from which the

sheet is formed.

2. Sizing, usually resin, alum or both.

3. Filler. This may be china clay, talc, calcium sulphate, barium

compounds, titanium dioxide, zinc sulphide, and/or calcium

carbonate.

4. Coloring. Dyestuffs.

5. Glue, casein, and other compounds used as an adhesive in

some coated papers.

The water containing these materials flows onto a moving wire

screen upon which the sheet is formed as the water drains through

the wire. This water is known as “white v/ater” and contains the resi¬

due of the mixture after the sheet is formed. It usually contains small

amounts of whatever materials were originally used.

Years ago all white water was passed to the sewer after the sheet

was formed. Now-a-days, however, a machine is operated on what

is called a closed or partially closed system, which means that all or

almost all the white water is recirculated over the wire, and the

amount of materials equivalent to the paper formed are added for

each cycle. This process of recirculation has resulted in a great saving

Van Horn Stream Pollution Abatement Studies

113

of materials and^ incidentally, in a great reduction in the amount of

white water going to the stream.

In spite of this method of reducing fiber and white water loss,

there may be some fibers passing to the streams. For a number of years

The Bureau of Sanitary Engineering, in co-operation with the mills,

has made a study of this loss (11). As a result of these studies, many

installations of save-alls and other similar machines have been made.

These advances have further reduced the amount of fibers passing

to the stream. In this connection, it might be of interest to compare

our Wisconsin mills with those of the industry in general.

At the present time methods are being studied by the industry to

prevent more completely the passage of fibers to the river. Although

it is too early as yet to predict success for this work, it is likely that

sooner or later improvements will be made that will enable the in¬

dustry to achieve this end.

IV. What of the Future?

The effort being made by the Pulp and Paper Industry to abate

the stream pollutional aspects of its wastes has been discussed. It

has been stated that neither pulp nor paper can be manufactured

without the use of large amounts of water. Morally speaking the

industry has as much right to the use of this water as any other

group or groups. But it does not have the right to leave the water in

a state that impairs or destroys its value to other groups. The industry

recognizes this fact and feels sure that, in time, it will be able to cor¬

rect or eliminate the abuses that have occurred in the past. This ob¬

jective may be achieved only by extending our knowledge of the

problem beyond the limits of this present sphere. As in the case of

most all research, this extension is slow. But we hope it is sure.

Literature Cited

(1) SUTERMEISTER, Edwin. The Chemistry of Pulp and Paper Making. New

York. John Wiley & Sons. 1941.

(2) Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry. Industrial

Water for Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Manufacture. TAPPI Mono¬

graph Series — Number 1. New York, 1942.

114

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences^ Arts and Letters

(3) Weidneh, J. P. 1943. Co-operative Research Program on Sulphite Waste

Liquor. Paper Mill News 66, No. 30:12-14.

(4) Howard, Guy C. 1939. Marathon Sulphite Liquor Developments. Paper

Mill 62, No. 37:70-72.

(5) Pearl, Irwin A. 1945. Vanillic Acid Esters as Preservatives. Food In¬

dustries 17, No. 10:1173.

Pearl, Irwin A. and McCoy, John F. 1945. Vanillic Acid Esters as Food

Preservatives, Food Industries 17, No. 12:1458-61, 1600, 1602, 1604,

1606.

(6) a. Sankey, C. A. and RoSTEN, M. M. 1944. Alcohol from Waste Sulphite

Liquor, with Special Reference to the Thorold, Ontario Plant of the

Ontario Paper Co. Ltd. Pulp and Paper Mag. Can. 45, No. 3:171-8,

188.

b. Joseph, H. G. 1947. Industrial Alcohol Production from Sulphite Waste

Liquor by the Ontario Paper Co. Ltd. Sewage Works J. 19, No. 1:60-9.

(7) a, PiTTAM, William. 1942. Sulphite Waste Liquor Disposal. Pacific Pulp

Paper Ind. 16, No. 4:24-5.

b. Hatch, R. S. 1945. Magnesium Base Sulphite Pulping. Paper Trade

J. 122, No. 11:54-6.

(8) Lewis, Harry F. 1945. Lignin — - An Economic Liability or a Chemical

Asset. Chemical and Engineering News 23, 1074.

(9) Cole, Arch E. 1935. Water Pollution Studies in Wisconsin. Effects of

Industrial (Pulp and Paper Mill) Wastes on Fish. Sewage Works

Journal 7, No. 2:280.

(10) a. Bergstrom, Hilding. 1939, Water Pollution from Sulphate Cellulose

Plants. Svensk Papperstidn. 42:223-8.

b. Bergstrom, Hilding and Vallin, Sten. 1937. The Contamination of

Water by the Waste Liquors of Sulphate Pulp Mills. Medd. Statens

Undersoken — Forsoksants Sotvattenfisket, Kgl. Lantsbruksstyrelsen

No. 13.

c. Ebeling, G. 1931. Recent Results of the Chemical Investigation of the

Effect of Waste Waters from Cellulose Plants on Fish. Vom Wasser

5:192-300.

d. Hagman, Nils. 1936. Resin Acids and Fish Mortality. Finnish Paper

and Timber Journal 18:32—34, 36—38.

(11) a. Stream Pollution in Wisconsin. 1927. Special Report. Wisconsin

State Board of Health.

b. Holderby, j. M. and WARRICK, L. F. 1935. Pulp and Paper Mill

Pollutional Studies. Paper Trade Journal 101, No. 3:33-5.

c, Warrick, L. F. and McKee, F. J. 1938. Reduction of Pulp and Paper

Wastes in Stream Cleaning Program in Wisconsin. Paper Trade Jour¬

nal 107, No. 23:37-40.

HOW CHEMICALS ENTERED THE OFFICIAL

PHARMACOPOEIAS

George Urdang

Professor, History of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin

Director of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy

It is generally agreed upon that what we call modern therapy

received its first authoritative recognition through the introduction

of chemicals for internal use into the official standards of pharmacy.

The question how and when this happened is, therefore, of histori¬

cal importance.

The first representative of the European drug standards issued

and legally enforced in the various political units and later gener¬

ally called pharmacopoeias, was the Florentine Nuovo Receptario

Composite, published in 1498. It took half a century and more until

the next official pharmacopoeiae of general importance appeared, the

Nuremberg Dispensatorium Valerii Cordi of 1546, the Augsburg En¬

chiridion sive Dispensatorium of 1564 and the Dispensarium Reipub-

licae Coloniensis of 1565. As pointed out by Husemann, all of these

official formularies represented **the orthodox teaching of medicine as

contrasted with that of Paracelsus and his followers, who raged against

the teachings of Greek and Arabic medicine.”^

The great past-medieval reformer of medicine, Theophrastus Bom-

bastus Paracelsus of Hohenheim, had died in 1541. Only twelve years

later, in 1553, an English Act of Parliament authorized the Royal

College of Physicians of London “to survey and examine the stocks

of apothecaries, druggists, distillers and sellers of waters and oils,

and preparers of chemical medicines.”^ However, what was, in the

middle of the sixteenth century, implied in the term chemical?

The situation has been greatly obscured because, in the modern

sense, the term chemical processes has acquired a different meaning

from that which is implied in the writings of Paracelsus. Modern

pharmaceutical literature classifies aromatic waters, tinctures, and

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

extracts with galenicals, although they were unknown to Galen. Ac¬

cording to Paracelsus, they were prepared by means of chemical

processes as he understood the word. Paracelsus also advocated the

use of inorganic chemicals for internal medication. It is this advocacy

that primarily caused his and his followers’ quarrels with the Galenists

and Hippocratists.

The chemical concept as indicated, greatly antedates Paracelsus.

Thus the process of distillation was regarded as a chemical process.

It was known to the ancients and developed by the Arabs during the

Middle Ages. If any one individual were to be accredited therewith,

this individual would not be Paracelsus but Arnaldus de Villanova

who introduced, in the end of the thirteenth century, distilled waters

into European therapy.

Not only heat, but destructive fire was employed in the prepara¬

tion of empyreumatic oils and more particularly in the preparation

of the so-called fixed salts resulting from the incineration of organic

drugs and the .lixiviation of the resulting ashes. The production of

so-called ‘^essential” forms from crude drugs was implied in the desig¬

nation chemical, whether this was accomplished by separating the

finer parts from the grosser parts by distillation or by boiling down

the mother liquid concerned and allowing crystallization. In like man¬

ner the “essential,” even “quintessential” parts were obtained by ex¬

traction, whether the product be termed a tincture or extract. To these

methods of technique, there were added those now commonly re¬

garded as distinctively chemical.

Have the early pharmacopoeias mentioned above indeed declined

all chemical preparations? The interesting fact has to be noticed

that the most progressive of these formularies, the Augsburg Enchiri¬

dion of 1564, contains several chemical preparations for external use

known already before Paracelsus, namely. Aqua fortis, i.e,, nitric

acid, a solution of corrosive sublimate listed as Aqua cum Mercurio,

and an aqueous suspension of lead sulfate and basic acetate called

Lac Virgineum. Furthermore the book gives formulas for oil of

turpentine to be obtained by direct distillation from the oleoresin

and an oil of juniper to be prepared by destructive distillation of

juniperwood. It finally lists a series of volatile oils and other prep¬

arations, among them oil of vitriol, i.e., sulfuric acid without, however,

saying more about these products than that they “may be prepared

by the experts by distillation.” For the preparation of distilled waters,

general directions are given.

Fig. 1. Title page of Minderer’s Pharmacopoeia Londoninensis.

Fig. 2. Title Page of CrolFs Basilica Chymica.

Urdang — Introduction of Chemicals in Pharmacopoeias

117

Neither extracts nor vegetable salts, nor one of the new chemical

compounds for internal use, however, can be found in the first edition

of the Augsburg Enchiridion or the later editions of this Pharmaco¬

poeia until 1613. Of these typical innovations introduced by Para¬

celsus and his followers there was not even an intimation in the early

Augsburg pharmacopoeias.

All the early official pharmacopoeias were issued by one or the

other Italian or German City Republics of this period and their legal

authority was, naturally, restricted to the territories of these compara¬

tively small political units. Thus it certainly electrified the physicians

and pharmacists in the whole of Europe when, in 1585, it became

known that the Royal College of Physicians of London intended to

issue a pharmacopoeia with the view to have this standard made

obligatory for all England. The question in everybody’s mind was,

naturally, whether and to what extent the authors of the English

standard would recognize the claims of the new chemico-therapeutical

movement. A decision one way or the other had to be reached.

Who were the members of the Royal College of Physicians of

London who took upon themselves such a grave responsibility, and

what kind of decision could be expected of them?

The principal places for the cultivation of the chemico-therapeu¬

tical movement were the universities of Basel (Switzerland), Leyden

(Holland) and to a certain extent the Universities of Padua (Italy)

and those of Montpellier and Nantes (France). The principal place

of resistance, the bulwark of medical conservatism, was the University

of Paris.

Although more than a third of the members of the Pharmacopoeia

Committee established by the College in 1589 had graduated abroad,

it is significant that not one of them had completed his studies in

Paris. They had graduated in Nantes, Padua, Leyden, and three of

them in Basel. A doctor of Basel was the prominent member of the

College, Thomas Muffett, also spelled Moffett and Moufet (1553-

1604) of whom his biographer said that he, “while on the continent,

adopted with enthusiasm the Paracelsian system of medicine, and

when he settled again in England he shared with John Hester^ the

chief burden of upholding the principles therein.”^

However, Muffett wrote also a digest of Hippocrates. He was no

fanatic, but decided to take the good wherever he found it.

It was undoubtedly this progressive eclectic, as we may call him,

who was influential in the first English pharmacopoeia movement

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

and its direction. It corresponds with this assumption that the “order

and classification” of the planned pharmacopoeia, as noticed in the

Annals of the London College of Physicians under the date of October

10, 1589, lists all the old groups of remedies, the Julapia, Tragemata,

Eclegmata and so forth, but also a group, the insertion of which in

an official pharmacopoeia of this period would have meant a revolu¬

tionary step, namely “Extracts, Sales, Chemica, Metallica,^^ i.e., the

group of drugs connected with the name of Paracelsus and the very

subjects of the Galenico-iatrochemical controversy.

Unfortunately, we do not know what chemicals had been proposed

nor whether they were intended for internal or merely for external

use. The plan of a London pharmacopoeia conceived in the late six¬

teenth century has never been realized. No explanation has been

found why the work did not progress and why it finally was dropped.

It may be that the political uncertainty which prevailed during the

last decade of the reign of Queen Elizabeth was responsible. It is,

however, by no means unlikely that there had developed sufficient

opposition within the College against so progressive an undertaking

as the one planned.

Soon after, in the early seventeenth century, there appeared two

books written by ardent Paracelsists, which summarized the phar-

maceutico-chemical experience of the early Paracelsic epoch: the

Pharmacopoea Dogmaticorum Restituta ... of the French physician

Joseph Du Chesne, latinized Quercetanus (1601) and the Basilica

Chymica of his German colleague Oswald Croll (1608). Both books,

especially that of Croll, exerted an extraordinary influence.

The title page of Croll’s Basilica Chymica (Figure 1) pictures the

mysterious symbolism of alchemy rather than the undeniable en¬

deavor of the author towards scientific clarity. There is the celestial

and the terrestial sphere, and within the latter the four Aristotelian

elements, fire, air, earth and water, have found their place quite as

well as the symbols of the Paracelsic three essential substances, sulfur,

mercury and salt. Of the six men portrayed three, i.e., Hermes Tris-

megistos, Morienes Romanus and Geber, are mystical figures whose

writings are apocryphal. Of the writings of Raimundus Lullus and

Roger Bacon, just the alchemical ones are likewise considered as

apocryphal. It is the figure of Paracelsus with the accompanying

motto “separate and lead to maturity (perfection)” that actually sym¬

bolizes the spirit of Croll’s Basilica Chymica.

Urdang — Introduction of Chemicals in Pharmacopoeias

119

It was not until 1614, twenty years after the first plan of an official

English pharmacopoeia had been mentioned in the Annals of the

Royal College of Physicians of London for the last time, that the

members of the College took up the idea again, and this time they

succeeded. For the revival of the plan as well as for its success ap¬

parently two men were primarily responsible: Dr. Henry Atkins

(1558-1635) who had received his Doctor’s degree at the University

of Nantes (France) and who had participated in the earlier attempt,

and the famous Theodore de Mayerne (1573-1665).

Sir Theodore Turquet de Mayerne, Baron D’Aubonne and Dr. of

Medicine of the University of Montpellier, knew what it meant about

1600 to adhere to the doctrines of Paracelsus. Born in Mayerne

(near Geneva), Switzerland, in 1573, he began his medical career in

Paris, but spent his later life in England. He was the first of several

French physicians and pharmacists who, being Protestants and

Paracelsists, sought refuge in Great Britain. After being anonymously

attacked because of his public recommendation of chemical remedies,

Mayerne published in 1603 a pamphlet proving that the use of chem¬

icals in therapy does not contradict the teachings of Hippocrates and

Galen. At once an anonymous reply appeared which was filled with

abuse, and shortly later, still in 1603, the College of Physicians in the

University of Paris condemned Mayerne by a unanimous vote, or¬

dered physicians not to meet him in consultation, and recommended

that he should be deprived of his office.®

It is very likely that the idea of reviving the plan to create an

official London Pharmacopoeia originated with Atkins. In the real¬

ization of this plan, however, Mayerne was certainly very instrumen¬

tal. Being, as far as we know, the only one of the members of the

College of Physicians of London, doing his own and successful chemi¬

cal research, he was undoubtedly responsible for the chemical part

of the first issue of the London Pharmacopoeia, 1618, and may even

have prepared it. Thus Theodore de Mayerne may well have been

the first one to have given the Paracelsistic movement the first ade¬

quate recognition within official European pharmacy if there would

not have appeared, in 1613, the sixth issue of the Augsburg Pharmaco¬

poeia, edited by Raymund Minder er (1570-1621).

While the father of the first attempt at an official London Pharma¬

copoeia, Thomas Muffet, as well as the man who helped the second

attempt to become a success, Theodore Mayerne, grew Paracelsist

during their studies, Raymund Minderer, the son and grandson of

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

“chymic^ was born with Paracelsism. Nevertheless, like the men

mentioned before, he was eclectic and very anxious not to hurt too

much the feelings of the Galenists. In his introduction to a treatise

which he wrote on vitriol (1617), Minderer explained his point of

view as follows:

Even though, having been born among chemical vapors, and

having been brought up amidst spagyric furnaces, I not infre¬

quently adhere to their vaults — being derived from two excellent

and illustrious chemists of their times, as I may state without

boasting, my grandfather on my mother’s side being Laurentius

Danus, and my father Balthasar Minderer — - I have as physician

always followed the Hippocratic and Galenical method. Even now

I esteem it and adhere to it and shall not deviate therefrom by the

breadth of a finger. If I do not always use remedies from the

animal and vegetable kingdoms, but occasionally employ metallic

and mineral remedies, I do this that they may supplement vege¬

tables pure and simple to which new and graver, or inveterate

diseases will not yield. This I do that medicine may not despair.®

Minderer went rather far in his attempt to prevent medicine from

despair by putting at its disposal the preparations recommended by

Paracelsus and his followers. Here they are, the simple extracts (33)

and the more compounded ones (9), the sales artiiiciosi from plants

(14) and furthermore Sal Saturni (lead acetate), Sal Vitrioli (ferrous

sulfate), Nitrum Sulfure purgatum (a mixture of potassium nitrate

and sulfate). Crocus Martis (ferric oxide), Flores Sulfuris (sublimed

sulfur), Flores ac Vitrum Antimonii (S2O3 with small amounts of

Sb2S3), Antimonium diaphoreticum (mixture of antimony oxide and

potassium antimoniate) and Turhethum miner ale (mercuric sulfate).

Finally formulae are given for Lapis septicus (caustic potash) and

Lapis Philosophorum (fusion of alum, vitriol, bolus, cerussa, camphor

and vinegar), and there is a large increase in the number of items

listed in the chapter on distilled waters.

In a decree of the Augsburg Senate, issued in 1582 and appended

to the fifth edition of the Augsburg Pharmacopoeia published in 1597,

the apothecaries were still admonished not to prepare or offer for

sale “substances which are known to be detrimental or poisonous,

such as Labdanum miner ale, the so-called antimony, also Turpethum

minerale and other purging mercurials.”

In view of the fact that the Augsburg Pharmacopoeia of 1613

listed these banned chemicals, this decree naturally had to be changed.

Thus the authorities concerned published on September 3, 1613,

another edict which authorized the sale and use of “spagyric”

Urdang — Introduction oi Chemicals in Pharmacopoeias

121

remedies when “prepared according to directions and prescribed by

very experienced physicians who know how to combine rationality

and experiment.”^

Nothing in the beautiful title page of the, in every respect, new

book, however, betrays the change of therapeutic principle which it

augurs. It is still King Salomon of Bible fame and King Mithridates

of Pontus (132 — 63 B.C.), the inventor of the time honored panacea

theriac who are presented as the Patron Saints of this, in the

opinion of the Galenists, certainly extremely unholy sixth edition of

the Pharmacopoeia August ana (Figure 2).

Succeeding and not preceding Minderer’s Pharmacopoeia

Augustana, 1613, the London Pharmacopoeia, 1618, did not offer

anything revolutionary. However, being the first official drug form¬

ulary to be made obligatory not for the comparatively small

territory of a city republic but for a great country, for all England,

its recognition of the chemico-therapeutical movement was of

highest general importance. Furthermore the book of Minderer only

listed the Vitrum Antimonii, the Turpethum minerale, the Nitrum

Sulphure purgatum, etc., and referred the reader to the authors of the

formulae concerned, i.e., to“ Andernacumy Osvaldum Crolliumy

Quercetanum et alios,” while the London Pharmacopoeia, 1618, put

the formulas, selected with knowledge and discrimination, directly

at the disposal of its readers. Finally the London Pharmacopoeia,

1618, contained three real chemicals not listed in the Pharmacopoeia

Augustana, 1613, i.e., Tartarus vitriolatus (potassium sulfate)

Mercurius Vitae (a mixture of of SbOCl and 86203) and, above all,

Mercurius dulcis, i.e., mercurous chloride or, as it was commonly

called since the end of the eighteenth century, calomel.

Theodore de Mayerne has generally been accredited with the

introduction of calomel into therapy. This is correct if we restrict

this claim to official therapy. The London Pharmacopoeia, 1618, was

indeed the first official formulary to include a formula for the pre¬

paration of this drug which for centuries was the most popular

chemical to be taken internally. Mayerne did not come to his formula,

however, quite on his own. It was already preconceived by some¬

body else, although in somewhat uncertain terms. The British

Museum owns the copy of the second issue of the London Pharma¬

copoeia, 1618, which once was in the possession of Mayerne. It is

replete with annotations written in Mayerne’s own hand. The anno-

122

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

tation penned to the directions for the preparation of calomel by

precipitation reads: “Croilly in Basil, chym, p. 130.” Thus we know

from Mayerne himself where he took his formula from or at least

got his inspiration.

On page 130 of Oswald CroH’s Basilica Chymica the following

“duo secretissimi modi tractandi Mercurium pro medicina corponV^

(two very secret methods of treating mercury for ,being used for

bodily relief) are given, not in a special monograph, but at the end

of that dealing with Arcanum corallinum Paracelsi, seu Mercurius

sublimatus rubeus non corrosivus (HgO).

In the first case mercury may by itself change back into a

very red cinnabar without any admixture merely by means of

certain implements.

In the second case there may be killed the destructive spirits

of vitriol and salt in mercury sublimate by which wonderful and

simple adequate artifice there results a crystalline, completely

tasteless powder: One of the most outstanding cathartics, by it¬

self as well as combined with other drugs for internal medical use,

it radically expels from the body everything harmful. This will not

appear miraculous to those who know that mercury is nature’s

balsam in which is the virtue of incarnation and regeneration

mysteriously renewed and freed from all impurities.®

It is undoubtedly the second of these two “very secret methods”

to which the note of Mayerne refers and it cannot be said that Croll

tries to reveal the secret. Clandestine (“verstekf^) calls the historian

of Chemistry, Hermann Kopp, the way in which “Oswald Croll de¬

scribed the preparation of Calomel in his Basilica Chymica in 1808.”®

As a matter of fact, he did not “describe” it at all. Only one very

familiar with the occult language of alchemy could interpret the

allusion given as meaning to use salt in order to achieve, by the way

of precipitation, a mild and tasteless cathartic out of an acid (vitriol)

solution of mercury. Theodore de Mayerne apparently was such a

highly versed interpreter. What was even more, he was an excellent

chemical experimenter himself. He did not simply take over what he

found in the books of other authors. He checked and, if thought

necessary, modified it.

According to the Mayerne formula in the first issue of the London

Pharmacopoeia, 1618, dated May 7th, the mercurous chloride was

obtained by precipitation from a solution of mercury in Aqua fortis,

i.e., nitric acid, with an aqueous solution of Sal marinus, i.e., sea salt,

whereby the mercury solution had to be poured into the salt solu¬

tion, not the reverse. The precipitate was deprived of its acrimony by

Urdang — Introduction of Chemicals in Pharmacopoeias

123

washing. In addition to this formula, in the second issue of the London

Pharmacopoeia, 1618, dated December 7th, another one directing the

preparation of mercurous chloride by sublimation of mercury chloride

and mercury was introduced. This latter formula soon became the one

generally used and superceded the older one almost entirely until the

method of precipitation, somewhat modified, was revived by the great

apothecary Scheele who presented it before the Royal Swedish Acad¬

emy of Science in 1777.

Although calomel is undoubtedly the most interesting and most

important of the three chemicals introduced by the London Pharma¬

copoeia, 1618, into official internal therapy, the two other ones are

likewise worthy of some consideration. For the formula of Tartarus

vitriolatuSf i.e., potassium sulfate, Oswald CrolFs Basilica Chymica,

had likewise served as source. In this case some literal conformity

offers evidence. Prescribing the saturation of Sal Tartar!, i.e.,

potassium carbonate, with Oleum Vitrioli, i.e., sulfuric acid, the formula

was, for this period, extremely rational. The name of the preparation,

Tartarus vitriolatus, likewise given to it by Oswald Croll, represents

one of the few early attempts to intimate in the designation of a

product its chemical nature. It is, however, characteristic of the mis¬

takes to which even the great chemists of this period were subject that

the same author thought the same substance, when prepared by the

double decomposition of potassium carbonate and ferrous sulfate, to

be a different product which he called Specificum Purgans Paracelsi,

thereby accrediting Paracelsus with this process of manufacture.

The so-called Mercurius Vitae offers an even more striking example

of the unsecure ground on which the chemists of this period were work¬

ing. The preparation was obtained by pouring Butyrum Antimonii,

i.e., antimony trichloride, into water. Because antimony trichloride

on its part was obtained by distilling a mixture of antimony and bi¬

chloride of mercury, Paracelsus thought that it contained mercury. It

was for this reason that he called the precipitate obtained by pouring

the antimony trichloride into water, Mercurius Vitae, It took centuries

until it was definitely stated that Mercurius Vitae does not contain

even a trace of mercury and the mistake of Paracelsus was corrected.

It is understood that like the book of Minderer, the Pharmacopoeia

Londinensis too avoided any display of its tolerant attiture towards

the new chemical therapy which could be provocative. The title page

of the issue of December 7, 1618, which was to be official (with slight

modification in later reprints) until 1650, refrains from any hint at

124

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

the innovation (Figure 3). It is the figures of the Greek Hippocrates,

the Graeco-Roman Galen, the Arab Avicenna and the apocryphical

pseudo- Arab, Mesue Jr., i.e., the pronounced representatives of pre-

Paracelsic therapy, who were chosen to symbolize the spirit of this

pharmacopoeia.

Dr. Theodore de Mayerne dared to publish in an official pharma¬

copoeia formulas for chemical preparations to be used as internal

remedies. He did not, however, dare to openly explain what that in

reality meant. On the contrary, he took the utmost care in concealing

the importance of his venture. Wherever possible the authorship of

the formulas is indicated in the London Pharmacopoeia, 1618. The

only groups wherein the individual formulae are not supplied with

references to either author or place of origin are the Olea Chymica

and the Praeparationes Chymica. In his personal copy Dr. de Mayerne

had added the name of Oswald Croll to the formula for mercurous

chloride, but apparently it had not seemed expedient to give a

Paracelsist official recognition.

True the name of Paracelsus appears once. It is quoted, however,

not in connection with any chemical preparation but after his famous

wound plaster. In other words the old line surgeon, the author of the

Grosse Wundt arzney, not the medical reformer and chemist was thus

recognized in the London Pharmacopoeia. Minderer, in the Augsburg

Pharmacopoeia, 1613, concealed the formulas of the dangerous

chemicals but referred to the Paracelsistic authors concerned. May¬

erne, in the London Pharmacopoeia, 1618, apparently thought it less

dangerous to reveal the formulas concerned than the names of their

authors.

The England of the early seventeenth century was, in every re¬

spect, less orthodox than the European continent, and especially

France. However, Mayerne was a burnt child. He adhered to his

principles, but he tried to console the adversaries of the chemico-

therapeutical movement by utmost modesty. The preface to the Lon¬

don Pharmacopoeia, 1618, which was written by Mayerne, refers to

the chemical drugs as follows:

Although we revere the wisdom of the old masters aqd have

arrayed their preparations, so to speak, in the first line of battle,

nevertheless we have not rejected or disdained in this book the

auxiliary troops of the new chemistry, but have granted them a

place, a corner in the rear guard, so as to have them at the disposal

of dogmatic medicine, i.e., ready for service, like auxiliaries.^^

This statement is doubtless much more apologetic than that of

Urdang — Introduction oi Chemicals in Pharmacopoeias

125

Minderer, quoted before.

In another passage of the same preface Mayerne explains why the

authors of the London Pharmacopoeia have not followed the custom

of other formularies to describe the use and the medical attributes of

the drugs listed.

It is said: From this quiver, the itinerant drug peddlers and

the quacks, being as ignorant as they are unscrupulous, equip

themselves for their medical practice, and seizing our weapons, are

responsible for the death of the sick, to the great detriment of the

state. We, therefore, do not add anything about the efficacy of the

medicines. We write this book only for the learned, for the

disciples of Apollo, and for the welfare, not for the information of

the comm.on people.^ ^

It is not necessary to set forth at length what part chemicals play

in modern therapy, hence, in the pharmacopoeias of today. From the

modest role of “auxiliary troops” hidden in a corner of the rear guard,

they have advanced to the very front and represent the most impor¬

tant armament of modern medicine in the eternal fight against disease

and premature death.

The story of the relations between scientific chemistry and phar¬

macy is long and intricate, but always enjoyable. The contributions

of pharmacy to chemistry have been so large and important and the

work done in the fields concerned has been so intimately correlated

that the famous historian of chemistry, Hermann Kopp, even called

pharmacy the mother of chemistry and Paul Walden called them

twin sisters.^ “ The very nature of chemistry and pharmacy makes it

sure, that these intimate relations, which have proved so beneficial

to society, will never change.

^ A Facsimile oi The First Edition of the Pharmacopoeia Augustana With Introductory Essays

by Theodor Husemann, Edited by Edward Kremers, Madison, Wis., 1927, p. X.

2 Kremers-Urdang, History oi Pharmacy, Philadelphia, 1940. p. 90.

® John Hester (d. 1593) was a distiller, or, as he styled himself, a “practitioner in the

Spagercall Arte.” He published several translations of excerpts from the books of Paracelsus

and other “spagerick” authors.

^Dictionary of (English) National Biography, 38:101, (London 1894).

^Ibid., 37:150, (London 1894).

® Facsimile of Pharmacopoeia Augustana, 1 c., p. XXXIV.

Facsimile of Pharmacopoeia Augustana, 1 c., p. XXXIV.

® The author’s translation from the Latin original.

® Hermann Kopp, Geschichte der Chemie, v. 4, Leipzig, 1847, p. 192.

The author’s translation from the Latin original.

Paul Walden, Der Apotheker als Kulturtrager, Pharm. Zeit. 76:1311, 1930.

THE PROBLEM OF SPEECH-MIXTURE IN THE GERMAN

SPOKEN IN NORTHWESTERN DANE COUNTY, WISCONSIN

Lester W. J. Seifert

Department of German, University of Wisconsin

The problem of speech-mixture is hardly new to any of us, for here in

Wisconsin we are confronted with it constantly. Various aspects of

the problem have also been subjected to rather close scrutiny, but

much is still unknown about the phenomenon as a whole. When

speakers of different languages are suddenly brought into close con¬

tact, what happens to the languages involved? We know that there is

a good deal of give and take under certain circumstances, but what

are the conditions? And do the processes of mixture follow any

definite patterns?

Wisconsin is an unusually good place to study this problem because

of the great population-mixture which took place here. The settlement

of southwestern Wisconsin began in the 1820’s with miners from

Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee who came up to work the lead mines.

In the early 1830’s the farmer settlers from New England, New York

and Ohio began moving into southeastern Wisconsin. In the late

1830’s the immigration of the Germans began. The influx of the

Germans increased until the 1880’s and then tapered off.

The total population of Wisconsin according to the census of 1890

was 1,693,330. Almost one-third of this number, or 519,199, was

foreign-born; and of this foreign-born third, over one-half, or 259,819,

was German-born. In addition there were 293,039 born in Wisconsin

whose parents were both born in Germany. There are no readily

available statistics for the third generation. Moreover, these figures do

not take into account the number of German-speaking Swiss, Austrians,

Poles, Hungarians, etc. These figures were cited merely to give an

idea of the percentage of our total population which at one time

spoke or at least understood the German language.

127

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

One Other thing must be taken into account. These Germans did

not settle in an even distribution throughout the state, but tended to

settle in the block of counties east of the Wisconsin River, north of

the southern tier of counties, and south of the forest lands of

northern Wisconsin; and to a lesser extent, also in other smaller areas.

As a result of this concentration, there are still localities in which both

the English and the German languages are used. The degree of bi¬

lingualism varies considerably, depending upon locality and indi¬

vidual. Such bilingual communities, of course, furnish the conditions

under which speech-mixture can most readily take place.

In order to study this problem, the University of Wisconsin granted

me a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship from November 1945 to

September 1946. I went around to different German communities,

chiefly in Dane, Jefferson, Dodge, Washington and Columbia Counties,

and recorded specimens of the German spoken by certain individuals

whom I shall hereafter refer to as informants. Speech-specimens of

39 such such informants were recorded.

Two methods of recording were used — the one by hand in a rather

close phonetic transcription, the other by machine with a small but

good portable recording device. The attempt was made to do both

hand and machine recording with each informant, but for various

reasons this attempt was not always successful, and accordingly I

have either only hand-recorded or only machine-recorded speech-

specimens for 15 of the 39 informants. The amount of time that the

individual informants were able or willing to give me varied greatly,

and therefore I have more material for some than for others. In order

to have comparable material, the course of each interview was in

part rigidly directed. To do this, I used a questionnaire in which the

items, dealing chiefly with situations out of everyday life, were ar¬

ranged topically; e.g. questions about the house and home, about

animals, about crops and implements were grouped together. I would

start out with an introductory statement, such as: “How do you say

in German ‘The rye is cut’, ‘the barley is ripe’, ‘We will cut the oats

soon’ ” and then go on in this way. To go through the entire question¬

naire takes from four to eight hours, depending upon the quickness

of the informant and the frequency with which he goes off into dis¬

cussions of other matters.

This, of course, is a translation method and the possibility of sug¬

gestion through the direct use of English is undeniable. Certainly

Seifert — German Speech-Mixture in Dane County

129

one or the other of the informants used the English word beef instead

of the German Rindfleisch because of the English influence of the

way in which this item was posed: ‘This is good beef. To check the

over-all reliability of the responses, I tried to record with the ma¬

chine a considerable piece of free conversation for each informant.

Again this attempt was not always successful, because some inform¬

ants were either not talkative enough to keep on speaking of their

own accord, even for a couple of minutes, or else they closed up

tightly, when the direct stimulus of specific questions was lacking.

But what I did get in the way of free conversation was more than

enough to convince me of the reliability of the entire method used.

At present I am analyzing these hand and machine records, and

for certain reasons I have so far concentrated upon the records made

in northwestern Dane County, where I recorded speech-specimens of

fourteen informants in the following localities : one each at Pine Bluff,

the Danz neighborhood (just north of Black Earth), and Martinsville;

two each at Cross Plains, Marxville and Roxbury; five at Ashton.

Eight of the fourteen informants preferred to use a variety of Stand¬

ard German, called hoch Deitsch by the informants, six used the

dialect of Cologne and vicinity, called Koelsch by the informants.

For the purposes of this study I have restricted myself to the speech

of the eight informants who used hoch Deitsch.

It has generally been recognized that the problem of speech-mix¬

ture is closely connected with certain social factors. It is of paramount

importance that English has always been the dominant language

in Wisconsin despite the great number of German-speaking inhabit¬

ants. Most of our social institutions made this inevitable — schools,

law, business. The church, originally a stronghold of the foreign lan¬

guage, was also forced to turn to the use of English, partly because of

the influence of the other institutions mentioned, partly in order

to appeal to the English-speaking population. Thus the German¬

speaking individual soon finds it to his advantage to speak English.

It may even be a mark of prestige that he can speak English and,

conversely, a matter of ridicule if he can speak only German or broken

English. On the other hand, he may find it advantageous to speak

German in the more immediate contacts of family and locality. But

it is almost certain that his knowledge of English either consciously

or subconsciously influences the German he now speaks. An English

word replaces some German word, e.g heifer for the German “die

Faerse”, “die Starke”, “das junge Rind”; or the elements of English

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Wisconsin Academy oi Sciences, Arts and Letters

words are translated directly into German, e,g. Butteriliege from

English ^butterfly’, replacing one of the numerous German words for

this insect such as ^'der Schmetterling”, “der Falter” “der Fiefalter”

“die Flattermaus” (dialectal in this meaning). Pronunciation may be

colored, English syntactical patterns may be imitated. Once an in¬

dividual, especially an influential individual, has used such an English

form, there is a chance that other speakers will follow the example.

Some borrowings are clearly the result of cultural differences be¬

tween America and the Germany of 50 to 100 years ago. The ^sink’

in the kitchen was virtually unknown in Germany at the time most

of the Germans came to Wisconsin. Instead of creating some new Ger¬

man word (e.g. a descriptive compound of the type “der Gussstein”),

or extending the meaning of some existant German word to include the

concept ^sink\ it was simpler to take over the English name together

with the object. However, only a comparatively small number of the

English words used in the German spoken in America can be explained

by this difference in cultures. In my eight records with which I am

here dealing, I look upon the following as clear-cut cases:

der Renter die Fence

der Pasture die Car

der Counter (in the store) die or das Sink

die Condensery das Loghaus

die Creamery das Framehaus

But in applying this principle we soon run into doubtful cases.

These general observations seem to hold good whenever a dom¬

inant and a lower language are used in the same locality. But in

order to understand how this mixture takes place and to find out

to what extent it can be carried, we must look at the speech of repre¬

sentative individuals and we must examine the factors which may

have been influential in molding their speech.

The immediate family is the most important factor in the develop¬

ment of the speech of most individuals. And it has been observed

again and again that the speech of the children usually follows the

pattern set by the mother. However, in one family I am studying, the

youngest child follows the pattern set by the father, the four oldest

children follow the mother. Fortunately, in many instances it is quite

easy to get this information. But family influences too still need very

careful study.

After the family, neighborhood relationships are of greatest im¬

portance. Now a neighborhood is a rather fluid entity and its delim-

Seiiert — German Speech-Mixture in Dane County

131

itation is not always an easy matter. By neighborhood I mean ‘a

group of families having localized^ personal, inter-family associations’.

This, on the whole, is the definition used by Professor John H. Kolb of

the University of Wisconsin in his studies dealing with rural sociology.

The substance of this definition may be found on page 46 of the

monograph Neighborhood-Community Relationships in Rural Society

by John H. Kolb and Douglas G. Marshall, Research Bulletin 154 of

the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Wisconsin,

November 1944. This monograph is based upon a careful study of

the neighborhoods of Dane County. Such an exhaustive study has not

been made for any other county, and this is one of the reasons I have

concentrated upon Dane County.

Despite the difficulties involved, the linguist who wants to study

the problem of speech-mixture must examine these inter-family, neigh¬

borhood relationships. What does this entail? Professor Kalb has

found that neighborhoods hold together and remain active if the

families involved participate in two or more of these five broad

activities (page 2 of the above-mentioned monograph):

1. Education.

2. Religion.

3. Social life for entertainment or improvement.

4. Economic life.

5. General communication (telephone exchange, mail, roads).

This means that the investigator of speech-mixture must know some¬

thing about the schooling of his informants, about their religious life

and affiliation, about the social organizations to which they belong,

about the families with which they exchange visits or work, and where

they do their trading. For the local milk-plant, store, garage and fill¬

ing-station are not only places of business, but they are also centers

where one individual meets others and opinions concerning crops,

weather, politics and the latest happenings are exchanged.

Certain other factors must also be considered. How long has the

informant and his family lived in the neighborhood? To what extent

are the families in the neighborhood connected by blood-ties? Close

blood-connections force the young men and women to go outside the

neighborhood to find suitable mates. Closely connected with this is

the question of the nationality background of the neighborhood. Were

the original settlers and are the present-day inhabitants predominantly

of one nationality or of mixed nationality? If the latter is the case,

which element was and is the stronger or strongest? And finally

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

there is the matter of land tenure. If the land is mostly owner-oper¬

ated, the same families remain in the neighborhood, and conversely,

if a large number of the farms are renter-operated, there is a com¬

paratively quick turn-over in the families. To investigate all these

things, even cursorily, is a considerable task, and although I have

used Professor Kolb’s work as a starting point, I am still far from fin¬

ished with the investigation of all these factors as they pertain to

my Dane County informants. But certain principles are already

becoming clear.

The eight hoch Deitsch informants mentioned above live in the

following six neighborhoods, not necessarily villages : one each in Pine

Bluff, Danz, Martinsville and Ashton; two each in Marxville and

Roxbury. The population components of these six neighborhoods are

not entirely the same. The settlers of Pine Bluff were half Irish, half

Germans from Cologne and Trier. The original friction between these

two groups has been overcome, intermarriage has increased and as

an active language German has almost died out. Ashton was settled

almost entirely by Germans, mostly from Cologne with some from

Trier and a sprinkling from elsewhere. The German language is still

very much alive. Martinsville was settled almost entirely by Ger¬

mans who came in fairly equal proportions from Cologne and Trier

with a sprinkling from elsewhere. German is very much alive. Rox¬

bury was settled almost entirely by settlers from Cologne, Trier and

Bavaria — all three in fairly equal proportions — ^with a sprinkling from

elsewhere. German is very much alive. Marxville was a mixed English

and German settlement, although the Germans soon predominated.

These Germans came mostly from Cologne and Trier with more than

a sprinkling from elsewhere. German is very much alive. Danz was

also a mixed English and German settlement with the Germans pre¬

dominant. These Germans came from Cologne and Trier with more

than a sprinkling from elsewhere. Here German is rapidly losing

ground.

In view of these differences in population components and the re¬

sultant differences in inter-family, neighborhood relationships, there

is a surprising constancy in the influence which English has had

upon the German spoken in all the neighborhoods. By contrast the

differences of the English influence in the different localities are very

small. For example, the informant from Pine Bluff, where German

can scarcely be called an active language any more, has a higher num¬

ber of English loanwords in the total vocabulary recorded than any

Seifert — German Speech-Mixture in Dane County

133

other informant; his /-sound is frequently Americanized and the

midwestern American r-sound has largely replaced the German

tongue-tip trill, even in native German words. Yet this man’s wife

was almost twenty when she came from Austria and they always

used German in the family until the oldest children were grown-ups.

It must be added that this midwestern American r-sound was also

used sporadically by the informants from the very German neighbor¬

hoods of Ashton and Roxbury. But the records must be studied

in greater detail and the linguistic data must be more closely examined

in connection with the social factors outlined above, before anything

more definite can be said about these differences of the English in¬

fluence in the different neighborhoods. In the rest of this study only

certain general principles of the English influence will be presented

and illustrated, principles drawn from the records of the eight in¬

formants taken as a whole rather than individually.

The influence of English is most noticeable in the vocabulary. In

the speech of the eight informants, which totals from 20 to 25 hours

of speaking, the borrowings from English are restricted to nouns,

verbal forms, adverbs and interjections. No English adjectives, except

past participles used in predicate position, no pronouns, numerals,

prepositions or conjunctions were recorded. Words borrowed from

English are usually but not always treated like native words. This

means that sounds and sound clusters which are peculiar to English

(at least in certain positions) are usually replaced by approximate

German sounds; e.g. the diphthongal English o-sound in ‘grocery’ is

replaced by the German pure long o-vowel, the initial sf-combination

in ‘store’ is replaced by the German initial sf-cluster. The English plur¬

al of nouns is at times retained, but at other times the plural of the

borrowed word follows the pattern of some native German type of

plural-formation. To the nouns one of the three German genders must

be assigned. In this there is some vacillation. The statistics are:

Total number of nouns taken over directly from English — 146.

Number of nouns recorded more than once — 75.

Number of nouns recorded only once — 71.

Number of nouns recorded more than once, varying in gender — 12.

(These are not included in the following tabulations.)

Number of nouns to which feminine gender has been assigned — 44.

Number of feminines recorded more than once — 22.

Number of feminines recorded only once — 22.

Number of nouns to which masculine gender has been assigned — 34.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Number of masculines recorded more than once — 21.

Number of masculines recorded only once - — 13.

Number of nouns to which neuter gender has been assigned — 4.

Number of neuters recorded more than once 3.

Number of neuters recorded only once — 1.

Number of nouns in such context that gender is not revealed — 52.

Number of nouns of unknown gender recorded more than once — 17.

Number of nouns of unknown gender recorded only once — - 35.

We turn first to the twelve words which varied in gender. Two

nouns were recorded as feminine^ masculine and neuter:

die, der, das Match

Heifer

Six nouns vacillated between feminine and masculine:

die, der Box die, der Driveway

Marsh Lawn

Floor Handle

One noun was both feminine and neuter:

die, das Sink

Three nouns varied between masculine and neuter:

der, das Barrel

Buggy

Store

The nouns which were recorded more than once and only as femi¬

nines are:

die Attic

Owl

Strawberry

Raspberry

Mosquito

Town

die T rain

Car

Quilt

Creamery

Granary

Fence

die Farm

Whip

Ceiling

Station

Story

die Yeast (or East)

Yard

Lake

Road

Railroad

The 22 feminines which were recorded only once are:

die Pantry

Pond

Clothesbrush

Drag

Candy

Cornice

die Cousin

Court

Condensery

Country

Grass-widow

Whistle

die Village

Whey

Highway

Surrey

Lane

die Mainroad

Countryroad

Gravelroad

Sideroad

Hall

The nouns which were recorded more than once and only as mas¬

culines are:

der Pail der Bundle der Cousin der Shock (of grain)

Slop-pail Bushel Faucet Spree

Pasture Tavern-keeper Farmer Renter

Parlor Keg Suit River

Boar Counter Butchershop Living-room

Butcher

Seifert - — German Speech-Mixture in Dane County

135

The 13 masculines recorded only once are:

der Orchard der Dresser der Grandson der Dish-rag

Swillpail Gander String Rooster

Mitten Garlic Skirt Grasshopper

Market

The nouns which were recorded more than once and only as neu¬

ters are:

das Beef

Baby

Supper

The one neuter which was recorded only once is:

das Chick

The 17 nouns which were recorded more than once but in such con¬

text that their gender is not revealed are:

Ankle

Pie

Smallpox

Bug

Mumps

T ractor

Depot

Drink

Pneumonia

Cake

Cookies

Credit

Sod

Lilacs

Raisins

Hornets

Measles

The 35 nouns of unknown gender recorded only once are:

Automobiles

Mix-up

Safety-pins

Bumblebee

Bureau

Business

Bat (animal)

Lightning-bug

Lilac-bush

Mountains

Molars

Movies

Team

T avern

Cigarettes

Cottage-cheese

Jar

Dishes

News

Fried-cakes

County

Cream

Crickets

Christmas

Gallon

Glasses

Waist (blouse)

Silage

Song

Sparrow

Starlings

Slums

Lettuce

Leghorns

Horseradish

In all the examples cited above, the English nouns were taken

over directly into the German. In compounds, however, three other

possibilities exist. The first part of the compound may be translated

into German and the English second part may be retained. Thir¬

teen examples of this were recorded:

die Hei-mow ‘hay-mow’

zweite Crop ‘second crop’

Kaese-factory ‘cheese-factory’

Vieh-yard ‘cattle-yard’

Haupt-road ‘main road’

dererste Floor ‘first floor’

Grund floor ‘ground-floor’

? Hei-pens ‘hay-pens’

Feier-bugs ‘fire-bugs’, ‘fire-flies’

Fett-cakes ‘fat-cakes’, ‘doughnuts’

derWasser-pail ‘water-pail’ Huehner-hawk ‘chicken-hawk’

Ueber-coat ‘overcoat’

In fourteen examples the English first part of the compound is

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Wisconsin Academy oi Sciences, Arts and Letters

retained and the second part is translated. The gender, of course, is

that of the second, German part:

die Smoke-wurst ‘smoke-sausage’

Scoop-schaufel ‘scoop-shovel’

District-schule ‘district-school’

der Maiden-name ‘maiden-name’

Cottage-kaese ‘cottage-cheese’

T om-katz ‘tom-cat’ ( gender! )

Dish-lappen ‘dish-cloth’

der Dish-lumpen ‘dish-cloth’

Drake-hahn ‘drake’ (dial. Entehahn)

das Waste-land ‘wasteland’

Back-haus ‘back-house’

Brick-haus ‘brick-house’

Frame-haus ‘frame-house’

Log-haus (or Logs-haus) ‘log-cabin’

In seven examples both parts of the English compounds are trans¬

lated. Here also the gender is that of the second component:

die Bulldistel ‘bull-thistle’ der Fettkuchen ‘fat-cake’, ‘doughnut’

Kanadadistel ‘Canada-thistle’ Fusstuhl ‘foot-stool’

Butteriliege ‘butter-fly’ Pterdsrettich ‘horse-radish’

Feieriliege ‘fire-fly’

In both nouns and verbs one other thing may occur. The meaning of

a native German word is extended by association with a similar

English word. There are, however, not many clear-cut examples of

this in my records.

das Korn ‘maize’. All the informants used the word in this sense through

association with the English word ‘corn’. In Germany “das Korn” is either

‘wheat’ or ‘rye’.

die Hand ‘hand of the clock’. In Germany this is “der Zeiger” or dialect

variants thereof.

er geht mit die ‘he goes with her’. Extension of the meaning of “gehen” after

the English pattern.

die Feierfliegen sind raus ‘the fire-flies are out’. This is a direct translation of the

English expression.

er geht raus butcher-n ‘he goes out butchering’, he German infinitive is here used

as the direct equivalent of the English -ing form.

ich iuehle schlecht ‘I feel bad’. In Standard German the verb is reflexive in

this meaning.

er rennt unsre Farm ‘he is running our farm’. In Standard German “rennen” is

only intransitive.

ich weiss die Country darauf ‘I know the country up there’. By association with

the English verb ‘to know’, the German verb “wissen” not only means ‘to

know a fact’ but also ‘to be acquainted with’.

gleichen ‘to like’, ‘to be fond of’. Used in this sense by all the informants. In

Germany this verb means ‘to be like’, ‘to resemble’. By simultaneous

association with the English verb and adverb ‘like’, the meaning of the

German word has been extended.

Verbs may also be taken over directly from English. These verbs

are then treated exactly like native German verbs and in their

inflection they follow the pattern of the German weak verb; e.g. the

infinitive smoke-n ‘to smoke/ the present, er smoke-t ‘he smokes,’ the

past participle ge-smoke-it ‘smoked’. The following eight verbs were

Seifert - — German Speech-Mixture in Dane County

137

used by more than one informant, cited in one of the sentences re¬

corded:

er hat einen Apfel ge-pick-t ‘he picked an apple’

die Enten sind ge-butcher-i ‘the ducks are butchered’

wer teach-t hei eich? ‘who teaches in your school?’

der Frosch ist ins Wasser ge-jump-t ‘the frog jumped into the water’

die Tasse ist ge-crack-t ‘the cup is cracked’

ich habe ge-farm-t ‘I was a farmer’

das Kalb suck-t ‘the calf is sucking’

er smoke-t die Pfeiie ‘he is smoking his pipe’

The folowing thirteen simple verbs were recorded only once, again

cited in context:

das wurde ge-mix-t mit Teich ‘that was mixed with dough’

er mower-t die Marsh ‘he is cutting the marsh’ (verb based on English noun)

ich habe die Brennessel ge-touch-t ‘I touched the nettles’

das ist iuer can-n ‘that’s for canning’

die Huehner sind am cackle-n ‘the chickens are cackling’

die Bienen sind condemn-t warden ‘the bees were condemned’

er cultivate-t das Korn ‘he is cultivating com’

der Kaese wird ge-cure-t ‘the cheese is cured’

whistle nicht! ‘don’t whistle!’

er tut sie spark-n ‘he is courting her’

er tut yawn-n ‘he is yawning’

wir raise-n kein Kopfsalat ‘we don’t raise head-lettuce’

ich konnte es nicht handle~n ‘I couldn’t handle it’

Verbs also may be hybrid German and English compounds. In the

only type so far recorded the adverbial prefix is German, the verb

stem is English. Two such verbs were recorded more than once:

auf-pick-n ‘to pick up’, sie pick-n die Krankheit auf ‘they pick up the sickness’.

auf mix-n ‘to mix up’, es wird alles auf-ge-mix-t ‘everything is mixed up’.

One such a hybrid was recorded once:

rein-stir-n ‘to stir into’, ein Ei wird rein-ge-stir-t ‘an egg is stirred into it’.

Sixteen adverbs and adverbial phrases showing English influence

were recorded, of which ten were used more than once and six only

once. Nine expressions were taken over directly from English. Those

used more than once are:

er geht outside ‘he goes outside’

ich habe anyway {s) drei Westen ‘I have at least three vests’

ich habe anyhow drei Westen ‘I have at least three vests’

das ist plenty schlimm ‘that’s plenty bad’, plenty is also used as a noun in such

expressions as er hat Plenty ‘he has enough’.

sure, gehe ich ‘certainly I’m going’

Four adverbial expressions taken over directly from English were

recorded only once:

er hat drei Maedchen in all ‘he has three girls in all’

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

sonst bin ich allright ‘otherwise I’m allright’

otherwise geht er nicht ‘otherwise he won’t go’

of course, gehe ich ‘of course, I’m going’

Seven expressions recorded are translations of part or all of the

English equivalents. Five were recorded more than once:

er hat alles auf Credit gekauft ‘he bought everything on credif

sonst bin ich allrecht ‘othrewise I’m allrighf

ich war da eine kleine Weile zurueck ‘I was there a little while ago'

du warst da drei Wochen zurueck ‘you were there three weeks ago'

ein Jahr zurueck war das Wetter besser ‘a year ago the weather was better’

Two such translated expressions were recorded only once:

die sind ziemlich eben ‘they are quite even’

ich habe es ueber die News gehoert ‘I heard it over the news'

Ten English interjections were recorded, five of them calls to

animals:

pooey! pooey! pooey! ‘call to pigs’ (Great variation in pronunciation)

chick (ie)! chick (ie)! chick {ie)! ‘call to chicks and chickens’

come boss! ‘to call cows from the pasture’

giddap! ‘to make horses go’

whoa! ‘to make horses stop’

oh sure! das weiss ich ‘oh sure! that I know’

(by) golly! die ist schoen! ‘(by) golly! she is beautiful!’

no! ich habe keine Schwester ‘no! I don’t have a sister’

well! das koennen wir rechnen ‘v/ell! that we can figure out’

say! da war einer in Cross Plains ‘say! there was a fellow in Cross Plains’

There are finally more than a few items in the vocabulary so far

recorded about which I am in doubt, whether their provenience is to

be found in the German dialects or in English. Such are the pro¬

nominal forms:

der hier, das hier, die hier ‘this’. For Standard German “dieser”, “dieses”, “diese”.

was ein ‘what a’. For Standard German “was fuer ein”.

jedereins ‘everyone’. For Standard German “jeder”, “jedes”, “jede”.

In pronunciation the influence of English has been much more

limited. We find the Americanization of the 1- and r-sounds, and this

has spread from loanwords to native German words. One informant

who speaks German much more than English, and much more

fluently also, uses the midwestern American r-sound quite frequently.

It is interesting to note that in the word for the ‘rat’, four of the

seven informants for whom I have this item recorded use the mid-

western American r-sound, die Ratt(e). Three English vowels were

recorded sporadically, but their use is limited to loanwords. These are:

the vowel in English ‘but’, recorded in such words as of course, die

Condensery, die Country; the vowel in English ‘cat’, recorded in such

words as der, das, die. Match, der Pasture, der Grasshopper; the vowel

Seifert — German Speech-Mixture in Dane County

139

in English ‘all’, recorded in such words as atlright, die or der Lawn,

der Huehner-hawk.

In morphology I can at present ascribe only one feature to

English influence, that is the spread of the s-plural of the noun. This

plural formation is not unknown in the northern and western German

dialects, but it is used with a smaller number of words than in my

records. Very often the s-plural was borrowed with the English noun,

but not always, and from here it must have spread to native German

nouns which originally formed their plurals in different ways.

In the sphere of syntactical influence, the records have not yet

been studied closely enough to say very much. It has already been

mentioned that one reflexive verb “sich fuehlen” has become in¬

transitive, recorded in the sentence ich fuehle schlect ‘I feel bad’. We

see the influence of the English verb ‘feel’. One intransitive verb is

now also transitive, “rennen”, recorded in the sentence er rennt unsre

Farm ‘he is running our farm’. Again the English influence is evident.

There is the sentence, recorded only once, ich weiss nicht was zu tun

‘I don’t know what to do’, which seems to be a direct translation from

English. Intensive study of the word-order must still be undertaken.

In many of the instances in which the word-order differs from that

of Standard German, we need not necessarily be dealing with

English influence at all, but with German dialect influence.

This paper does not offer a definitive solution of the problem of

speech-mixture. The attempt was made to show, first, what non-

linguistic factors are involved in the study of this problem, and

second, that the influence of English upon German follows certain

definite trends despite differences in family and neighborhood re¬

lationships.

A PRELIMINARY CREEL CENSUS OF PERCH FISHERMEN

ON LAKE MENDOTA, WISCONSIN

Kenneth M. Mackenthun and Elmer F. Herman

Wisconsin Conservation Department

Introduction

For many years, Lake Mendota has been fished intensively for

“jumbo” perch during the winter ice fishing season. To the authors’

knowledge, no attempt has ever been made to determine the number

of fishermen on the lake or the number of fish a given fisherman was

catching. In an effort to determine the number of perch removed by

the winter fishermen, a census was conducted on the number of

fishermen and a check was made on their catch during the ice

fishing season of 1947.

Counting Fishermen By Air

The idea of counting fishermen from the air on Lake Mendota was

first obtained from Dr, John Greenbank, in charge of the Upper

Mississippi River Survey. He successfully employed the method on

120 miles of the Mississippi River and is to publish a paper on his

methods in the future.

Before our work began, there were many estimates as to the

number of fishermen on Lake Mendota. These estimates ranged all

the way form 2,000 to 6,000 fishermen. When compared with actual

air counts, these estimates were found to be too high, but the number

of fishermen on the lake was still unusual for a lake of 9,730 acres.

Arrangements for flying time for the project were made with the

the Morey Airplane Company of Middleton, Wisconsin, because of

the proximity of their airport to the lake. The Middleton field is

only a few minutes flying time from Mendota Beach, consequently

little time was lost in reaching the objective.

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Wisconsin Academy oi Sciences, Arts and Letters

An outline map, using points and landmarks as shown in Figure

1, was made of Lake Mendota blocking it off into sections A, B, C, D,

E, F, G, H, and I. A copy of the map was given to the pilot of the

plane and the sections were flown as indicated by the arrows from A

through I. This was routine procedure, permitting the counter to

always count to the right or on the same side on which he sat in the

airplane. After flying at levels of 1,100 and 300 feet, it was found that

400 feet altitude was the most satisfactory. At 400 feet, the angle of

vision was still sufficient for the counter to cover the whole section

and distinguish sleds and duffle from fishermen. It was also possible

to distinguish fishermen behind windbreaks.

A study of Plate 1 shows how the fishermen appeared from a

height of approximately 400 feet. The number of fishermen were

recorded on an Adams Hand Tally.

N

Fig. 1. Outline map of Lake Mendota showing general plan of counting

fishermen from the air.

Mackenthun and Herman — Lake Mendota Creel Census 143

Table 1 is a tabulation of the days on which the flights were made,

the time spent in the air, the cost of flying per day, and the number

of fishermen counted per day. To count a total of 6,605 fishermen on a

lake of 9,730 acres on six different dates required 280 minutes or 4.66

hours at an approximate cost of $0,153 per minute or $9.24 per hour.

TABLE 1. Tabulation of Dates Flown, Cost of Flying, and Number

OF Fishermen Counted.

Seventy minutes flying time was used in covering Lakes Men¬

dota, Wingra, Monona, Waubesa and Kegonsa on January 25. Our

plans at the beginning of the experiment were to count the fishermen

on the Madison lakes. Two fishermen were seen on Lake Wingra,

three on Lake Monona, and none on the other lakes. Consequently,

the rest of the counting was confined to Lake Mendota. On March 9,

about 20 minutes were spent in photographing fishermen. An average

of 40 minutes per day at a cost of $6.13 gave adequate time for

counting the fishermen on Lake Mendota.

The method admittedly had some errors but in all probability it

is as accurate as a ground count on such a large area and much less

expensive.

Creel Census By A Card Method

Originally a man-to-man creel census on the lake was instigated

by members of the conservation department. This was a laborious and

time-consuming process and it soon became apparent that several

important facts would be lacking from this type of survey. No in¬

formation could be obtained on the number of fishermen catching

their limit, the total number of hours fished per man, or the total

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

number of fish caught per man. Lake Mendota has too many points

of exit which are used by the fishermen to make any system of

checking these points feasible. In a search for a more thorough

method of obtaining this data, it was found that Wandell (1946)

used a card system to census game hunters in Massachusetts,

Connecticut and Oregon. Wandell attributed the accuracy of such

a card method to the simplicity of the card and the fact that no

signature was requested on the card.

A similar card with certain modifications was constructed for use

on Lake Mendota (Plate 2). A short pencil was attached to the card

and a thumbtack anchored with scotch tape was inserted through

the card. The following questions were asked on the cards: How

many fishermen in your party? How many fish did you catch? How

many hours did you fish? What kind of fish did you catch?

The cards were placed under the windshield wipers of the fisher¬

men’s cars (Plate 3). After the fisherman had filled out the card, he

tacked it to the nearest tree or post (Plate 4). The cards were

distributed about 10:00 A.M. on one day and were picked up on the

following morning. Cards were distributed on week days as well as

holidays and Sundays. Approximately 48 man-hours were expended

in conducting this study excluding the time spent in preparing the

the cards and tabulating the data.

Table 2 presents a tabulation of the data collected by this card

method. In this study, 1,024 cards were placed on the fishermen’s

cars. A total of 923 or 90.1 per cent of the cards were returned. The

number of fishermen contacted by this method was 2,287 or 2.5

fishermen for each car that was tagged. It was found that 262 fisher¬

men or 11.5 per cent of the number contacted caught their limit of

25 perch. The per cent of fishermen catching their limit was found to

be the most variable factor during the course of the census.

A total of 13,545 man-hours were fished by this group in which time

they caught 24,909 fish. This represents 1.84 fish caught per man¬

hour. The number of fish caught per man-hour was found to remain

fairly constant on all days on which the creel census was conducted.

The average fisherman spent 5.9 hours fishing per day, in which

time he caught 10.9 perch. The average fisherman stayed on the ice

a little longer on week-ends than on week days.

It is interesting to attempt an estimation of the total perch removal

per day by multiplying the number of perch caught per day by the

Plate 1. View of fishermen on Lake Mendota taken from the air.

i. jKVY Ivl.lY Si, avBffl

S, :ivY Yt&il? riKH 2W too ■3A?CHf ■ 1

f« giw a^ms BIB YOU riasi M

t. ww'YY^B rmn bib too batch?

m- sfmkf^m m mQFSB;,^.\\

Plate 2. Sample of a 3 x 5 mimeographed card which was placed

under the windshield wiper of the fisherman’s car.

Plate 3. A parking lot near Maple Bluff showing the

creel census cards on the fishermen’s cars.

Plate 4, A tree in the parking lot area showing the completed

cards placed there by the angler.

TABLE 2.

Tabulation of Data Collected from Creel Census Cards

Mackenthun and Herman - — Lake Mendota Creel Census

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Wisconsin Academy oi Sciences, Arts and Letters

total number of fishermen counted from the air for that particular

day. Unfortunately, only four such correlations can be made. On

Saturday, February 22, the total number of fish removed must have

been in excess of 9,133 fish or about one fish per acre. At least one-

third more could be added to the number of fishermen counted from

the air since the flights were made in the morning and did not account

for the number of new fishermen on the ice in the afternoon. On Sun¬

day, March 2, the number of fish removed must have been in excess of

8,271. The number of fish removed on Sunday, March 9, must have

been in excess of 14,687; and on Tuesday, March 11, in excess of

3,488.

Unfortunately, time was not available to census all fishermen on

any given day. Hence, this is a preliminary report developing a meth¬

od of checking the anglers’ catch which will be undertaken more

intensively next season. A more complete picture of the anglers’

catch will be obtained when cards are distributed on days chosen

at random throughout the ice fishing season.

Length, Weight, and Age of Fish Caught

A total of 339 fish from the fishermen’s creel were weighed, meas¬

ured, and scales were taken for growth analyses. One hundred and

fifteen measurements were taken in 1946 and the remainder were

taken in 1947. The measurements were taken at random as a field

crew contacted the fishermen on the lake.

TABLE 3. Correlation of the Age-groups with the Average Total Length

AND Weight of Perch Caught

Table 3 correlates the age-group with the average total length

and weight of the perch examined. The age-groups represented in

the anglers’ catch ranged from three to eight years, but 69 per cent

of the perch taken were in the four- and five-year age-class. (Figure 2 ).

NUMBER OF SPECIMENS

Mackenthun and Herman — Lake Mendota Creel Census

147

Fig. 2. Percentage of the age groups of perch caught by anglers.

Fig. 3. Length frequency histogram of perch caught by anglers

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

The length' frequency distribution is shown in Figure 3. The perch

ranged from 5.2 inches to 11.6 inches with the majority of those caught

being quite uniform in size. The mean total length of the perch exam¬

ined was 9.2 inches. Pearse and Achtenberg (1920) recorded the

length of 499 adult fish captured by hook and line in the winter time

and by gill nets during the summer months. The mean length listed

by them was 166 mm. or 6.5 inches. Hasler (1945) listed a mean

total length of 202 mm. or 8.0 inches from 188 adult perch taken

by gill net. The perch taken by Hasler were smaller and were yoimger

than the majority of those taken by the angler. This was no doubt

because of gill-net selectivity. The data presented tend to indicate an

increase of about 2.7 inches in the length of a catchable fish over

the past 2 7 years. The apparent increase in length might be attributed

to a reduction in the perch population caused by an infection from

a sporozoan, Myxoholus. This mortality was first observed in the

Fig. 4. Correlation of length and weight of perch caught by anglers.

Mackenthun and Herman - — Lake Mendota Creel Census

149

early summer of 1939 and has continued every summer since that

time. No reliable estimates are available as to the number of perch

killed but one city official of the Madison Parks Department thought

that about ten tons of perch were removed from an area covering

ten city blocks in one week during last summer’s removal operations.

Figure 4 correlates the total length with the weight of the perch

caught. The average fish caught weighed 0.38 pounds, and the major¬

ity ranged from 0.20 pounds to 0.60 pounds.

SUMMARY

1. Perch fishermen on Lake Mendota were counted from the air.

A creel census was conducted on the ground by means of cards which

were placed under the windshield wipers of the fishermen’s cars and

were later picked up after they had been filled out by the angler.

2. To count a total of 6,605 fishermen from the air on a lake of

9,730 acres on six different dates required 280 minutes or 4.66 hours

at an approximate cost of $0,153 per minute or $9.24 per hour.

3. By using the card method in checking the creel, it was found

that the average fisherman spent 5.9 hours fishing per day in which

time he caught 10.9 perch or 1.84 fish per man-hour.

4. By computing the total yield of the lake for the days on which

air counts were made, it was found that about one fish per acre was

removed per day on week-ends and holidays. Probably only one-

third fish per acre was removed on week days.

5. The mean total length of 339 perch taken by anglers was 9.2

inches and the average fish weighed 0.38 pounds. Sixty-nine per cent

of the perch taken were in the four- and five-year age class.

Literature Cited

Hasler, Arthur D. 1945. Observation on the winter perch populations of Lake

Mendota. Ecology. 26:90-94.

Pearse, a. S. and Achtenberg, H. 1920. Habits of the yellow perch in Wis¬

consin lakes. Bull. Bur. of Fish. 36:297-366.

Wandell, Willet N. 1946. An intensive method of determining hunter number

and activities. Trans, of the Eleventh North Amer. Wildlife Conf. pp. 373-

381.

I

THE BLACK BEAR IN EARLY WISCONSIN

A. W. SCHORGER

The presence of a black bear {Euarctos a. americanus) was second

only to the approach of an Indian war party in its power to raise the

early settlers to a high pitch of excitement. The ferocity of this

animal is purely traditional but this fact did not prevent the bear

from being slain as “vermin” at every opportunity. The wild bear is

a very wary animal and is not to be feared unless wounded.

It was at one time of considerable economic importance. The meat,

usually prepared “like pork,”^ was eaten extensively though there are

wide differences of opinion as to its sapidity. The skins were used

locally for bedding and clothing, and were exported in large quan¬

tities for the use of the British and Russian guards. The fat, or oil,

found wide use for culinary purposes, the French in America con¬

sidering it a worthy substitute for olive oil. Bartram says that his

hunter killed a bear in Florida that yielded “15 or 16 gallons of clear

oil . . . his fat, though I loathed the sight of it at first, was incom¬

parably milder than hogs-lard, and near as sweet as oil of olives.”^

Muir, who lived in Marquette County, Wisconsin, from 1849--60,

mentions that some of the enterprising neighbors drove to the pine

regions every fall to hunt; “Their loads consisted usually of half a

dozen deer or more, one or two black bears, and fifteen or twenty

bushels of cranberries; all solidly frozen. Part of both the berries and

meat was usually sold in Portage; the balance furnished their families

with abundance of venison, bear grease, and pies.”^

The Indians had great faith in the oil as an alleviative ointment.

Kalm mentions that the Canadian Indians daubed all of the exposed

parts of the body with it to protect them from the bites of gnats and

that, “With this oil they likewise frequently smear the body, when they

are excessively cold, tired with labour, hurt, and in other cases, and

makes the body pliant, and is very serviceable to old age.”^®

When Radisson was hunting with the Indians in northern Wisconsin

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

the winter of 1661-62, he and his companions killed in two and one-

half months so great a number of bears that for “a thousand moons

we wanted not bear’s grease to annoint ourselves, to runne the

better.”^

The Europeans used the oil extensively for dressing the hair. Pen¬

nant wrote : “Bear’s grease is in great repute in Europe for its supposed

quality of making the hair grow on the human head. A great chymist

in the Haymarket in London used to fatten annually two or three

bears for the sake of their fat.”^ The demand for the oil for this pur¬

pose continued to the end of the last century. John Perry of Algoma,

Wisconsin, killed a bear in the fall of 1867 for which he obtained

$80.00 exclusive of the meat, this being left in the woods. He obtained

$10.00 for the hide, $64.00 for eight gallons of pure, strained oil, and

$6.00 for two gallons of crude oil.^ In 1872 a Coloma, Waushara

County, hunter killed a bear that yielded “ten gallons of hair oil.”^

Some bears becam.e obligingly fat. One killed in Waushara County in

the fall of 1875 is stated to have yielded 212 pounds of fat, the latter

being five inches thick on the rump.^

On the other side of the ledger was the destruction of livestock and

corn. There are statements in the early literature that the bear is

strictly a vegetarian; however, the Wisconsin settlers had the usual

experience of loss of hogs, sheep, and calves, particularly when the

bears were emigrating. The bear frequently, if not generally, begins

to eat its prey before killing it, hence the loud squealing of a pig

when caught. The habit was mentioned by Byrd^-^ in 1728 and subse¬

quently by Sibley.9 Godman wrote: “When the bear seizes a living

animal he does not, as most other beasts do, first put it to death, but

tears it to pieces and devours it, without being delayed by its screams

or struggles, and may actually be said to swallow it alive.”^® This

trait has been rarely mentioned by subsequent naturalists. There are

several references to it in the Wisconsin newspapers. For example,

the following incident occurred in Dunn County: “Last week Wednes¬

day [September 8, 1880], a fine 300 pound hog belonging to Mr.

R. Furbur, of Sherman, while feeding in the woods, was attacked by a

bear and pretty roughly handled. . . . The hog returned ‘all broke up,’

as the saying goes, and evidently mortally wounded. Bruin had taken

pork enough to make a square meal from all appearances. Mr. Furbur

was obliged to kill the hog and thereby end its misery.”^ ^ Stephenson

was living in eastern Wisconsin when he watched the killing of a bear

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

153

that had captured a pig. The latter ran away, “though the half of

one side was nearly torn off it.”^^*^

Original Range

The black bear was to be found on occasion at least in every county

in the state. It was not common south of a line drawn from Milwaukee

westward to the Mississippi River. This region, consisting largely of

prairies and oak openings, was penetrated during the bear irruptions.

A gentleman who had resided at Racine for seven years, writing in

1844, stated that he had heard of but one bear in the neighborhood

during that period. Le Claire mentions that there were very few in

the Milwaukee region during the period 1800-09. Picker, came

to the town of Mequon, Ozaukee County, the winter of 1848-49.

There were no bears present at that time but they were to be found

farther north. However, several were killed subsequently in the county.

Mukwonago, Waukesha County, according to Vieau,^^ who was

born in Milwaukee in 1820, is a corruption of mukwa (bear) and

onahko (fat), and means fat bear. He states: “This was a popular

place for hunting black bears; the greatest in the West, I used to be

told. I have eaten of many that came from there. When the Indians of

this region wanted to have a big feast, they would send young hunters

thither, from all along the lake shore even as far off as Kewaunee.”

Another version has been recorded by Camp^^ who came to Muk¬

wonago, the “place of the bears,” in 1836. An old Indian told him that

long ago, during a rainless year, there was locally a heavy crop of

white oak acorns. Large numbers of bears assembled there and the

Indians killed over eighty. It is difficult to distinguish fact from tra¬

dition. Mukwonago has also been translated as ladle^'^ and bear-lair,

The species was uncommon when Chapman came to Waukesha in

1841. He wrote: “Occasionally a bear or grey wolf, by some depreda¬

tion, gave us notice of his presence.”

The killing of a bear in the town of La Fayette, Walworth County,

in 1836, was considered an event.^o Hiram Brown came to the town of

Albany, Green County, in March, 1842. In August, 1844, he killed the

first bear known for that section.^i In the winter of 1839-40, some

Winnebagoes camped north of Watertown, Jefferson County. They

took about $100 worth of pelts including bear. 22

Bears are said to have been plentiful in the towns of Dunn and

Verona, Dane County, when first settled.23 Major Tenney came to

Madison in 1845, at which time “bears were common.”^^ In Septem¬

ber, 1899, workmen excavating a lagoon in Tenney Park, Madison,

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

unearthed an old bear trap.25 Published records of bears killed during

the early years show that bears were not common at Madison, or else¬

where in the county, except during the irruptions.

Rodolph, who came to Lafayette County in 1832, stated that there

was “once in a while a bear. ”2 6 Another settler, S. E. Roberts, who

arrived in the county in 1846, mentioned that “now and then a black

bear would stray in from the northern part of the state in fall.”^'^

While at Prairie du Chien in February, 1834, Hoffman learned that

hunters had to go a distance from the fort to secure bear and other

large game. North of Mineral Point, Iowa County, “the tracks of bears

and other wild animals were to be seen on every side.”28 Hollman

came to Platteville in 1828 when bear and other large game were to

be found in “astonishing quantities.”^^ Bears were found occasionally

at Prairie du Sac, Sauk County,^^ in 1840, and in Richland County^i

when first settled.

The northern three-fourths of the state contained a large number

of bears except along Lake Superior. Schoolcraft, in 1820, found it a

“country almost destitute of game.”^^ jn 1856 it was stated that game

had become exceedingly scarce here, there being only “a few bears,

rabbits, and porcupines and some partridges.”^^ However, the mission¬

ary James Peet, while at Bayfield wrote in his diary on June 23, 1858:

“Bears are very numerous in the woods on this part of Lake Superior

now.”34

Verwyst^^ came to Hollandtown, Brown County, in 1848 when

bears were plentiful. They were abundant near Kaukauna, Outagamie

County, in 1853.^^ Allouez^^ wrote in February, 1677, that a Pota-

watomie Indian was killed by a bear near Green Bay. During the

winter his friends and relatives made war on the bears with such

success that over 500 were slain. It should be borne in mind that the

early French were fond of dealing in large, round numbers. Carver,^^

in 1766, found bears and deer very numerous on the upper Fox River.

When Le Seur^^ went up the Mississippi in 1700, he noted the

numerous caves near Lake Pepin to which the bears retreated in

winter. This region remained favored by bears. The family of W. W.

Cooke"^® settled near Gilmanton, Buffalo County, in 1856. During the

first ten years his father killed 16 old bears and captured five cubs

alive in Beaver Valley. In the fall of 1857 he killed two of a drove of

six bears found in a thicket.'^i

Abundance

The black bear at times and places throughout its range has been

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

155

very numerous. There may be a concentration due either to abun¬

dance of food or to emigration. Lawson,'^^ (1714), states that 500 bears

were killed in two counties in Virginia during one winter. Charlevoix'^^

mentions that during the winter of 1720-21, over 400 bears were

killed on Point Pelee, northern shore of Lake Erie. This appears to

have been an emigration.

During pioneer times the Kanawha Valley contained heavy stands

of beech. According to Atkinson, “The heavy beech masts never failed

to attract wild-turkeys, pigeons, and bears, in numberless flocks, and

companies, every Fall.”'^'^ The bears became fat and unwary, and

the pioneer hunters came every fall to secure a supply of bear’s meat

for the winter. Benjamin Morris killed 13 bears in one afternoon a few

miles above Charleston, West Virginia, and this was not considered

an exceptional feat.

The valleys of the Big Sandy and Guyandotte rivers in West Vir¬

ginia were also famous bear regions due to the abundance of oak and

chestnut trees. During the years 1805, 1806, and 1807, hunters took

8,000 bear skins in the districts traversed by these streams.'^^ Cum¬

ing was at Oldtown Creek, on the Ohio, July 25, 1807, when he wrote:

“Two or three years ago when bear skins were worth from six to ten

dollars each, he [Buffington] and another man killed one hundred and

thirty-five bears in six weeks.”"^^

An Indian from Fond du Lac (Superior, Wisconsin) told School¬

craft"^^ in July, 1828, that the 54 hunters in his band of 220 persons

killed 994 bears during the fall and winter of 1827-28. There was un¬

doubtedly an influx of bears in the fall of 1827 to have permitted the

slaughter of so large a number. Another emigration seems to have

taken place in the same region four years later, the fall of 1831.

Lt. Allen,^^ in June, 1832, was informed by Mr. Abbott, a trader from

Leech Lake, Minnesota, that the returns for the year were “princi¬

pally bears.” William A. Aitkin, of Fond du Lac, who was in charge of

nine trading posts in Minnesota, informed Allen that “the proportion

of bear skins this year being very great at most posts west of Fond

du Lac.”

The returns from the northern trading posts in Wisconsin do not

show that the bear was numerous. While stationed at Lac du Flam¬

beau the winter of 1804-05, Malhiot"^^ acquired only 69 large and 18

small bearskins. Curot^^ secured 13 skins at the Yellow River post the

winter of 1803-04. The shipment of furs from Green Bay made by

Grignon^i in June, 1815, contained the skins of 12 bears and five

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

cubs; and that of July, 1816, 85 bearskins at $5.50 each, 20 cub skins

at $2.75, and 24 bearskin covers at $1.50. Nearly a half century later,

1859, the skins were still quoted at $2.50 to $5.00 at Eau Claire.^^

In 1887 the skins brought $9.00 to $18.00, and the oil $4.00 a gallon.^^

It is not possible to estimate the primitive bear population of the

state wtihout making a wild guess; however, the following data show

that the species must have been abundant in the central portion of

the state:

1854. Two men killed 8 bears in one day near the Wolf River.^^

1855. A band of hunters returned from Richland County with 10

bears and a large number of deer. ^ 5

1856. Nine men killed 13 bears in one day in Waupaca County. ^ <5

1856. Within a period of two weeks, 17 bears were killed within

eight miles of New London.^^

1858. J. F. Stone and Charles Buckman, the famous hunters of Eau

Claire County, trapped 32 bears from August 15 to the latter part

of October. Only one day in every four was devoted to this

pursuit.

1858. Ambrose Hammond killed five old bears and four cubs in

three days in Portage County. ^ 9

1858. Daniel Weed killed seven bears in two weeks in a patch of

blackberries covering one half of a square mile four miles south

of Mosinee.^9

1858. “Bear-skin robes will be plenty here [Stevens Point] next

winter; some forty or fifty have been killed in the vicinity the

two last weeks.”^^

1858. In the town of Waupaca, Waupaca County, eight bears v/ere

killed in one day the end of September.^^

1864. Four hunters, including J. Livermore, killed 14 bears in the

town of Bridge Creek, Eau Claire County.*^^

1868. A hunter at Knov/lton, Marathon County, killed 14 bears

during the fall season.^"^

1870. Three men in two days killed five bears weighing from 310

to 420 pounds in Portage County.^ ^

1874. Charles Martin and three companions, camped near Hamil¬

ton’s Falls, killed 12 bears and 11 deer in seven days. Six of the

bears were killed in less than five minutes.^*^

1875. A party of hunters in Barron County in two days saw 29

bears and killed four of them.^^

1875. Four hunters in Eau Claire County killed 26 bears and 107

deer in two and one-half months.^^

1875. “A party of hunters on Otter Creek [Dunn County] saw

nineteen bears in one day and killed five of them.”*^^

1877. Four hunters killed 26 bears and 118 deer on the North Fork

of the Eau Claire River from September 1 to December 31.^^

1878. Charles Martin and James Terry camped on the North Fork

of the Eau Claire River. “It was late in September. One morning

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

157

we went out and Mr. Martin killed two bear. . . . About five

o’clock in the afternoon we went out again and I ran into seven

bear, three old ones and four cubs. Martin killed an old bear and

two cubs and I killed two old bear and the other two cubs . . .

That fall from the middle of September to the middle of Decem¬

ber, Martin and I killed twenty bear and one hundred deer.”'70a

1880. Three hunters, in approximately three weeks, killed 28 bears

at Spaulding, Jackson County.^ ^

Fig. 1. Dates of the last appearance of bears in the southern counties. The present

range (1946) was furnished by Walter E. Scott, Wisconsin

Conservation Department.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

1887. During the fall season the Hicks brothers of Sumner, Barron

County, killed 32 bears.'^^

1896. “There have been fifty black bear shot or trapped in this

county [Burnett] the past year.”^^

The Winnebagoes, living from Stevens Point to La Crosse, accord¬

ing to Paquette,'^^ were taking only a few bears by the year 1887. A

general picture of the decline of the bear in the southern half of the

state can be obtained from Figure 1 showing the present range and

the last dates of its appearance.

The bear is still common in the state. It is estimated that 80 bears

were killed in each of the two counties, Bayfield and Douglas, during

the season 1945-46. The annual kill in the state during recent years

is given in the table below.

TABLE 1.

Estimated Number of Bears Killed in Wisconsin*

*Data furnished by the Wisconsin Conservation Department.

Hunting

The Indians held the bear in great veneration and offered profound

apologies for taking its life. Calkins states that the Wisconsin Chippe-

was performed a singular ritual prior to hunting the bear in winter.

The chief medicine man addressed a stuffed bear cub as follows:

“O, my brother! we are very hungry; and we are on the point of

starving, and I wish you to have pity on us, and tomorrow when

the young men go out to hunt you, I want you to show yourself. I

know very well that you are concealed somewhere close by my camp

here. I give you my pipe to smoke of, and I wish you would have

pity on us, and give us your body that we may eat and not starve.”^ ^

The Indians had several methods for securing bears, the hunting be¬

ing confined largely to the fall and winter months. A den tree was

located by the tracks in the snow leading to it, or by the claw marks

SchoTger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

159

on the trunk. Penicaut^^ relates that at Mankato, Minnesota, the

winter of 1701-02, the Indians placed against the den tree a small

tree that would extend to the hole. This a man ascended and tossed

burning, dry wood into the opening to drive out the bear that was

then shot. This method was employed by all of the Indians from the

Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean. Birch bark when available

was the preferred combustible material. Du Pratz'^'^ mentions that the

Indians on the lower Mississippi climbed a tree adjacent to the den

tree and hurled burning reeds v into the opening.

The trees were sometimes felled after the introduction of steel axes.

Henry, in Michigan, worked with an Indian family for a day and a

half in order to fell a tree with light axes.

The bear was also tracked to ground dens and shot. While Henryk

was at Chequamegon Bay, Wisconsin, the winter of 1765—66, the

Indians followed a bear to its den from the very slight depressions

remaining after later snows had covered the tracks made early in the

winter.

Deadfalls made of logs were used commonly for taking the bear.

This method was in use as late as 1883 in Wood County.’^^ When

Schoolcraft^ 2 ascended the Ontonagon River in June, 1820, the In¬

dians took a bear measuring five feet in length from a deadfall. Cop-

v/ay^o mentions the use of this trap “in the immediate vicinity of

Lake Superior.”

Kohl^i has described a trap that he examined at Lac du Flambeau.

A corridor of posts was driven into the ground and covered with

branches and thorns to prevent the bear from securing the bait, usually

meat, except from the entrance. In front of the latter was balanced a

log, weighted at both ends by logs and stones. This log, “I’assommeur”

(killer), was placed at such a height that the bear had to stoop to reach

the bait. A trigger released the weighted log allowing it to fall on the

bear’s spine. Since the Indians as well as the Canadians had names

for all the parts of the deadfall. Kohl believed that it was an invention

adopted by the Europeans. The deadfall was in use by the Indians at

least by 1684, the year that La Hontan^^ came to Canada. Detailed

descriptions and illustrations of the deadfalls used by modern In¬

dians are given by Cooper,^^ and by Mason.^"^ The trap used by the

Minnesota Chippewas is described briefly by Densmore.^5 "phey

visited the deadfall every two days.

The majority of white hunters used steel traps. Prof. Moore^^ states

that there was a ridge covered with white oaks near his home in Ke-

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences^ Arts and Letters

waunee County, Wisconsin, where the bears fed prior to denning. The

bait used in trapping consisted of a quarter of venison that was soaked

in the presence of codfish for about two days. This was dragged across

the ridge for about one half a mile and the traps set on this trail. Usual¬

ly about four traps, baited with either fresh fish, beef, or venison,

were set. Each year 10 to 12 bears were caught during a period of ten

days.

Size and Weight

There are few data on the size and weight of Wisconsin bears that

carry the stamp of full reliability. Cory^^ states that adult males from

Wisconsin will measure 60 to 70 inches in length and weigh 250 to 350

pounds. While there are a large number of statements on size and

weight, all too frequently the round numbers given betray that these

were estimates. The manner in which the measurements were taken

is usually not stated. The large measurements sometimes given were

without doubt made from the tip of the nose to the claws of the hind

feet with the legs extended. This was a common procedure by hunters

and was even followed by Cory. A Florida bear measured “six feet

two inches from nose to tail” and “eight feet two inches from hind

claw to nose.”®^

The best approximate weights of bears of various age classes, based

on field specimens, were obtained by Gerstell^^ and are given in

Table 2.

TABLE 2.

Estimated Average Weights of Black Bears

(Figures pertain to late fall)

When food is abundant individuals will be found that exceed the

ranges given in the table. Beatty^® weighed a pair of cubs, approxi¬

mately ten months of age, of which the female weighed 80 pounds

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

161

and the male 120 pounds. He states that adults do not attain full size

until the sixth or seventh year.

The average loss by hog-dressing, found by Gerstell,^^ was 14.1

per cent of the live weight. Females lost less than the males. Schoon-

maker^i states that a bear weighing 475 pounds after being shot lost

90 pounds, or 18.9 per cent, by dressing. The large bear mentioned

by Gordon92 lost 15 per cent by dressing.

Some exceptionally large individuals have been recorded through¬

out the range of the black bear. One killed in Pennsylvania was nine

feet in length, and had a live weight of 633 pounds and 538 pounds

hog-dressed.^2 animal caught in July, 1921, on Anticosta Island,

weighed 635 pounds in September when received by the New York

Zoological Society. Hornaday^^ mentioned that it soon gained 50 ad¬

ditional pounds.

A Yosemite bear weighed by Beatty^® tipped the scales at 680

pounds. One killed in Oklahoma^"^ is stated to have weighed 720

pounds, and another killed in Louisiana^^ 671 pounds. The latter

measured 9 feet, 2.5 inches from the “pad of hind foot to tip of nose”

and 7 feet, 7.5 inches from “nose to root of tail.”

A black bear, reported to have weighed 900 pounds, was killed by

M. E. Musgrave of the Biological Survey on the southern slope of

Navajo Mountain, Arizona, in December, 1921.^*^ H. H. T. Jackson,

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recently investigated this record with

care. It appears that no weight or measurements were taken, but he is

inclined to believe that the estimated weight was aproximately that

given. He estimated from a photograph of the skin that the latter

measured “about 8 feet from the tip of nose to tail.”^'^

A bear killed at Randall, Morrison County, Minesota, in the late

nineties, measured “seven feet one inch from the nose to the tip of the

stub tail.” Pederson^ ^ states that he could not weigh the animal since

the maximum capacity of his scales was 350 pounds.

Data on some Wisconsin bears, where the weights and lengths (tip

of nose to end of tail) seem to have been taken with care, are given

in Table 3.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

TABLE 3.

Large Wisconsin Bears

*d, dressed

Some large bears still exist in the state. One weighing 436 pounds,

with the entrails removed, was killed near Solon Springs by Kenneth

Smith.ii^ Another killed by Joseph Taber, Jr.,ii5 in Ashland County

weighed 538 pounds. Vilas County produced a bear, shot by Ben

Ballering, that weighed “approximately 550 pounds.”^ George

Ruegger^^^ was employed by the Conservation Department to kill a

bear that was destroying livestock in Douglas County. He has in¬

formed me that this bear was killed on September 29, 1941, about 1.5

miles east of Paterson Park. It was a male and weighed 445 pounds

hog-dressed. The live weight would have been about 523 pounds, ap¬

plying a 15 per cent correction for dressing.

Breeding

The belle passion, according to Charlevoix,'^^^ arises in July.

Gerstell^^ states that breeding occurs in late June and in July. Bears

were observed mating in the Yosemite Valley on June 25.^i^As early

as 1840, Emmons^ gave the gestation period as seven months. It is

now generally considered to be seven and a half months, though

Brown stated recently that in captivity it is about seven months

and one week.

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

163

The growth of the embryo is remarkable for slowness. Gerstell^^

found that between November 10 and December 15, i.e., after 70 per

cent of the period of development has passed, the embryo is only 0.7

of an inch in length. The cubs when born are 6 to 9 inches in length

and weigh 9 to 12 ounces.^^i Wright^^^ gives 8 to 18 ounces according

to the number in the litter.

Most reference works state that the black bear normally produces

young only every other year. The cubs den with their mother during

their first winter and are set adrift the following summer. Doubt has

been expressed as to the regularity of this breeding period. Wright^^^a

thought that this bear in the wild usually bred every year and turned

her cubs adrift before denning. He saw an old bear and cubs denning

together but once, and a female followed by yearlings not more than a

dozen times. Bailey^ states that it is not positively known whether or

not it breeds only in alternate years as is generally supposed. A case

is mentioned by Grinnell^^^ of an old bear and two cubs in a den

while “a small bear, probably her cub of the previous year, was

curled up asleep . . . about ten feet from the old bear.”

There is sufficient information available to justify the belief that

breeding every two years is the normal procedure. Owing to the

antagonism of an adult male to cubs, it is wholly improbable that the

female would accept him while the cubs were with her. Should the cubs

be lost prior to July, she might well mate again.

O. J. Murie, Fish and Wildlife Service, has written to me of his

observations as follows:

‘‘The question about the breeding intervals of bears is a hard one

to answer. . . . During the cub’s first summer the mother is very

truculent toward strange bears, and there are indications, and it is

believed by many, that a male bear will kill an unattended cub.

This circumstance strongly suggests that the mother does not breed

during the summer when she is attended by young cubs. I have

not seen any sign of breeding under such circumstances, nor have

I seen a mother with cubs tolerate a strange bear near her.

“It is true, furthermore, that females are often seen accompanied

by yearlings. I have at least one significant observation. In the

summer of 1944, I believe it was, at Fishing Bridge in the Yellow¬

stone, a female black bear was followed for a time by three

yearlings. Then they left her for a while and she was seen for a

number of days in company with a male. They were indulging in

the affectionate scuffling play that takes place at the mating time.

Later the three yearlings were back with the mother, at least for

a time.”

The following information was furnished by Clifford C. Presnall,

Fish and Wildlife Service:

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

“We have kept very close observation of a number of females

during a period of five years and to the best of my memory, we

we noted only one case where litters were born in successive years,

rather than every other year. This particular bear had a litter

every alternate year, with the exception of the one case.

“The cubs almost invariably den up with the mother during the

first year after birth. , . . One unusually large den which I visited,

in fact it was a small cave in a talus slope, had a mother bear in one

bed of leaves, and each of her 2 cubs in separate beds several

feet away. Our experience in the Sierras led us to believe it was

almost necessary for a cub to den up with its mother the first year,

otherwise it might have a pretty tough time. We know of several

orphans that wandered disconsolately late in the winter, after all

the other bears had denned up, and in one case a poor misguided

orphan spent a cold and fitful hibernation in the crotch of a tree.”

A lone, captive cub seems to be thoroughly capable of taking care

of itself on the approach of winter. Prof. Moore^^ had one that dug a

den to which it carried cornstalks. A very interesting account it given

by Wrighti22b qJ digging a den and lining it with old clothes;

and Johnsoni24 mentions that a young bear stole an overcoat with

which to plug the entrance to its den.

Bears reared in captivity did not breed until they were three and a

half years of age.^25it remains to be determined if this is the normal

age in the wild. Some statements regarding Wisconsin bears indicate

that the female may breed at a lower age or that she was exceptionally

small. On September 23, 1883, a female and two cubs were killed in

Waupaca County: “For the species the game was rather small, the

old bear weighing but 146 pounds and the cubs respectively 31 and 26

pounds.”i26 Qn September 17, 1897, there were killed near Wausau a

female weighing 160 pounds and her cub weighing 60 pounds.^^?^

female that had two cubs was killed in Barron County in September,

1905. She weighed 150 pounds.^^s

Cartwright 12 8.1 while in Labrador, on August 29, 1779, killed a

female black bear having the remarkably low weight of 72 pounds.

Her cub weighed only eight pounds, indicating that it was born much

later than usual.

The age at which the bear ceases to breed in the wild is not known.

The female of a pair 24 years old, in captivity, did not breed during

the last three years.i29

A pregnant female, when disturbed, will sometimes drop her young

prematurely. This fact is not mentioned in the life histories of the

species. Early in January, 1878, near Oconto, Wisconsin, John Hale

Schorger ~ Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

165

wounded a bear in a “delicate” condition. She escaped leaving be¬

hind a very small cub. He followed her two miles, fired a fatal shot

and found three more cubs near her.^^o^j^gj^ Kurz was at Fort

Union on the Upper Missouri in 1851, he wrote in his journal: “Bears,

big with young, if frightened, smoked out or in any manner driven

from their dens during their winter sleep, are said to bring forth

their cubs prematurely.”^

The Carrier Indians of British Columbia told Macfarlane that it

was extremely rare to kill a hibernating bear with unborn young; and

that, “Even when attacked in their winter shelters, they will almost

invariably manage to abort their young, if not already in existence,

immediately on becoming aware of the near presence of men with

deadly intentions.”^

The young are born in Wisconsin the latter part of January and

early in February. The earliest date found was January 16 (1876),

the weather being exceptionally mild. On this date, within three miles

of Green Bay, a party of hunters “surprised a bear lying on the top

of a hollow log. They killed her and on going up to her found two

cubs lying beside the log with their eyes just open.”^^^ There must

have been an error in observation for the eyes do not open for 30 to

40 days after birth. The eyes of a pair of cubs taken near Chilton^

the end of February were still closed.

The number of cubs according to Richardson varies from one to

five, probably with the age of the mother. Seton^^i states that they

are usually two in number, occasionally one, three are common, and

four have been recorded several times. Recently Rowan^^^ published

a photograph of a female with four cubs in British Columbia and

mentions a case of a female with five cubs. Quadruplets are recorded

by Duringi^5.i ^y Kinney.i55.2

The records of 284 litters taken from Wisconsin newspapers are

given below:

No. of cubs in litter 1 2 3 4 5 6

No. of litters 43 119 91 27 3 1

Per cent 15 42 32 10 1 0.35

The average number of cubs per litter is 2.4 This figure would be

higher at birth since it does not take into account the losses that

occurred. The three^^^ cases of five cubs and one^^^ of six appear to

be reliable.

Denning

A snug, dry den is usually selected in a standing or fallen hollow

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

tree, a cave; or one is prepared underneath a windfall, the base of an

uprooted tree, or dug in the ground. Wintering in the open is not

uncommon for an old bear. Morse,^^^ the winter of 1935-36, even

found an old bear and three yearlings hibernating in the open 32

miles north of Duluth.

While hunting with the Indians in Michigan, the winter of 1763-64,

Henry'7^^ was informed that the female dens in the upper parts of

trees to secure the young from the attack of wolves and other animals.

The male lodged in the ground. It should be borne in mind that the

ground dens made by the females are usually well concealed and not

easily found, while the den trees are located readily by the claw marks.

Surface dens with cubs are not now uncommon in Wisconsin where

there are few large hollow trees remaining to serve as dens. One was

photographed recently in Ashland County.^^^

The timber wolf was the chief natural enemy of the bear. A

trapped bear was killed and nearly devoured by wolves in Eau Claire

County.^"^® When wolves were plentiful a majority of the female bears

with cubs may have denned in trees, but it is doubtful if all of the

dens were ever so located. Examples of the location of Wisconsin dens

containing a mother and cubs are given below:

1839. Hollow tree, Milwaukee County.^^^

1852. Hollow tree, Sheboygan County.^^^

1858. Upturned roots of a fallen tree in a cedar swamp. Calumet

County.1^5-1

1866. Burrow, Pierce County.^'^^

1866. Hole under the roots of a tree, St. Croix County.^^"^

1872. Fallen hollow tree. Pierce County.^^^

1874. Hole under a tree, St. Croix County.^"^^

1875. Standing hollow tree. Marathon County.^"^^

1878. Under a cedar stump in a large swamp. Portage County.^"^^

1880. Under a pine tree. Marathon County.^'^^

1882. Standing hollow tree, Taylor County.^^®

1884. Hollow tree, Clark County.^

1886. Under a windfall, Wood County.^52

1889. Hollow log, Outagamie County.i53

1892. Hole under a pine tree. Price County.i54

1897. “An old bear and three cubs were killed on the Oneida

reservation. . . . The bears had been preparing winter

quarters in a hole in the side of a hill, and were seen by the

Indians carrying hay to their quarters. When all were snugly

nested away for the winter, they were routed out and shot

as they appeared above the ground.”^ ^ 5

1897. Standing hollow tree, Marinette County.^ 56

1898. Standing hollow tree, Marinette County.^^?

1900. Standing hollow tree, Marinette County.^58

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

167

Seasonal Movements

The early literature records the prevailing opinion that bears

moved southward on the approach of winter. There is no convincing

evidence that there was a consistent directional movement at any

season except locally. Du Pratz^^ states that bears arrived on the

lower Mississippi^ usually the end of autumn, in a lean condition as

they did not leave the north until the ground was entirely covered

with snow. They had well-beaten paths on both banks of the river.

Du Pratz may have generalized from the fact that during one severe

winter spent at Natchez bears in a lean condition appeared in

unusual numbers.

Sibley^ obtained from hunters on the Red River information on

which he based the statement that, “the immense droves of animals

that, at the beginning of winter, descend from the mountains down

southwardly into the timbered country, is almost incredible.” Buffalo

and bear “were in droves of many thousands together.” Atkinson"^^

mentions a former bear crossing on the Kanawha at Charleston,

West Virginia, used by the bears “in their migrations northward every

spring,”

On the upper Mississippi the bears sometimes moved north in

autumn. When Lanman^59 ^as at Crow Wing, Minnesota, he wrote:

“Immediately on my arrival there, I heard something about a

contemplated bear hunt. It happened to be the month when this

animal performs its annual journey to the south, whence it returns

in Octobber. A number of them had already been killed, and there

was a crossing place on the Mississippi, where a good marksman

might take one almost at any time,”

A bear pass on the St. Croix River, near the mouth of the

Yellow River, is mentioned by Kohl.^^^The bears moved south to

open country in spring, due to better food conditions, and returned in

autumn to winter in the heavy timber. In October they crossed the

river nearly every night over a period of three to four weeks.

According to Philip Tome, the famous Pennsylvania hunter, “In

the month of August they were to be found traveling west, and

crossing Pine Creek, twenty-four miles from the mouth, where they

had a beaten road that might be followed fifteen or twenty miles. . . .

I have noticed generally that every seventh year the bears travel

west in August, and return about the middle of October, but scattering

wide apart and paying no attention to the path.”^^®

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Regarding the fall movement Merriam wrote: “In Lrewis County

... is an uninhabited tract of evergreen forest. ... In this forest

dwell many bears, and in the fall they often cross over the intervening

valley, a fertile farming country, and enter the Adirondacks.”^^^^

In autumn the bear settles down to the serious task of converting

as much food as possible into fat in preparation for hibernation. It

is therefore normal for the species to seek a region having an

abundant supply of food. Kennicott wrote: “At times, it migrates a

considerable distance in search of food, particularly in autumn, when

the males travel southward in large numbers. In Michigan, it has

been known to traverse many miles in order to reach a locality where

white-oaks bear a full crop of acorns.”

Bunnell found bears quite numerous in the La Crosse, Wisconsin,

region about 1845. When food was scarce the bears would wander.

They were known as “traveling bears,” of which his brother killed

three in one day on the Trempealeau River.

Emigration and Its Cause

The appearance at intervals of black bears in unusual numbers

has been noted throughout much of the range of this species. It is not

always possible to distinguish clearly a migration from an emigration.

In this paper any spring or fall movement over regular trails or

passes, or a concentration due to abundance of food in certain

localities, is considered a migration. An emigration may be defined as

the passing of an unusual number of bears through a region without a

return. There is no information indicating a return after these

periodic irruptions. Hardy mentions two westerly movements of

bears in autumn in Main, one about 1827, the other about 1867, with

no evidence of a return in spring.

Mass movements of bears have been mentioned frequently, but

beyond the statement that they were caused by lack of food there is

little information. Seton^^i remarks, “What the nature and extent of

this migration are, or whether regular in time or direction, I have not

been able to determine.”

Felt relates that, “In Sept., Oct. and part of Nov. [1663] there

came many bears out of the wilderness, soe that severall hundreds

were killed in the severall parts of Colonie.”^^5q'here was another

invasion in 1699. Josselyn wrote in 1672: “About four years since.

Schorger — ■ Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

169

acorns being very scarce up in the country, some numbers of them

came down amongst the English plantations, which generally are by

the sea-side. At one town called Georgiana, in the province of Meyn

. . . they kill’d fourscore.”

In the fall of 1759, bears moved down the Hudson River in large

numbers and caused great damage to corn and livestock. It is added,

. . they are more numerous than has been known in the memory

of man. And, particularly, he was at a tavern on the post-road, near

Poughkeepsie, when the landlord counted to him thirty-six, that had

been killed within three weeks of that time, in the compass of four

or five miles.”

Belknap, writing of New Hampshire in 1792, said: “In the autumn

of some years, the bears come down into the old settlements, and

they have been seen in the maritime towns; but now, their appearance

in these places, is extremely rare.” However, the exodus of bears

continued for, “The season, this year [1794], was unpropitious to the

husbandman. . . . On the 17th of May, there was a heavy frost, so

thick as to resemble snow, and so severe, that . . . apples, nuts, acorns

and berries, were entirely cut off. For want of these, the bears were

forced to leave their woody retreats, and seek subsistence nearer the

sea shore. ... It was said, that more than 300 were slain or taken in

the whole State ... of Maine.”

In the fall of 1796, bears came down from the northern regions of

Canada and were “most numerous in the neighborhood of Lakes

Ontario and Erie, and along the upper parts of the River St. Lawrence.

On arriving at the borders of these lakes, or of the river, if the

opposite shore was in sight, they generally took to the water, and

endeavored to reach it by swimming. Prodigious numbers of them

were killed in crossing the St. Lawrence by the Indians, who had

hunting encampments, at short distances from each other, the whole

way along the banks of the river, from the island of St. Regis to

Lake Ontario.” ^

Willey relates that in the White Mountains, “In the autumn of

1804, it required all the vigilance and courage of the inhabitants to

preserve their cattle and hogs from the ferocious creatures. The nuts

and berries, their usual food, had failed them, and driven on by

hunger, the infuriated beasts would rush almost into the very homes

of the settlers.”!^!

By 1840, the bear was a “stranger” in most parts of Massachusetts;

however, a few years earlier great numbers appeared in the Hoosic

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Mountain Range and between twenty and thirty were taken in one

autumn.1^9

It is mentioned by Copway^^ that the Indians take bears when they

are crossing a body of water. His statement that, “Some years ago,

they were thus captured at the head of Lake Superior,” is indicative

of an emigration. The fall of 1945, St. Louis County, Minnesota, was

invaded by bears. surprising number of 157 adults and 77 cubs

was presented for bounty. The influx was attributed to the absence of

wild fruits.

Kohl has written: “Several years have become remarkable for

enormous bear migrations. Thus, I heard much at Riviere au Desert

[Vilas County, Wisconsin] of the year 1811, as a perfectly extra¬

ordinary bear year. ... In the said year however, they migrated the

whole summer through from the northward across the river [Sault

St. Marie] to what is called the ‘upper peninsula of Michigan’. Above

six thousand are said to have been killed on the island and banks of

this moderately long river. Many traders bought five hundred or

six hundred skins in the course of a year, and several even more. A

hundred bears were sometimes killed in a night, and many a clever

hunter brought down as many to his own gun during the season.

Young bears were even taken out of the water by hand.”^^^

There is another statement that formerly, once in about three years,

the bears collected on the northern shore of Lake Huron and “pushed

their course southwesterly across St. Mary’s River in hundreds and

even thousands.”

Climate was not a factor in producing emigration, for the move¬

ments took place also on the Lower Mississippi. Father Gravier while

on this stream below the Maramec River, Missouri, wrote on October

15, 1700: “Today we saw over 50 bears, and of all that we killed we

took only 4, in order to obtain some fat. Those that came dov/n the

Mississippi were lean, and Those that came from the direction of the

river Ouabachei [St. Joseph] were fat. They were continually moving

from the South to the North. It must be better there for them.”^^"^

The reasons for a movement in two directions seem contradictory.

The southward movement of bears in Pennsylvania in the fall of

1834 was due to lack of food.^^^ jn the fall of 1877 there was an

unusual concentration of bears in the Mississippi bottoms near

Memphis. The animals were particularly destructive to corn in

Coahoma and Tunica counties, Mississippi.

It was commonly believed that the bear would not hibernate if

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

171

lean, but would wander in search of food. De Kay wrote: “Indeed

this condition of fatness is so necessary, that when the supply of food

is cut off, instead of retiring to winter quarters, they migrate south¬

wardly to warmer regions. Hence great numbers are occasionally

known to enter our territory from the north, composed entirely of

lean males, or females not with young.”^'7'7

In very severe winters, according to Richardson, a great number

of bears have been known to enter the United States from the north.

These were lean and nearly all males. He states that in the northern

regions the bears mate in September after fattening on berries. Be¬

coming poor in flesh during the rutting season, they will travel south

if an early winter prevents them from becoming sufficiently fat for

hibernation. This explanation is scarcely tenable since to the best of

our knowledge mating does not take place later than July in even the

northernmost part of the bear’s range.

Merriam^^i states that it is a rule that when a male bear can find

sufficient food he will not den regardless of the severity of the

weather. There are so many exceptions that this cannot be considered

a rule. Hardy says that, of the two migrations of which he was in¬

formed, “lack of food did not seem to be the reason for moving.” When

Kingi^s was at Niagara, a bear in very poor condition was brought

into town. He remarked that scarcity of food causes the species to

migrate.

The Canadian Indians could not give Macfarlane^^^ a satisfactory

explanation for the “recurring seasons of exceptional scarcity of bears

in regularly occupied tracts.” The simplest solution was to assume

that a migration had taken place.

Emigrations of bears and gray squirrels have been recorded

several times as occurring simultaneously. Statements can be found

that emigration takes place when food is plentiful and when it is not.

The fact that both species enter or pass through a region supplied

with food does not prove that they left one where food was sufficient.

Weld^^® mentions that the southward movement of bears in Canada

in 1796 was accompanied by a northward emigration of gray

squirrels. Since the latter, in some sections, destroyed two thirds of

the corn, thre was presumably a shortage of food in the region left.

The great migration of squirrels in Michigan in the fall of 1866 was

followed by one of the bears. “The same reason accounts for both — a

scarcity of mast.’’^^^

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

An emigration of gray squirrels in Pennsylvania was Mowed by

one of wild turkeys in droves, while ^'the rear was brought up by

scores of very serious half-famished-looking bears.”^^9.i Xhe exodus

of squirrels from Clinton County, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1889

was also followed by one of bears.^^ORich^^i states that the abundance

of bears in the Rangely Lakes region of Maine in the fall of 1894 was

due to “lack of beech nuts and berries.” Gray squirrels were

“unusually abundant.” On the other hand Strickland^® claimed

that bears and squirels were numerous in Canada only when there

was a good crop of mast.

Hough wrote in 1896: “I am told that the Delta country of Miss¬

issippi, where the black bears were so numerous last year, has this

year almost no mast at all, in consequence of which no bears are to be

found in that country. ... It is supposed that the bears have gone

to Arkansas or the hereafter.”^®^

Only two logical reasons can be advanced for an emigration of

bears, lack of food, or a population so high that it results in intra¬

specific intolerance. The weight of opinion rests on a shortage of food.

There were several clearly defined emigrations of bears in Wis¬

consin during the latter half of the past century. These are described

in Table 3.

The information on which the various emigrations are based is

given below.

1844

“We noticed last week the capture of three bears . . . and since

that time it has been ascertained that the country is full of them.

Nearly one hundred have been seen in this county [Dane] within a

week, and some twenty-five or thirty have been killed. . . . We

understand that they are in great numbers in the counties west of

us.”^®5 Dr. W. H. Fox, town of Fitchburg, Dane County, wrote: “That

same fall (1844) there were a great many bears prowling about.”23a

Some appeared in the town of Springfield.i®^*i

“Many of our contemporaries are noticing the emigration of bears

from the northern regions of the Territory to more southern lati¬

tudes.” ^®'^

The crew of the steamer Cleveland, in October, captured in Lake

Michigan a large bear swimming off Long Point, Racine County.^®^-^

One was killed in August in the town of Albany, Green County

In this year Judge Erwin held court at Prairie du Sac, then the

county seat of Sauk County. “In the midst of the session some one

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin 173

TABLE 3.

Bear Movements in Wisconsin

174

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

cried from the outside that there were three bears crossing the Wis¬

consin river. A general stampede ensued . . . without the formality

of adjournment. The mother bear was caught and her throat cut.

. . . The cubs were finally caught and killed. . . . During the sitting

of this court there were seven bears killed in the vicinity of the

Sauk villages.”^^^

1849

Rev. Breck in the fall of this year walked from Nashotah to Green

Bay. On November 2 1 he wrote from Appleton that he was afraid of

encountering wild animals in the dense woods on the eastern side of

Lake Winnebago for, “I knew this year to be noted for the many bears

that had come down from the North, for they had come even as far

down as Nashotah [Waukesha County The hunting of bears in

this county was one of the common sports this autumn.^

“From notices which we have seen in several of our exchanges, we

draw the conclusion that the bear family are becoming quite fa¬

miliar in Wisconsin. . . . Three of the shaggy gentlemen were taken

a few days since on Blue River in Iowa County. . .

1856

Bears were very numerous at Green Bay,^^^ Oshkosh,^90 ^^d

Appleton.191 One was killed in Dodge County, and several were

seen or killed in Jefferson,^^^ Milwaukee,!^^ and Waukesha^^^ counties.

1859

“Report says that the people of the northern portions of the

county [Iowa] have become alarmed within the present week, on

account of the numerous Bears prowling about. As high as eight are

reported to have been seen.”^^^^

Bears were killed in Rock,i97 Grant,i98 Crawford,i99 lowa,^®®

Dane,20i Racine,202 Milwaukee,203 Green,204Richland,205 Columbia,^^^

and Dodge^®^ counties.

1866

“Bears are getting to be very abundant in this section [Berlin,

Green Lake County]. Several have been brought into town, and we

hear of them being seen in every direction — almost - within a few

miles. . . .”208

“Our exchanges from the northern and less thickly settled parts of

the State have reported bears unusually plenty this fall and an

unusually large number have fallen victims to the hunters, but we did

not expect to hear of any of the varmints appearing in Dane county.

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

175

A very large one, however, was killed among the woody hills in the

center of the town of Perry ... on the 30th [October]. ”209

The killing of a bear at Waterloo, Jefferson County, “about

1865,”2i0probably took place in 1866. Bears were found also in

Richland,2ii Adams,2i2 and Rock^i^ counties.

1871

“The bears are ‘coming in’ thicker and faster. On either side of us we

get reports of the appearance of bruin. . . . Mauston has been in¬

vaded by them; Sparta has hunters in pursuit of them; Black River

Falls is surrounded with them; the islands in the Mississippi river

in close proximity to La Crosse, are inhabited by them. . .

Bears reached Lafayette,2i5 Richland,^!^ Sauk^i^ Crawford,^!^

Adams,2i9 Columbia,220 and Green Lake^^i counties.

Bears were common in northern Wisconsin in the fall of 1872 and

did considerable damage to domestic animals. The three recorded for

Columbia,222 and Adams223 were too few to constitute an emigration.

The bear seen near Darlington, 2 24 Lafayette County, on January 28,

1872, undoubtedly arrived during the emigration of 1871.

1878

Bears were abundant in the northern half of the state. Several

were seen and killed in Richland County.225 One appeared as far

south as Spring Green, Sauk County, the only one that “has been

heard of in this section in fifteen years.”226 One was seen at Prairie

du Chien,227 and three were killed in Adams County.228

1883

“Bears are uncommonly thick this fall. The number that have

been seen and killed within a short distance from the city [Eau

Claire] has seldom, if ever been paralled at so early a date.”229

“Bears are unusually plenty this fall, or at least they exhibit

themselves more than is their custom.”230

“Bears are migrating from the pine woods to winter quarters

further south.”23i

The emigration extended to Crawford,232 Richland,233 Adams,234

and Sauk counties235

In 1885 bears were abundant; however, the number that moved

southward in the center of the state to reach Adams,236 Marquette,237

Columbia,238 and Sauk239 counties, was too small to form a well-

defined emigration.

1888

Bears were very numerous and this is the last year of unquestion-

176

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

able emigration. The exodus extended to Adams, Columbia,

Sauk,242 and lowa^^^ counties.

Local opinion was preponderately in favor of a shortage of food

as the cause of emigration. Some weight was attached to forest fires.

The prevalence of bears in 1871 was attributed in four cases to the

extensive forest fires that occurred in the fall of that year; however,

bears were equally numerous in the autumn of 1872 in northeastern

Wisconsin when fire was not a factor. The influx of bears into

Jackson County in the autumn of 1901 was discussed as follows: “In

former years the usual reason advanced for the visits of these

animals in this section has been the occurrence of forest fires in the

northern woods. This year, however, there have been no extensive

areas swept by fire. ... It would seem that they are led in this

direction by their migratory instinct, and their course followed up

in a search for particular kinds of food [corn and acorns] which bears

enjoy.”244

The black bear is notorious for lack of discrimination in food.

Schoolcraft was told by the Indians that it is fond of nuts, esculent

roots, honey, corn, berries and other wild fruits; and that, “it is only

in the utmost extremity that it takes hold of animal food, and in a

region where its favourite fruits are plenty, it will pass by the carcass

of a deer without touching it.” Few bears show so much restraint.

When in northern Wisconsin, Kohl paid considerable attention to

the food of the bear. He wrote ; “Now and then Du Roy pointed out to

me spots in the forest where the bears had been scratching for

‘makopin’. This is a small tuber, which the Canadians call the bear’s

potato [Arisaema triphyllum], nearly a translation of the Indian

term. We dug some, and I tasted them, but found them marvellously

bitter.”^

There were at least a dozen plants to which the Indians had

attached the bear’s name, bear potatoes, bear roots, bear berries, etc.

The latter is the serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) of which

Kohl wrote: “At this time we found it covered with glistening red

berries, and our Canadian told us that the bears bend down the whole

tree with their paws, and then eat off the berries. . . .”

The fall feeding habits of the bear as related by Moore^<^ for

Kewaunee County may be considered normal: “First they ate

raspberries, then they visited the numerous blackberry patches, then

they went into the swamps and ate blueberries. After the blueberry

Schorger — Black Bear in Early W isconsin

177

season came to a close, they sallied out of the swamps and into the

white oak forests.”

Acorns are a highly favored food. Cooke^®^ called the bur oak

acorn the “bear acorn.” It is doubtful if this acorn is preferred by

bears. It is the first to fall in late summer and the first to disappear

due to poor keeping quality. He mentions that bur oaks were plenti¬

ful in his region, hence it was known as “good bear hunting grounds.”

There is much opinion as well as considerable data to support

the view that the exodus of bears and squirels is due to lack of food.

The importance of blackberries and other soft fruits for the pro¬

duction of fat for hibernation is questionable when it is considered

that the bears emigrated in 1871 and 1878, years when blackberries

were abundant; and that in Wisconsin about six weeks elapse between

the disappearance of blackberries and the time for denning.

The hardwoods of the southern half of the state are largely oaks,

principally red (Quercus rubrum), white (Q. alba), bur (Q. macro-

carpa), black (Q. velutina), scarlet (Q. coccinea), and northern pin

oak (Q. ellipsoidalis) . The Central Plain region, and particularly the

Glacial Lake Wisconsin area, was the most productive of bears. The

principal oak here is Quercus ellipsoidalis. So many species of oaks

were conducive to a large population of bears since a complete

failure of acorns in any year would occur only at intervals. An

attempt has been made in the Appendix to resurrect the food condi¬

tions in the state from about 1850 to 1900. The study covers the im¬

portant fall foods, such as the blueberry, blackberry, wild plum, wild

grape, and acorns. The bear ate hickory nuts^^^ on occasion but they

formed an unimportant item in its diet.

The nut-bearing trees, hickory, walnut, and butternut, were too

few to be a factor in supporting the large population of gray squirrels,

and the latter competed with the bears for acorns. Bailey^^^ states

that in Sherburne County, Minnesota, the gray squirrel subsists

largely on acorns when corn is not available. This is equally true of

Wisconsin.

The simultaneous exodus, in so many cases, of the black bear and

the gray squirel is striking. However, there are exceptions. In 1873,

e.g., gray squirrels were abundant and emigrated, but there was no

extensive movement of bears southward. It is not to be expected that

the emigrations of the two species would always occur simultaneously

owing to the vast difference in reproductive power. With good food

conditions the gray squirel has two litters, each of three to five

178

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

young, in a year. In contrast the bear, having only about 2.5 cubs

every two years, would produce only a fraction over one cub per year.

The data on the annual yield of acorns are too incomplete to

determine if each emigration of bears was due directly to a failure of

the acorn crop. Acorns v/ere exceptionally abundant in 1870 and

therefore a failure may well have occurred in 1871 when the bears

emigrated. They emigrated again in 1878 and 1883, years when there

was a definite scarcity of acorns. No sweeping conclusion can be

drawn. The available information indicates that in this state, Wis¬

consin, emigration resulted from the coincidence of a high bear

population and a failure of acorn mast.

The age and physical condition of the bears that reached southern

Wisconsin during the emigrations have a bearing on the reason for

the exodus. Unfortunately the information is not extensive, but it is

sufficient to state that the van consisted preponderately of non¬

breeders. Most of the bears were either old and in poor condition, or

were yearlings and two-year-olds in good flesh. There were exceptions

such as the bear weighing 380 pounds, killed near Beloit in 1859,

that “was so fat that he was unable to run very fast.”247 Some of the

bears must have fared well on corn after reaching the southern

counties. No cubs were reported south of Prairie du Sac.

The direction of the emigrations was distinctly southward, though

a few bears are known to have crossed the Mississippi River into

Minnesota. The geographical position of the state, with Lake Mich¬

igan on the east. Lake Superior on the north, and the Mississippi

River on the west, may have steered the emigrations southward. This

is doubtful, however, since the bulk of the emigrants passed through

the center of the state.

APPENDIX

LAST DATES OF APPEARANCE OF BEARS IN THE

SOUTHERN COUNTIES

The dates given on the map (Fig. 1) are tentative. All dates later than those

given were rejected, after careful examination, as erroneous or for equally valid

reasons. Occurrences based on memory going back forty or fifty years were

considered unreliable. Recent dates for the central counties were furnished by

Walter E. Scott.

Adams. One was reported seen in the town of Monroe in 1945 and one in the

town of Grand Marsh in 1946.

A large bear was killed by Theodore Hawkins, town of Richfield, on October

21, 1895. — Friendship Press, Oct. 26, 1895.

Brown. G. Grosse of Suamico shot a bear weighing 200 pounds on November

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

179

27, 1899. — ^Green Bay Gazette Dec. 2, 1899, 3.

Buffalo. On the night of October 25, 1909, a bear killed two hogs at Eleva. —

Mondovi Herald Oct. 29, 1909.

The local warden thought in 1946 that there were still two bears in the county.

Calumet. In the summer of 1890 one bear was seen at Dundas and another at

Brillion.— Chilton Times July 5 and Aug. 16, 1890.

Three were shot by G. M. Beach, town of Brillion, in September, 1886. — Chilton

Times Oct. 2, 1886.

Columbia. A bear killed many sheep in the towns of Fort Winnebago and

Buffalo in September, 1888.^ — Portage Democrat Sept. 28, 1888.

One was killed in the town of Marcellon by Loyal Husbrook on October 5, 1885.

— ^Portage Democrat Oct. 9, 1885.

Crawford. One was seen on the railroad track at Glendale on September 17,

1883. — Prairie du Chien Union Sept. 21, 1883.

Dane. A bear weighing “over 400 pounds” was killed in the town of Perry on

October 30, 1866. The carcass was sold in Madison at 20 cents per pound.- —

Madison State Journal Nov. 1, 1866.

Dodge. One was killed in the town of Trenton early in September, 1859, and

another seen on the 6th of this month. — Fox Lake Gazette Sept. 8, 1859.

Door. Two were seen near Forestville in September, 1901. — Sturgeon Bay

Advocate Oct. 19, 1901; Algoma Record Oct. 11, 1901.

A bear was seen in the county in December, 1945, and another in June, 1946.

These were probably not natural occurrences since cubs were liberated in the

county by the Conservation Department three years previously.

Fond du Lac. A bear was shot at Ripon in October, 1883. — Princeton Republic

Oct. 11, 1883.

Cory®^ was informed that a bear was killed in the county in the summer of

1906, but he expressed doubt that it was a valid record.

Grant. One was killed in the town of Muscoda in May, 1871. — Lancaster

Herald May 9, 1871.

Bears were reported “roaming” at Boscobel in September, 1875. — Milwaukee

Commercial Times Sept. 11, 1875.

Green. One bear was killed in the town of Sylvester in September and an¬

other in the town of Monroe in October, 1859. — Monroe Sentinel Sept. 21, 28,

and Oct. 12, 1859.

Green Lake. The Conservation Department has paid for damage made by

a bear north of Princeton in October, 1945. Under date June 18, 1946, W. E.

Scott wrote to me that he was informed by the local warden that “recent tracks

show that the animal is still in the county.” This bear probably drifted down

from Waupaca County.

Apparently no bear has been killed in the county for about fifty years. Two

were shot on the Goyno farm northwest of Berlin on September 22, 1897.— -Berlin

(w) Journal Sept. 23, 1897, 8.

Iowa. During the irruption of 1888, bears were seen near Pine Knob and

one weighing 175 pounds was killed at Cobb. — Dodgeville Chronicle Sept. 21,

1888; Montford Monitor Sept. 20, 1888.

Jackson. The local warden was informed by a farmer in the town of Portland

that he saw a bear in 1944. Bears were liberated in the eastern part of the county

in 1937 or 1938 but there has been no sign of them during the past two years.

180

lyiscons/n Academy oi Sciences, Arts and Letters

However, George Hartman of the Conservation Department, was informed by an

Indian, James Funmaker, that he saw a large bear along Morrison Creek, town

of Komensky, in January, 1946.

No published account of bear being seen later than 1903 was found. In Sep¬

tember of this year several were observed at Knapp. — ^Black River Falls Banner

Sept. 17 and 24, 1903.

Jefferson. Four bears were killed in the county during the emigration in the

fall of 1856. — Watertown Democrat Sept. 25, Oct. 9, 1856; Jefferson Jeffersonian

Oct. 9, 1856; Milwaukee Sentinel Nov. 26, 1856.

Juneau. George Hartman, Game Manager of the Central Wisconsin Area,

reported as follows: “On February 19, 1946, while in the field with Fred Jacobson

and several of the Deer Research men, we saw the tracks of a small to medium

sized bear in the north end of the Necedah Wildlife Refuge. The men stationed on

this refuge informed me that Robley Hunt had seen a bear in this vicinity while he

was superintendent of this refuge. The tracks were seen in the western part of

the Town of Finley, Juneau County.”

A large bear, apparently the last one killed, was shot in the town of Fountain

on October 23, 1897. — Mauston Star Oct. 28; Chronicle Oct. 28, 1897.

Kenosha. No satisfactory record for this county was found.

Kewaunee. In September, 1893, a bear remained for a week in the vicinity of

the Strausky mill, west Kewaunee, and evaded all attempts at capture. — Kewaunee

Enterprise Sept. 29, 1893.

Rumors of their presence in December, 1897, in the large swamp south of Ryan

were recorded. — Kewaunee Enterprise Dec. 10, 1897.

La Crosse. A wild bear was killed in the county on November 25, 1944.

Warden Elmer Lange wrote further: “I saw a bear in Garber Coulee about a

month before this one was killed. This bear was killed near Gills Coulee about

7 to 8 miles from the city of La Crosse.”

Lafayette. A large bear was seen three miles east of Darlington on January

28, 1872; and on June 14, 1873, a bear and a cub raided a chicken coop near this

town. — Darlington Republican Jan. 28, Feb. 3, 1872; June 21, 1873.

Manitowoc. A farmer living a few miles north of Two Rivers attempted to

trap a bear in August, 1896. — Two Rivers Chronicle Aug. 25, 1896.

No accounts of bears killed were found after 1890. In August of this year

a bear with four cubs was seen in the town of Maple Grove and one of the cubs

was captured. In November a female that had one cub was killed in the town

of Rockland. — Manitowoc Pilot Aug. 21, Nov. 20, 1890.

Marquette. Warden E. F. Evans reported in 1946 that at least one bear was

using the bottoms of the White River in northeastern Marquette County and

northwestern Green Lake County.

Milwaukee. In October, 1859, a bear was brought to Milwaukee that had been

killed within 15 miles of the city. — Milwaukee (d) News Oct. 13, 1859.

Monroe. Warden John F. Adamski reported that in the summer of 1946 a

bear and two cubs were seen between Sparta and Tomah (town of Adrian), the

only ones reported for several years.

Fred Moses and Austin Wilson killed a bear weighing 280 pounds at Warrens

in the fall of 1909. — Alma Journal Nov. 4, 1909.

Ozaukee. A large bear was killed near Port Washington in September, 1858.

— Port Washington Advertiser. In Madison (d) Patriot Sept. 15, 1858.

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

181

Pepin. One was caught in the act of killing two sheep on Cady Creek in Sep¬

tember, 1889. — Durand Courier Sept. 6, 1889.

Pierce. A bear with a cub was seen in the town of Clifton the end of November,

1899. — ^River Falls Journal Nov. 30, 1899.

Racine. The end of October, 1859, two bears were found in the town of York-

ville and one was killed. — Racine Advocate, Nov. 2, 1859.

Richland. A bear weighing about 200 pounds, in poor condition, was shot by

J. A. Roudebush in the town of Marshall on May 8, 1905. Richland Center

Republican Observer May 11, 1905; Rustic May 12, 1905; J. A. Roudebush in litt.

Rock. A large bear was killed between Beloit and Janesville on October 30,

1859. — Beloit Journal Nov. 2, 1859; Janesville Gazette Nov. 1, 1859.

All subsequent statements of occurrence are doubtful. There are circumstantial

accounts of a bear being pursued by men with dogs in the town of Lima on

February 11, 1881; however, the bear was not again reported seen in this section

of the state. — -Whitewater Register Feb. 17; Delavan Republican Feb. 18, 1881.

Sauk. Jessie Walker, Baraboo, informed the Conservation Department that he

saw a large and two small bears west of Devils Lake State Park in October, 1946.

M. Gallagher, town of Dellona, killed a bear in December, 1898. — Kilbourn

Mirror-Gazette Dec. 17, 1898, 1.

According to Cole,^^® the last bear seen in the Baraboo Hills was killed on

Thanksgiving day, 1891, by the Farnsworth brothers.

Sheboygan. One was reported to be in the cedar swamp, town of Mitchell, in

November, 1897. — Plymouth Reporter Nov. 18, 1897.

One of the local wardens informed George Becker in 1940 that the last bear

was taken in the early 1900’s. No published account of a kill was found later than

1889. In October of this year, J. Couch and E. Dean killed a bear in the swamp

near Glenbeulah. — Sheboygan Falls News Nov. 6, 1889, 8.

Trempealeau. A bear was killed near Osseo on October 16, 1898, and one

was seen near this place in September, 1900. — Independence News-Wave, Oct. 22,

1898; Sept. 15, 1900.

Vernon. One was seen in a tree near Hillsborough on October 10, 1888. —

La Crosse (w) Republican and Leader Oct. 20, 1888, 3.

Walworth. Only one record for this county was found. Baker^“ states that

one was killed in the town of Lafayette in 1836.

Washington. In May, 1856, a farmer in the town of Jackson killed three

cubs in a hollow tree, the old bears escaping. — West Bend Democrat. In Horicon

Argus May 14, 1856.

Waukesha. A large bear started in the town of Hebron, Jefferson County, was

pursued into Waukesha County and finally killed on November 8, 1856, in the

town of Concord, Jefferson County. — Milwaukee Sentinel Nov. 26, 1856.

Waushara. The local warden reported that a bear was seen in the town of

Rose in September, 1944, and another in the town of Deerfield in October, 1945.

As far as known, the last bear killed in the county was in 1897. On September

19, 1897, an old bear and four cubs were killed at Aurorahville. — Wautoma Argus

Sept. 23, 1897; Berlin (w) Journal Oct. 7, 1897, 5.

Winnebago. In October, 1885, a bear was seen at Lake Butte des Morts. —

Appleton Crescent Oct. 10, 1885.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

A correspondent from the town of Rushford reported that John Gaughan killed

two bears at Black Creek. No place or creek of this name could be found for the

vicinity, so that it may refer to Black Creek in Outagamie County.^ — Oshkosh

Northwestern Oct. 8, 1885, 8.

The drift of bears southward in the state in recent years is pronounced.

FOOD CONDITIONS IN WISCONSIN

Acorns (Quercus)

In attempting to determine the annual status of the acorn crop, so many gaps

remained that an indirect approach to the investigation was also made. The

passenger pigeon depended largely on acorns for nesting, so that a nesting in

any one spring is presumptive evidence of a good crop of acorns the previous

autumn. This would not hold necessarily for the eastern edge of the state where

the beech occupied a narrow range along the shores of Lake Michigan and

Green Bay.

1847. Mast abundant in Grant County.

1852. Mast reported scarce north of the lower Wisconsin River.

1854. Abundant in Jefferson and Outagamie Counties. There was a large

nesting of pigeons in Waupaca County in 1855.

1857. The pigeons nested in Outagamie and Oconto Counties in 1858.

1858. Abundant in Iowa County.

1859. ‘Shack’ scarce north of Green Lake County but reported good at Tomah.

1860. Heavy crop in Dane County. The pigeons nested in Green County

in 1861.

1861. The pigeons nested in Green County in 1862.

1863. There was a large nesting of pigeons along the Kickapoo River, Vernon

County, and in southwestern Monroe County in 1864.

1864. Pigeons nested in Fond du Lac County in 1865.

1866. ‘Shack’ was abundant in Adams County. The pigeons nested in Fond

du Lac County in 1867.

1867. The pigeons nested in Outagamie County in 1868.

1868. There were large nestings of pigeons in Green, Monroe, and Fond du Lac

Counties in 1869.

1870. Acorns were abundant in Dane and Fond du Lac counties, and in the

center of the state. There was a large pigeon nesting in 1871 that extended from

Kilbourn to Sparta.

1871. Plentiful in Winnebago County.

1872. A professional pigeon trapper stated that few pigeons nested in the

state in 1873 due to the great scarcity of mast.

1873. Deer were reported to be feeding on black oak acorns in Dunn County.

1874. Plentiful in Portage County. The pigeons nested in Pierce and Wood

counties in 1875.

1875. The pigeons nested in La Crosse County in 1876.

1876. Plentiful in Dunn and abundant in Rock County. The pigeons nested in

Monroe County in 1877.

1877. There was a bountiful crop of red oak acorns in St. Croix County. Acorns

were plentiful in Dunn and unusually abundant in Eau Claire County. “Unusual

quantities” were reported for the state. The pigeons nested in Adams County

in 1878.

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

183

1878. Acorns were reported scarce in Dunn, Chippewa, Winnebago, and Oconto

counties.

1879. Abundant in Walworth, Kenosha, Chippewa, and Pierce counties.

1880. Plentiful in Pierce and Barron counties.

1881. Plentiful in Trempealeau, Monroe, Adams, and Waushara counties;

abundant in Chippewa; and “immense” in Winnebago County. There were large

nestings of pigeons near Sparta, Tomah, and Kilbourn in 1882.

1883. Very scarce in Richland, Iowa, Juneau, and Dunn counties.

1884. Pigeons nested in the southeastern corner of Langlade County in 1885.

1885. Princeton, Green Lake County, reported that the “immense acorn crop”

is bringing the bears down.

1886. Large crop in Waupaca County. Pigeons attempted to nest near Wau-

toma in 1887.

1887. Large crop in Sheboygan County.

1892. Abundant in Kewaunee County.

Blueberries (Vaccinium) and Huckleberries (Gaylussacia)

1853. Abundant in Outagamie County.

1856. Plentiful in Sauk County.

1858. Abundant in Marathon and Waushara counties.

1860. Abundant in Douglas County.

1861. Enormous crop in Waushara, Green Lake, Sauk, Portage, and Juneau

counties.

1862. Plentiful in Juneau County.

1863. Plentiful in Waushara and Marquette counties.

1864. Crop fair to poor.

1865. Plentiful in Waushara, Portage, and Brown counties.

1866. Plentiful in Sauk, Waushara, and Juneau counties. The crop failed in

Shawano and Portage counties.

1867. Abundant in Marathon, Chippewa, Douglas, Shawano, Portage, Eau

Claire, and Monroe counties.

1868. Poor crop in most of the northern counties.

1869. Plentiful in Marathon, Chippewa, Polk, Sauk, Juneau, and Jackson

counties.

1870. Abundant in Chippewa, Polk, Waushara, Marquette, Brown, Juneau,

and Jackson counties.

1871. The crop was spotty being plentiful in Marathon, Chippewa, Polk,

Juneau, Jackson, Portage, and Brown, and scarce in Outagamie, Winnebago, and

Shawano counties.

1872. Plentiful in Juneau, Shawano, Adams, Eau Claire, Jackson, Waupaca,

and Ashland counties.

1873. Abundant in Clark, Polk, Winnebago, Shawano, Juneau, Adams, Eau

Claire, Jackson, Marinette, and Door counties.

1874. Plentiful in Portage, Wausau, Chippewa, Douglas, Shawano, Monroe,

Jackson, and Marinette counties.

1875. The crop was exceptionally large in Oconto, Wood, Waushara, Monroe,

Portage, Juneau, Adams, Eau Claire, and Jackson counties.

1876. Abundant in Adams, Monroe, Jackson, Barron, Door, Shawano, Mara-

184

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

thon, Pepin, Trempealeau, Dunn, Waupaca, and Portage, and medium in Mar¬

quette and Outagamie counties.

1877. The crop was fair in Juneau, Eau Claire, and Monroe, and very light in

Wood, Douglas, Barron, Jackson, Portage, Door, and Shawano counties.

1878. The yield was small in Eau Claire, Oconto, Chippewa, Wood, and

Juneau, and medium to large in Monroe, Jackson, Brown, Shawano, Pepin, and

Marquette counties.

1879. Abundant in Jackson, Shawano, Barron, Wood, Waushara, Juneau, Eau

Claire, Monroe, and Pierce, and scarce in Oconto and Marinette counties.

1880. Large crop reported by the blueberry counties.

1881. Again plentiful.

1882. The crop was good in Oconto; fair in Eau Claire; about one-third of

“normal” in Monroe; and poor in Waupaca, Juneau, Jackson, Wood, Shawano,

Chippewa, Burnette, and Waushara counties.

1883. Good crop in Juneau, Oconto, Brown, Shawano, Florence, Wood, Lincoln,

St. Croix, Waushara, and Jackson; and poor in Eau Claire, Monroe, Trempealeau,

Clark, Chippewa, and Price counties.

1884. The berries were abundant in Ashland, Douglas, and Juneau; plentiful

in Wood, Monroe, Jackson, Clark, Waupaca, Shawano, and Florence; and few

in St. Croix and Brown counties.

1885. Plentiful to abundant in all of the blueberry counties.

1886. Plentiful in Forrest, Bayfield, Burnett, Eau Claire, Jackson and Oconto;

few in Barron, Waushara, Marquette, Adams, and Monroe counties.

1887. Abundant.

1888. The crop was poor in Monroe, Jackson, Marinette, Clark, Burnett, Wau¬

shara, Waupaca, and Eau Claire; good to plentiful in Oconto, Florence, Door,

Wood, Iron, Forest, Douglas, Marquette, Juneau, and Adams counties.

1889. Poor crop.

1890. Abundant.

1891. Poor to fair. The Wisconsin Weather Bureau estimated the crop to be

one fifth of average.

1892. The crop was light in Clark, Jackson, Trempealeau, Waupaca, Adams,

Columbia, and Monroe; good in Chippewa, Eau Claire, Wood, Florence, and

Shawano counties.

1893. Large crop throughout most of the blueberry counties.

1894. Very few to one third of last year’s crop.

1895. Poor crop, smaller than that of the previous year.

1896. Abundant.

1897. Crop poor in Burnett and Price; fair in Monroe, Jackson, and Shawano;

plentiful in Vilas, Brown, and Florence counties.

1898. Abundant.

1899. Abundant.

1900. Poor to one third of normal.

Blackberries (Rubus)

1853. Abundant in Fond du Lac, Outagamie, and Jefferson counties.

1854. Abundant in Ozaukee County.

1855. Abundant in St. Croix County.

Schorger ~ Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

185

1856. Abundant in Portage County.

1857. Abundant in Marathon County.

1858. Abundant in Marathon, St. Croix, Monroe, Iowa, Outagamie, Winne¬

bago, Portage, Richland, Brown, Sheboygan, and Manitowoc counties, and along

the Wolf River. The crop was apparently heavy throughout the state.

1859. None in Washington (due to drought); “medium” in Waushara; plenti¬

ful in Monroe and Marathon; and abundant in Pierce, Green, Winnebago,

Shawano, and Sheboygan counties.

1860. Unusually fine crop in Marathon County.

1861. Plentiful in Marathon, Outagamie, Portage, and Brown counties.

1862. Fair crop in Brown County.

1863. Abundant in Outagamie and Door counties.

1864. Poor crop in nearly all the counties.

1865. Abundant in Polk, Brown, Door, and Winnebago counties. Good crops

of nearly all wild berries.

1866. The crop was practically a failure in Polk, St. Croix, Clark, and Wau¬

paca counties. There was a fair crop in Shawano, Green Lake, and Outagamie;

and a good one in Brown County. All wild berries were close to a failure in

Waupaca County.

1867. Abundant in Marathon, Polk, St. Croix, Waupaca, Jackson, Shawano,

Portage, Lafayette, Richland, Monroe, and Brown counties. Good year for

most kinds of berries.

1868. Poor crop throughout most of the state.

1869. Scarce in St. Croix, but plentiful to abundant in Polk, Outagamie, Winne¬

bago, Marathon, Crawford, Iowa, Sauk, Kewaunee, and Brown counties.

1870. Plentiful in Polk, Outagamie, Winnebago, Jackson, and Brown counties.

Good year for all wild fruits.

1871. Abundant in Grant, Waupaca, Manitowoc, Marathon, Polk, Dunn, Outa¬

gamie, Shawano, Monroe, Jackson, Kewaunee, Brown, Door, St. Croix, and

Portage counties.

1872. Scarce in Marathon, Dunn, Winnebago, Shawano, and Jackson counties

due presumably to fire and drought. Plentiful in Portage County.

1873. Scarce in Marathon, Dunn, Shawano, Calumet, Jackson, Door, Wood,

and Waupaca; quite plentiful in Clark and Eau Claire counties.

1874. The crop failed in Polk and St. Croix, but was abundant in Wood, Ke¬

waunee, Marathon, Clark, Oconto, Marinette, Outagamie, Jackson, Winnebago,

Calumet, Monroe, Vernon, Eau Claire, Brown, Door, and Wood counties.

1875. The crop failed in Oconto, Brown, Door, Outagamie, and Marinette

counties, and was reported poor throughout the state.

1876. The berries were exceptionally abundant throughout the state.

1877. The crop was either light or a failure.

1878. Immense crop throughout the state.

1879. The crop was either small or a failure.

1880. Immense crop throughout the state. Berries of all kinds were in profusion.

1881. Practically a failure throughout the state.

1882. Huge crop.

1883. Plentiful in Eau Claire, Marathon, Chippewa, and St. Croix; quite

plentiful in Trempealeau, Clark, and Monroe; and few in Oconto, Brown, Door,

Outagamie, Waupaca, Juneau, Price, and Pierce counties.

186

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

1884. Plentiful in Chippewa, Marathon, Waushara, Adams, and Jackson; few

in St. Croix, Dunn, Waupaca, Marinette, Brown, and Door counties.

1885. Plentiful Jn Marinette, Oconto, Door, Florence, Adams, and Monroe;

quite plentiful in Outagamie; scarce in Wood, Marathon, Chippewa, Dunn,

St. Croix, Waupaca, and Jackson counties.

1886. The berries were plentiful in Door, Shawano, Marathon, Iron, Price, St.

Croix, Pierce, Waupaca, Marinette, and Oconto; quite plentiful in Florence and

Barron; few in Clark and Jackson counties.

1887. The almost complete failure in the state was attributed to the dry

weather.

1888. The crop was poor in Florence and Dunn; fair in Adams; but 17 counties

reported it abundant.

1889. Scarce in Waupaca, Adams, Jackson, and Shawano; plentiful in Iowa,

Crawford, La Crosse, Monroe, Florence, Marinette, and Door counties.

1890. The crop was unusually large in the northern half of the state.

1891. Poor crop except in Door County where it was stated to be immense.

1892. Large crop in the northern half of the state.

1893. Scarce in Oconto, Kewaunee, Vilas, Jackson, and Monroe; quite plentiful

in Adams; plentiful in Crawford, Shawano, Langlade, and Florence counties.

1894. Poor crop.

1895. Poor crop. Poor year for all fruits.

1896. Abundant.

1897. Scarce in Florence, Vilas, Jackson, and Shawano; plentiful in Door,

Brown, Marinette, Oconto, Marathon, Chippewa, and Brown counties.

1898. Abundant. All wild fruits were plentiful.

1899. Poor crop except in Marathon County where it was reported large.

1900. Unusually large crop.

Wild Plums (Prunus)

1852. Plentiful in the Milwaukee market.

1853. Abundant in Fond du Lac County.

1854. Plentiful in Grant, Dane, and Fond du Lac counties.

1856. Quite plentiful in Jefferson County.

1857. Plentiful in Dane and Dodge counties.

1859. Abundant in Pepin County.

1861. Plentiful in Dane and Rock counties.

1863. Plentiful in Outagamie County.

1865. Exceptionally large crop in Dodge and Vernon counties.

1866. Abundant in Vernon County.

1867. Scarce in Lafayette County.

1868. Abundant in Waukesha County.

1869. Plentiful in Marathon and Jackson counties.

1870. Heavy crop in Dane and Jackson counties.

1871. Abundant in Grant and Polk; scarce in Outagamie, Jackson, Juneau,

and Manitowoc counties.

1872. Plentiful in Outagamie, Eau Claire, Polk, and Jackson counties.

1873. Scarce in Jackson County.

1874. Abundant in Lafayette, Marathon, and Polk counties.

1875. Plentiful in Outagamie and Jackson counties.

1876. Abundant in Pepin, Douglas, and Outagamie counties.

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

187

1877. The crop was “unusually large” in Brown; very light in Rock; and a

failure in Chippewa County.

1878. Failed in Chippewa County.

1879. The crop was small in Sauk; good in Barron; large in Eau Claire, Buffalo,

Chippewa, and Green counties.

1880. Large crop in Jackson, Chippewa, Buffalo, and Trempealeau counties.

1881. Scarce in Trempealeau and Door; quite plentiful in Marathon; plentiful

in Iowa County.

1883. None in Douglas; plentiful in St. Croix County.

1885. Scarce in Douglas and Jackson; abundant in Door, Rock, Iowa, and

Grant counties.

1886. Abundant in Vernon County.

1887. Scarce in Jackson; abundant in Chippewa, Eau Claire, and Kewaunee

counties.

1888. Plentiful in Eau Claire County.

1891. Plentiful in Chippewa and Pierce counties.

1894. Plentiful in Vernon County.

1896. Very plentiful in Vernon County.

1897. Plentiful in Crawford County.

1898. Abundant in Chippewa County.

Wild Grapes {Vitis)

1859. Abundant in Pepin County.

1870. Abundant in Fond du Lac County.

1871. Abundant in Marathon County.

1872. Plentiful in Outagamie County.

1879. Abundant in Richland County.

1881. None in Trempealeau; plentiful in Iowa County.

1882. Very abundant in St. Croix County.

1883. “Unusual abundance” in Door County.

1885, Abundant in Grant County.

1886. Abundant in Sauk and Vernon counties.

1889. Plentiful in Vernon County.

1890. Abundant on the islands in the Mississippi River.

1891. Plentiful in Vernon and Waupaca counties.

1892. Plentiful in Vernon County.

1893. Plentiful in Fond du Lac, Waupaca, Richland, Vernon, and Pepin counties.

1896. Very plentiful in Sheboygan and Vernon counties.

1897. Plentiful in Pierce County.

1899. Abundant along the Mississippi River.

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98. T. Pederson. Wis. Mag. Hist. 22 (1938) 72.

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104. Prescott Journal Oct. 29, 1864.

105. Appleton Post Oct. 16, 1873.

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110. Eau Claire (d) Leader Sept. 16, 1885.

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114. Wis. Cons. Bull. 4, No. 2 (Feb., 1939) 45.

115. Ibid. 10, No. 7-8 (July-Aug., 1945) 9.

SchoTger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

191

116. Ibid. 7, No. 11 (Dec., 1942) 18.

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124. C. E. Johnson. /. Mamm. 11 (1930) 439.

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126. New London Times Sept. 29, 1883.

127. Wausau Record Sept. 18, 1897.

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133. Green Bay Advocate Jan. 20, 1876.

133.1. Chilton Times March 4, 1858.

134. J. Richardson. Fauna Boreali- Americana; quadrupeds. London. (1829)

pp. 14-20.

135. W. Rowan. J. Mamm. 26 (1945) 197-9.

135.1. Harry R. During. Yosemite Nat. Notes. 18, No. 10 (Oct., 1939) 107.

135.2. Paul B. Kinney. Nat. Hist. 48 (1941) 150-4.

136. Grand Rapids Reporter Sept. 5, 1878; Marinette North Star Oct. 5, 1883;

Green Bay Gazette Sept. 26, 1885.

137. Grantsburg Sentinel Sept. 30, 1897.

138. M. A. Morse. J. Mamm. 8 (1937) 460-5.

139. W/s. Cons. Bull. 6, No. 5 (May, 1941) 16-8.

140. Eau Claire Free Press Dec. 2, 1858.

141. Milwaukee Sentinel Jan. 15, 1839.

142. Sheboygan Mercury. In Milwaukee Sentinel Feb. 4, 1852.

143. La Crosse Democrat Jan. 29, 1866.

144. Hudson Star and Times Dec. 5, 1866.

145. Ellsworth Herald Dec. 5, 1872.

146. Hudson Star and Times Nov. 27, 1874.

147. Wausau Central Wisconsin Feb. 24, 1875.

148. Stevens Point Journal March 16, 1873, 3.

149. Colby Phonograph Jan. 28, 1880.

192 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

150. Medford Star and News Feb. 18, 1882.

151. Neillsville Republican and Press March 6, 1884.

152. Grand Rapids Reporter March 25, 1886.

153. Green Bay Gazette Feb. 6, 1889.

154. Phillips Times Feb. 27, 1892.

155. De Pere Democrat Nov. 26, 1897.

156. Peshtigo Times Feb. 6, 1897.

157. Ibid. Jan. 8, 1898.

158. Marinette Eagle Dec. 22, 1900.

159. Charles Lanman. Adventures in the wilds of the United States. Philadel¬

phia. Vol. 1 (1856) p. 65.

160. Philip Tome. Pioneer life; or thirty years a hunter. Buffalo. (1854) p. 164.

161. C. Hart Merriam. The mammals of the Adirondack region. New York.

(1884) pp. 96-7.

162. Robert Kennicott. The quadrupeds of Illinois. Report of the Commis¬

sioner of Patents, Agr. Report for 1858. (1859) p. 252.

163. L. H. Bunnell. Winona and its environs. Winona. (1897) p. 330.

164. M. Hardy. Forest and Stream 48 (March 20, 1897) 224.

165. J. B. Felt. Annals of Salem. 2nd ed Salem. Vol. 2 (1845) p. 631; vol. 1,

p. 267.

166. John Josselyn. New England’s rarities discovered. Boston reprint. (1865)

p. 45.

167. New York Gazette Oct. 8, 1759. Quoted by T. E. Devoe. The market as¬

sistant. New York. (1867) p. 125.

168. J. Belknap. The history of New-Hampshire. Boston. Vol. 3 (1792) pp.

150-1.

169. Cyrus Eaton. Annals of the town of Warren. Hallowell. (1851) p. 244.

170. Isaac Weld. Travels through the states of North America and the prov¬

inces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the years 1795, 1796, and 1797.

London. (1799) p. 270.

171. Rev. B. G. Willey. Incidents in White Mountain history. Boston. (1857)

pp. 227-8.

172. A. W. SCHORGER. J. Mamm. 27 (1946) 177.

173. C. Moore. History of Michigan. Chicago. Vol. 1 (1915) p. 358.

174. Father Jacques Gravier. Jesuit Relations. Vol. 65 (1900) 105.

175. S. Hazard. The register of Pennsylvania. Vol. 14 (1834) pp. 221, 275

and 319.

176. Memphis Avalanche. In Madison (Wis.) State Journal Sept. 19, 1877, 2.

177. J. E. DeKay. Zoology of New York. Mammalia. Albany. (1842) p. 25.

178. W. R. King. The sportsman and naturalist in Canada. London. (1866) p. 9.

179. Milwaukee (d) Wisconsin Sept. 10, 1866, 2.

179.1. William T. Porter. In P. Hawker. Instructions to young sportsmen . . .

Philadelphia. (1846) p. 318.

180. J. H. Ferguson. Forest and Stream 33 (Oct. 17, 1889) 245.

181. J. G. Rich. Ibid. 43 (Oct. 20, 1894) 339.

181.1. Samuel Strickland. Twenty-seven years in Canada West. London. Vol.

1 (1853) p. 302.

182. E. Hough. Forest and Stream. 47 (Dec. 19, 1896) 489.

Schorger — Black Bear in Early Wisconsin

193

183. Madison Argus Sept. 5, 1844.

183.1. Freedom Simons. In History of Dane County. Chicago. (1880) p. 425.

184. Milwaukee Courier Dec. 11, 1844.

184.1. Ibid. Oct. 30, 1844.

185. G. Willard. Seventeenth Ann. Meeting Old Settler's Ass. Sauk County,

June 19 and 20, 1889.

186. James L. Breck. LHe. New York. (1883) p. 91.

187. Waukesha Democrat Oct. 2, 1849.

188. Mineral Point Wisconsin Tribune Oct. 12, 1849.

189. Green Bay Advocate Oct. 2, 1856.

190. Oshkosh Courier Oct. 8, 1856.

191. Appleton Crescent Sept. 16 and 27, 1856.

192. Watertown Democrat Oct. 16, 1856.

193. Jefferson Jeffersonian Oct. 9, 1856; Watertown Democrat Sept. 25, Oct.

9 and 23; Milwaukee Sentinel Nov. 26, 1856.

194. Milwaukee (w) Wisconsin Oct. 1, 1856, 3; Sentinel Sept. 29, 1856.

195. Milwaukee (w) Wisconsin Nov. 5, 1856, 2.

196. Dodgeville Advocate Sept. 24, 1859.

197. Beloit Journal Nov. 2, 1859; Milwaukee Daily National Oct. 29 and Nov.

2; Janesville Gazette Nov. 1, 1859.

198. Madison State Journal Sept. 27, 1859; Prairie du Chien Leader Sept. 29,

1859.

199. Prairie du Chien Leader Sept. 22 and 29, 1859; Milwaukee Daily National

Oct. 5; Madison State Journal Sept. 17.

200. Madison State Journal Sept. 30, 1859; Dodgeville Advocate Sept. 17;

Mineral Point Intelligencer Oct. 3.

201. Madison State Journal Sept. 23, Oct. 3 and 4, 1859; Madison Daily Patriot

Oct. 1, 3, 5 and 6.

202. Racine Advocate Nov. 2, 1859.

203. Milwaukee (d) News Oct. 13, 1859.

204. Monroe Sentinel Sept. 21 and 28, Oct. 12, 1859.

205. Richland Center Observer Sept. 13, 1859; Milwaukee Sentinel Sept. 26.

206. Columbus Journal Sept. 21, 1859; Portage Record Sept. 7, 14, 21 and 28;

Madison State Journal Sept. 6; Portage Badger State Sept. 17.

207. Beaver Dam Democrat Oct. 15, 1859; Fox Lake Gazette Sept. 8.

208. Berlin Courant Oct. 19, 1866,

209. Madison State Journal Nov. 1, 1866.

210. A. S. Hawkins. Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 32 (1940) 58.

211. Richland Center Republican Jan. 3, 1867.

212. Friendship Press Oct. 12, 1866.

213. Edgerton Union. In Madison State Journal Dec. 30, 1866.

214. La Crosse Republican and Leader Nov. 4, 1871, 4.

215. Darlington Democrat Dec. 22, 1871.

216. Richland Center Republican Sept. 28, Oct. 12 and 26, 1871.

217. Baraboo Republic Sept. 20 and 27, 1871.

218. Milwaukee Daily News Nov. 5, 1871.

219. Friendship Press Oct. 7, 1871; Kilbourn Mirror Sept. 29.

220. Portage Enterprise Sept. 23, 1871.

221. Berlin Courant Oct. 5, 1871.

194

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

222. Lodi Journal Sept. 25, Oct. 9, 1872.

223. Friendship Press Oct. 5 and 12, 1872.

224. Darlington Republican Feb. 3, 1872.

225. Richland Center Republican Sept. 19, Oct. 3, 10, and 31, 1878.

226. Spring Green Dollar Times Sept. 17, Oct. 1, 1878.

227. Prairie du Chien Union Sept. 12 and 20, 1878.

228. Friendship Press Sept. 14 Oct. 5 and 19, 1878.

229. Eau Claire (d) Leader Sept. 30, 1883.

230. Menomonie Times Oct. 5, 1883.

231. Arcadia Republican and Leader Oct. 11, 1883.

232. Prairie du Chien Union Sept. 21, 1883.

233. Richland Center Republican and Observer Oct. 11, 1883, 1; Dodgeville

Sun Oct. 5, 1883.

234. Friendship Press Sept. 15, 1883.

235. Baraboo Republic Oct. 24, 1883, 1.

236. Friendship Press Nov. 7, 1885.

237. Ibid. Oct. 17, 1885.

238. Portage Democrat Oct. 9, 1885; Register Oct. 10.

239. Baraboo Republic Sept. 16, 23, Oct. 14, 28 and Nov. 4, 1885; Prairie

du Sac News Sept. 19.

240. Friendship Press Sept. 22, Oct. 13 and 20, 1888.

241. Portage Democrat Sept. 28, 1888.

242. Baraboo Republic Sept. 12, Oct. 17, 1888.

243. Dodgeville Chronicle Sept. 21, 1888; Montfort Monitor Sept. 20.

244. Black River Falls Banner Oct. 3, 1901.

245. Prairie du Chien Courier Oct. 20, 1852; M. Birkbeck. Notes of a journey in

America from the coast of Virginia to the territory of Illinois. Philadelphia.

(1817) p. 169.

246. B. Bailey. J. Mamm. 10 (1929) 159.

247. Beloit Journal Nov. 2, 1859.

248. H. E. Cole. Baraboo bear tales. Baraboo (1915) p. 98.

SQUIRRELS IN EARLY WISCONSIN

A. W. SCHORGER

The tree squirrels are set apart from most rodents by their beauty

and food value. East of the Mississippi River they were the staple

game animals in pioneer times and continued in this role long after

deer had become scarce, or disappeared. The observant knew when

the gray squirrel was being served, for on cooking, its bones acquire

a pink color. ^ When the Indian did not possess a rifle, or chose to be

economical, he used the bow. Bullock^ while at Tuscarora, New

York, in 1827, met an Indian and his boy laden with nearly a hundred

squirrels that had been killed with a short and simple bow. Some

of the New York Indians hunted squirrels with the blowgun,^ a

weapon undoubtedly brought in by the Tuscaroras when they mi¬

grated from the Carolinas.

White and Indian youth alike acquired skill in shooting by hunting

squirrels. It was a point of pride with the hunter to kill his game

by shooting it through the head or by “barking.” The best marks¬

men in our armies through the Civil War were the men who had

hunted squirrels since boyhood. The threat to southern Ohio by the

Confederates in 1862 resulted in the call to arms of the “Squirrel

Hunters” of that state.

Squirrels were a great problem to the early settlers due to their

destructiveness to crops. The following statement is typical of condi¬

tions. “At that time [1823] it was an easy matter to raise grain and

vegetables where the land was clear, but the great trouble was to

save them. Squirrels, chipmunks and other vermin were so abundant

that they would devour a field of corn almost entirely. ... We used to

have dead-falls for every fence comer, and some one of the family

had to go around the field with a gun nearly all the time at certain

seasons. I remember well that during warm weather, such was the

stench from the carcasses of dead vermin, that it became nearly un¬

bearable.”^

195

196

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

The gray squirrel, due to its abundance, was particularly obnoxious.

Massachusetts in 1740 voted a bounty of four pence on these ani-

mals.5 In 1741, 4,762 gray and “ground” squirrels were presented

for bounty in the Town of Westford, Middlesex County, Massa¬

chusetts.^ The provincial government of Pennsylvania offered three

pence per head for gray and black squirrels. After paying out 8,000

pounds, Pennsylvania currency, during the year 1749, the province

retrenched to the extent of cutting the bounty in half.'^ An act passed

in 1807 gave a one and one-half cent bounty on squirrels in Western

Pennsylvania. Eight additional counties were included in 1811.^ Most

of the northern states at one time or another offered similar bounties.

A partial answer to the problem was the side hunt during which

great numbers of squirrels were slain. During a two-day hunt in

Madison County, Kentucky, 5,589 squirrels were killed.^ Thirty

hunters, on Christmas day, 1833, killed 1,200 gray squirrels at Fulton,

Missouri. The hunt was an annual affair to reduce the destruction of

crops. HalP^ mentions several side hunts in New York in which

as many as 5,300 squirrels were killed; and one at Berlin, Vermont

(?), that yielded 12,400. Other examples are given below.

Wisconsin had its side hunts but the numbers of squirrels killed

were smaller than in some of the other states. There was the same

problem of protecting the crops. As late as the fall of 1892, two men

killed 188 squirrels in a cornfield of about ten acres near Viola, Rich¬

land County.

Squirrels formed an item of importance in the game markets of

Wisconsin. In the fall of 1876 the price ranged from $.90 to $1.25

per dozen in the Milwaukee market. They were so plentiful in

1882 that the price dropped from $1.00 to as low as $.25 per dozen.^^

In 1890 they sold at two cents apiece in La Crosse.^ ^ There appears

to have been occasional demands from furriers. There was an offer

at Grantsburg in 1901 to buy 150 gray squirrels, those having large,

bushy tails bringing the highest price.^^

Squirrel hunting remains an important sport as is shown by the

recent annual kills in Wisconsin and Michigan given below.

Wisconsin

Year

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

Gray Squirrel

606,372

409,626

445,283

348,572

433,420

422,543

Fox Squirrel

399,104

258,756

316,817

240,800

262,275

245,726

Total

1,005,476

668,382

762,100

589,372

695,695

668,269

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin 197

Michigan

It will be noted that the gray is more abundant than the fox squirrel

in Wisconsin, while the fox is far more plentiful than the gray squirrel

in Michigan.

The Red Squirrel

The red squirrel appears to have ranged formerly throughout

most of the state. I have never seen it in Dane County and there are

no satisfactory records from Rock County west to the Mississippi

River. It was common in Jefferson County^^ in 1856; however, the

killing of one at Palmyra in 1887 evoked the comment that it was a

rare species.^^ In July, 1866, this squirrel invaded Green Bay^^ and

it was not uncommon to find half a dozen on one tree. It was very

plentiful at Sturgeon Bay,^® Stevens Point,^^ and Black River

Falls22 during the emigration of 1878; and at Marshfield^^ in 1883.

In March of the latter year it was reported plentiful at Manitowoc.^^

The red squirrel emigrates but the movement is not often spec¬

tacular, An extensive emigration took place in Essex County, New

York, in the autumn of 1851. Watson states: “It is well authenticated,

that the red squirrel was constantly seen in the widest parts of the

lake [Lake Champlain], far out from land, swimming towards the

shore, as if familiar with the service.”25 This squirrel is a better

swimmer than the fox or the gray. Watson adds: “Reaching land,

they stopped for a moment, and relieving their active and vigorous

little bodies from the water, by an energetic shake or two, they bounded

into the woods as light and free as if they had made no extraordinary

effort.” Cole^^ remarks on the ease with which it swims.

Further information on the movements of this squirrel in the Ad-

irondacks is given by Merriam. He says: “James Higby tells me that

in June, 1877, he saw as many as fifty crossing Big Moose Lake, and

they were all headed the same way - to the north. I am informed

by Dr. A. K. Fisher that at the southern end of Lake George, in early

autumn, it is sometimes an every-day occurrence to see Red Squirrels

swimming across the lake from west to east — never in the opposite

198

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

direction. The chestnut grows abundantly on the eastern side of the

lake, but is comparatively scarce on the western, and these extensive

migrations always take place in years when the yield of chestnuts

is large.”^'^

This species was frequently seen by Hardy in emigration in

Maine, swimming from east to west. Cole,^^ on September 18, 1921,

found a red squirrel swimming southward across White Sand Lake,

Vilas County, Wisconsin from a point where the lake was an eighth

of a mile wide. The same autumn one was taken from the stomach of

a great northern pike (Lucius lucius) at Lake Fanny Hoe, Keweenaw

County, Michigan, where this squirrel was frequently seen to swim

the lake.

The red squirrel has been losing ground gradually in the southern

part of the state. The extent of its distribution southward was de¬

termined from information received from nearly one hundred resi¬

dents within the vicinity of the present boundary (Fig. 1). Its per¬

sistence in southeastern Wisconsin appears to be due to the remnants

of tamarack swamps. Tamiasciurus hudsonicus loquax occupies the

state except in the northwest where it is replaced by an intergrade

with T. h. minnesotae.

The Fox Squirrel

The fox squirrel (Sciurus niger ruHventer) was not common in

early Wisconsin but increased with settlement. “Atticus,”29 writing

in 1844, stated that gray and black squirrels were so common at

Racine that a hunter could kill twenty of them in an afternoon. The

fox squirrel was seen only occasionally, but he had killed several

of them. During a hunting match that took place at Racine early in

the winter of 1836, the red squirrel counted five, and black, gray and

fox squirrels ten points.^^ Buck^^ states that in 1836 the northern

slopes of the bluffs on Oregon Street, Milwaukee, were covered with

“a growth of poplar and hazel, a great resort for black, gray, and

fox squirrels.”

In 1850 Moses Barret^^ settled on the Indian lands at Wautoma

where he found red, gray, black, and fox squirrels. An occasional fox

squirrel was to be found at Oshkosh^ ^ in 1859. Ficker^^ mentions only

the gray and black squirrels as occurring in the town of Mequon,

Ozaukee County, the winter of 1848-49. His “chipmunk” was evi¬

dently the red squirrel as it is described as very similar in coloration,

but smaller than the German red squirrel. During a side hunt at

Watertown in the fall of 1849, 235 black and gray, and 305 red

SchoTger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

199

squirrels were killed by 20 hunters. The fox squirrel was not men¬

tioned.^ 5 However, in 1856, the woods at Jefferson “are alive with

squirrels — black, gray, fox and red that are committing sad havoc

with our farmers’ corn.’’^^ A side hunt at this place in 1866 yielded

“over 350 black, gray and fox squirrels, about 200 red . . The red

squirrel counted five and the other species ten points each, indicating

that the fox squirrel was not sufficiently rare to secure a premium.

The fox squirrel was the most numerous species at Brodhead,

Fig. 1. Southern range of the red squirrel in Wisconsin.

200

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Green County, in 1869.^^ Fox and gray squirrels were abundant, red

few, and black rare, at Waukesha in 1879.^^ At this time Strong^^

limited the fox squirrel to the southern and eastern parts of the state.

An opinion on the relative abundance of the various species in Rich¬

land County in 1882 may be formed from the points set for a side

hunt: red 10, gray 25, black and fox squirrels 50 points.'^o 1899

a himter in this county is reported to have found 17 fox squirrels in

one tree and to have killed 13 of them.'^i During a side hunt at Ply¬

mouth, Sheboygan County, in 1890, 3 fox, 2 black, and 33 gray

squirrels were killed.'^^

Fox, gray and black squirrels occurred at Trempealeau in 1883,

the gray predominating.^ 5 Kessinger,"^"^ in 1888, reported the status of

the squirrels in Buffalo County as follows: fox, “not numerous”;

gray, “more numerous”; black, occasional; and red, abundant. Fox,

gray, and black squirrels occurred near Montello, Marquette County,

in 1877.^5 In 1886 there were fox, gray, and red squirrels at Tustin,

Waushara County

A fox squirrel was shot in Outagamie County in 1904.^^^ Ko-

marek"^^ in 1932 listed the fox, gray, and a few black squirrels for the

Menominee Indian Reservation, northeastern Shawano County. I

was told by Edward Puchner in 1942 that fox squirrels appeared

near Wausau three or four years previously. A few black squirrels were

to be found but the gray predominated.

There is at intervals a considerable variation in the ratio of fox

to gray squirrel populations. During a residence of 40 years in Dane

County, I have found that the fox squirrel has always been the more

numerous, taking the county as a whole. The gray squirrel was un¬

common in the city of Madison up to 1934. Since that time it has

increased to the point of being about as plentiful as the fox squirrel.

Joseph Henderson, who was born near Riley, Dane County, in 1884,

informed me that when he was a boy nearly all the squirrels were

gray, a fox squirrel being considered a “prize.” A similar situation in

Dodge County is reported by Snyder.^^ In 1888 the fox squirrel was

rare and the gray common at Beaver Dam. By 1902 this condition

was reversed.

The fox squirrel is less numerous than the gray in the state. There

were 245,700 fox squirrels killed in 1945. There was one fox squirrel

killed to 1.7 gray squirrels. The fox squirrel was decidedly superior

numerically to the gray in Calumet, Fond du Lac, Green, Richland,

SchoTger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

201

and Rock counties, less so in Brown, Dane, Outagamie, and Winne¬

bago counties.

The upper range of the fox squirrel. Green Bay to the northern

end of Lake Pepin, as given by Hamilton^® in 1943, is too conserva¬

tive. The movement of squirrels in northwestern Wisconsin in the

fall of 1946 showed that the fox squirrel was common at Hudson

and that a few were resident at Osceola, Polk County.^i Prof. J. R.

Jacobson, Central High School, Superior, informed me that this species

Fig. 2. Range of the fox squirrel in Wisconsin and the kill by counties in 1946.

“No” shows no open season.

202

Wisconsin Academy oi Sciences, Arts and Letters

now occurs 20 miles south of Superior. It is fairly common in south¬

ern Marinette County, though Allen^^ reported it absent in Meno¬

minee County, Michigan. C. H. Richter wrote me that it has been

at Oconto for at least 20 years. The present range is given in Fig. 2.

A fox squirrel with black markings is now comparatively rare in

the state. A century ago fox squirrels with black bellies seem to have

been fairly common. When Dr. P. R. Hoy^^ was in St. Louis in 1854

he noticed in the window of a barber-shop a black-bellied fox squirrel

such as was found in the vicinity of Racine, Wisconsin. On in¬

quiry he learned that it was obtained on the Wisconsin River.

Kennicott wrote: “A variety of this species is occasionally met with

in which the tail and upper parts are of the usual colors, but with the

entire under parts of the body perfectly black. It has only been ob¬

served in Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois.”^^ Mrs. H. A.

Main, Fort Atkinson, has a memo left by Thure Kumlien listing a

male black-bellied fox squirrel, taken at Busseyville, August 26, 1880,

as of possible interest to the University of Wisconsin. He valued it at

$2.00. Snyder^9 had in his collection three specimens with the under¬

parts black and states that three examples of complete melanism

have been found in Dodge County. H. E. Reed, Ashippun, told me

that about November 1, 1944, while hunting at Auroraville, Waushara

County, with his son, the latter killed a black-bellied fox squirrel. He

had never seen one before.

It has been generally assumed that the fox squirrel does not emi¬

grate even when the gray squirrels are moving en masse. Porter 5 5

states that during an immense emigration of gray squirrels in Butler

County, Pennsylvania, the fox squirrel, though common in eastern

Pennsylvania, was not seen. Kennicott remarked that this species

will migrate singly but not in large companies; and that it has been

known to cross “a prairie in summer four or five miles in width, to

reach timber upon the other side.” Brown and Yeager found no

evidence of an emigration of this squirrel in Illinois.

Authentic cases of emigration are rare in the literature. Britton,^^

when a boy, mentions seeing about 100 fox squirrels moving south¬

ward on the ground and along rail fences. Bennitt and Nagle^^ record

small but very definite emigrations in Missouri in recent years.

On October 1, 1946, Harry Strobe gave to Aldo Leopold informa¬

tion obtained from his father on a movement of squirrels in the

1880’s (probably 1883). The observations were made on Strobe^s

Island, an area of 90 acres situated in the Fox River three miles

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

203

south of Appleton, Wisconsin. Squirrels also crossed the river four

or five years after this date. The movements, starting in August and

continuing into September, lasted over a period of three to four

weeks. The crossing, always westward, took place during the entire

day, and 25 to 30 squirrels could be seen swimming at one time.

“About 80 to 90 percent of the squirrels were grays and the rest were

black and fox squirrels. Sometime after 1890 the fox squirrels re¬

placed the gray squirrels and the numbers of squirrels declined.”

Under date of October 19, 1938, Aldo Leopold sent me some infor¬

mation, furnished by Earl Schultz, Oregon, Wisconsin, on an emi¬

gration of fox squirrels at Reed’s Landing at the lower end of Lake

Pepin in September, 1903. The movement lasted for two v/eeks and

no gray squirrels took part. The squirrels crossed daily from noon

to 3:00 P. M. The direction was westward. When a squirrel was

pushed off the eastern side of a boat, it invariably oriented itself

and continued westward. On September 3, 1944, Cyril Rabat observed

a movement of fox squirrels in the Puckaway Marsh, at the eastern

end of Lake Puckaway, Green County, Wisconsin. “As many as 20

fox squirrels were observed attempting to swim across the Fox River

and adjoining marsh waters . . . The movement was from west to east.

The water area was about half a mile wide at this point.” The dis¬

tance from the timber from which the squirrels apparently started

to the next hardwoods in the line of march was at least two miles.

The fox squirrels moved en masse during the squirrel emigration

in northwestern Wisconsin in the fall of 1946.^^ In western Jackson

County, where the direction of the movement was southwesternly.

Warden Werner Radke saw “approximately fifty fox squirrels while

traveling a mile of road in the towns of Albion and Springfield.”

The Gray Squirrel

Range. It is not possible to determine accurately how far north

the gray squirrel occurred a century ago. While at Lac du Flambeau

in 1804, Malhiot59 wrote in his journal that the squirrels were doing

much damage in the corn fields. This probably refers to the red

squirrel. Kennicott^^a in 1856, stated on the authority of Dr. Hoy

that it did not occur in northern Wisconsin but was abundant in the

southern part of the state. It was very abundant at Appleton^® in

1854 and at Green Bay^"^ in 1856, so that it must have occurred in

this latitude prior to settlement. It is reasonable to assume that it

was indigenous to all the northern counties. Richardson^^ stated in

204

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

1829 that the black squirrel was not uncommon on the northern shores

of Lakes Huron and Superior, the gray never being seen. He mentions

a specimen secured at Fort William, northeast of the present Minne¬

sota boundary.

The increase northward has been induced by agriculture and the

replacement of conifers by hardwoods. It was in Lincoln County by

1893. Through the felling of a tree a litter of six young was taken

near Merrill^^ in August. The shooting of a gray squirrel at Florence

in 1886, and again in 1895, in both instances induced the remark that

this species was very rare in Florence County In October, 1895,

a hunter killed 8 gray squirrels at High Ridge, 15 miles south of

Ashland. They were supposed to be the first killed in that part of

the state.^5 Chief Justice Marvin Rosenberry informed me in 1939

that about 25 years previously, while hunting deer at Star Lake, Vilas

County, he shot a black squirrel and brought it into camp since it

was a rarity. It has been reported from Duluth,^^ and in the fall of

1946 a few grays appeared in the city of Superior. Today it is found

in all of the northern counties, but is rare in the immediate neighbor¬

hood of Lake Superior. (Fig. 3).

Most of the state is occupied by Sciurus c. leucostis. The status of

the races in northern Wisconsin has not been worked out. The plant¬

ing of leucostis in Vilas County in the years 1934-36 complicates

the problem.^^ Burt^® refers all the gray squirrels of the Northern

Peninsula to S. c. hypophaeus, but in an earlier paper he thought that

this race might be only a color phase.^^ The occurrence of hypophaeus

in Dodge County, as reported by Snyder,^^ is open to question since no

specimens appear to have been taken. Presumably the squirrels of

northernmost Wisconsin are hypophaeus. On September 13, 1839,

Bachman wrote to Audubon . . the ever varying Squirrels seem

sent by Satan himself to puzzle the Naturalists.” The latter have ad¬

vanced to the stage where they seek bedevilment.

White Phase. Albinism appears to occur most frequently in regions

where there is melanism. I am indebted to Prof. Leon J. Cole for

some correspondence on the two color phases in the state. About the

year 1913, three white squirrels were captured at Westfield, Wis¬

consin.* In the fall of 1940, Warden Hartwell Hope, Westfield, re¬

ported the presence of about 17 black squirrels in one locality and

7 black and one white in the town of Lincoln, Adams County. The

same fall Carl L. Brosius, Acting Commandant, reported 30 to 35

black and 4 white squirrels on the grounds of the Grand Army

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

205

Home for Veterans, at Waupaca. On March 13, 1947, Gordon

L. Paeske wrote to me that there were two white squirrels near the

campus of Northwestern College, Watertown. There has been for

many years a large colony of white squirrels at Olney, Illinois.

Harvey D. Hays informed me that the present population of about

500 albinos stems from a pair introduced in 1902.

Black Phase. While predominating formerly in certain regions.

Fig. 3. Kill of gray squirrels in Wisconsin by counties in 1946.

“No” shows no open season.

206

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

the black phase of the gray squirrel, for some unknown reason, *

becomes rare or disappears with the advance of civilization. It may ,1

be stated that in general the black phase increases as the northern I

limit of the species is approached. On October 15, 1749, Kalm wrote:

“Yesterday and today we saw black squirrels in the woods. This |

squirrel is quite common about Fort St. Frederic, but north of

Montreal it is rather scarce and hard to find. They have these instead i

of the gray squirrel.”^® '

Weeks writing of Salisbury, Vermont, said: “Grey-squirrels were \

rarely met with before the commencement of the present century, [

though they are now quite numerous; while black-squirrels, though |

now nearly if not quite extinct, were then found in quite large num- ,

bers.”^i The same trend at Weare, New Hampshire, was noted by <

Little.72

The black squirrel was very destructive to crops in New York, the

gray arriving with settlements^ In the Genesee River region, black

and red squirrels were common in 1804 but the gray was rare.s^

Some information on the disappearance of the black squirrel at Le ,

Roy, New York, is given by Comstock.s5 This phase declined from

about 90 percent to 2.5 percent from about 1850 to the period 1884- •

90. Dr. L. F. Hawley informed me that the ratio of black to gray

was three to one at his home, Salamanca, New York, in 1900 and

that on going to Ithaca only the gray was to be found.

The black squirrel, about 1800, was abundant in Crawford County,

Pennsylvania, the gray arriving with settlement.s^ According to :

Beck,ss the black squirrel, known locally as the “stump-ear”, has been |

replaced almost entirely by the gray in Lancaster County, Pennsyl- f

vania. ]

The black squirrel was the dominant form in southwestern Michi- j

gan.^^ According to Evermann and Clark,^9 q large proportion of |

the squirrels in southern Michigan were black, while in middle !

Indiana a black squirrel was seldom seen. Kennicott^^a mentions that ;

of a lot of nearly fifty squirrels shot near the Rock River, Illinois,

all were black. As late as 1872 black and gray squirrels were reported

plentiful in the woods north of Freeport, Illinois.^®

The cause of melanism has been discussed by Rhoads. He sug¬

gests that, “the original status of the black squirrel is dependent on

an environment combining the climate and flora of the Upper Tran¬

sition and lower Canadian life zones, in which coniferous and nut-

SchoTger Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

207

bearing trees were normally in the proportion of about ten to one.

As these conditions through human agency revert to those of the

Lower Transition and Upper Austral zones, with a corresponding

increase in population, the ratio of blacks to grays decreases.”^ ^

Rhoads’ theory seems entirely inadequate since the black squirrel

was once abundant in regions where conifers were entirely absent.

The gray squirrel is characteristic of deciduous rather than conifer¬

ous forest. In this connection it is of interest that Sparck®^ in Den¬

mark found a direct correlation between the dark phase of Sciurus

vulgaris and deciduous forest.

The black phase was at one time the sole or prevailing form in

the northern part of the range of the gray squirrel and pioneered in

the extension of territory.^^ Seton states that, “melanism increases

in frequency northward, until in Canada, the black is the rule; there,

at most, 5 percent are gray.”^^ Bachman^^ noted that both grays and

blacks were to be found in the same litter. Black is a recessive char¬

acter and tends to disappear. The gray form carries the genes produc¬

ing black, so that when the proper combination of genes is produced

in the mating of grays, the black phase may appear after several gen¬

erations of grays. The heterozygous nature of the gray squirrel has

been discussed recently by Shorten.^^ Gray squirrels were introduced

at Woburn, England, in 1890, the black phase being introduced later.

Shorten found that in a litter of four young produced by a pair of

grays one was black; and a black female was found suckling a single

black young.

The disappearance of the black phase is an intrigueing problem.

The cause is possibly climatic. I believe that it is logical to assume

that melanism developed on the borders of the glaciers during the

Pleistocene when the climate was cold and moist. The line of maxi¬

mum glaciation runs approximately from New York to St. Louis.

Pleistocene remains are of little assistance since only a few of

Sciurus carolinensis have been found, and these in Pennsylvania and

Maryland.®^ The southern range of the northern gray squirrel at the

time of the appearance of white explorers in the Ohio Valley is not

determinable. In fact the first acceptable approximation of its range

is that given by Allen^^ in 1877. He stated that it extended south to

about isotherm 50° F., where the two forms were not readily distin¬

guishable. Presumably he used the isotherm of Schott.^9 Allen gave

but two definite localities, Washington and St. Louis, for the southern

limits of leucostis. In Illinois and Indiana the line of maximum gla-

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

ciation and the above isotherm coincide roughly but in the other

states there is considerable deviation. This is due largely to the Ap- t

palachian range. As is well known, increase in altitude has the same I

effect as increase in latitude on faunal distribution. , t

The southern form of the gray squirrel, according to Hamilton, |j

extends at the present time to central Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. ■ li

On the other hand Lyon^o states that except for the two northern ‘ I

tiers of counties all the gray squirrels of Indiana are referable to |

the southern form. He makes the following pertinent comment: “The ^

frequency with which black squirrels were reported in the early days ;

from comparatively southern portions of the state leads to the belief •

that the Northern Gray Squirrel extended farther south than recent ,!!

writers indicate.” "

The black squirrel was rather uncommon directly along the Ohio

River during the early 1800’s. Of the squirrels crossing the Ohio

in 1803, “many” were black.^^ There were also black squirrels in the

emigration of 18 17;^^ however, Blane informs us that these were

considered invaders from the north. He wrote that, “they knew from

seeing the black or Canadian squirrel, that they were to expect vast

multitudes; since the animals of this species do not make their ap¬

pearance, unless in times of the failure of the mast ... in the North¬

western forests.”^^ This statement loses significance since the dis- |

tances travelled in the migrations are unknown.

Palmer,^'^ in 1817, found the black squirrel near Cincinnati. No

migration is recorded for this year. Maximilian^^ spent the winter of |.

1832-33 at New Harmony, Posey County, Indiana. He was informed

by Le Seur that during several years residence he had seen but :

one example. On the other hand Haymond wrote in 1869: “The black

squirrels were common — forming about one-third of the total num¬

ber of squirrels in southeastern Indiana [Franklin County] at the '

period of its first settlement. Now they have completely disap- |

peared.”^^ When the Kanawha Valley was first settled, gray and \

black squirrels were very numerous and every few years they mi¬

grated from west to east in countless numbers.^^

Black Squirrel in Wisconsin. The first highway surveyed in south¬

ern Wisconsin, according to John Trumbell,^^ ran from Racine to

Janesville. In August, 1839, he travelled this road in a light wagon ,

“shooting black squirrels by the way.” He remarked that Walworth

County, in comparison with Racine, was “a little better timbered.” •

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

209

At that time the road from Racine to Milwaukee ran through a strip

of heavy timber about 15 miles wide. Black squirrels emigrated from

Dane County in 1856.^9 One was shot in this county in November,

1899.100 Bade^®^ relates that during the early days at Plymouth he

and a companion killed 67 gray and black squirrels in the town of

Mosel, Sheboygan County, in a day’s hunt. The black phase was not

plentiful. Black and gray squirrels were reported abundant in She¬

boygan County in 1894.^^2

When Featherstonhaugh was near the foot of Lake Pepin in Sep¬

tember, 1835, he observed a great many gray squirrels, “but no black

ones, which I have seen abound so much in Upper Canada.”^®^ This

is curious since the black phase occurred throughout western Wis¬

consin. A party hunting 15 miles north of La Crosse in 1863 killed

13 gray and 9 black squirrels. By 1888 only a few black squirrels

were to be found in Buffalo County, but they are not yet extinct.^^^

Black squirrels were abundant at Prescott in 1868, at Hudson^

in 1878, and at New Richmond^®^ in 1895. Theye were quite plenti¬

ful at Rice Lake, Barron County, in 1880.^^9 At this time Strong^^

reported it as occurring rarely throughout the range of the gray

squirrel. A black squirrel with the terminal half of the tail white was

killed at Friendship,^ Adams County, in 1871.

This squirrel was common at Grand (Wisconsin) Rapids^^^ in

1883. At this place on the afternoon of September 25, 1895, two

hunters killed two black and 18 gray squirrels. Black and other

squirrels were common at Stevens Point^^^ in 1878 and at Marsh-

field^^"^ in 1883. In the fall of 1886 the woods near Neenah were “full

of black squirrels.”^ Hamilton mentions the killing of 19 black

and gray squirrels at Sturgeon Bay in 1894. By 1901 the shooting of

a black at this place was worthy of note.^^^

Today the black squirrel is very rare south of Baraboo and Reeds-

burg. North of the latitude of these places it is nowhere abundant,

but may be considered fairly common locally.

Emigration. The early emigrations* of the gray squirrel were so

impressive as to be recorded frequently by travelers. Kalm devoted

several pages to this animal and said that, “it is peculiar that in

some years a greater number of squirrels come down from the higher

countries into Pennsylvania and other English colonies. They com¬

monly come in autumn . . An emigration occurred in the autumn

of 1749 while he was in America.

Col. Joseph Barker, one of the founders of Marietta, Ohio, in

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

1788, wrote: “The migration of the gray squirrel is a very curious

phenomenon, and not easily accounted for. In the autumn of certain

years they become itinerant, traveling simultaneously in millions from

north to south; destroying whole fields of corn in a few days, if not

immediately gathered . . . traveling forward without stopping long

in any place; swimming large rivers; and perhaps before winter, re¬

turning again by the same route toward the north.”ii^

Notable emigrations occurred on the Canadian border. Weld wrote

in September, 1796: “The squirrels this year, contrary to the bears,

migrated from the south, from the territory of the United States.

Like the bears, they took to the water on arriving at it, but as if

conscious of their inability to cross a very wide piece of water, they

bent their course towards Niagara River, above the falls, and at its

narrowest and most tranquil part crossed over into British territory.

It was calculated that upwards of fifty thousand of them crossed the

river in the course of two or three days, and such great depredations

did they commit on arriving at the settlements on the opposite side,

that in one part of the country the farmers deemed themselves very

fortunate where they got in as much as one third of their crops of

corn. These squirrels were all of the black kind said to be peculiar to

the continent of America.”^^

There seems to have been a general movement of animals in 1796.

Rev. Zeisberger wrote at Fairfield, on the Thames, Canada: “With

game too it has been unusual. Raccoons, squirrels, bears, wolves, and

wild turkeys came in great number, and did great harm to the fields

. . . Besides all sorts of vermin came from the south, tried to get over

the river, and were drowned, whole heaps of which could be seen.”

Another extensive emigration took place in 1807. Featherston-

haugh, in Upper Canada, “met the most surprising quantities of fine

glossy black-skinned squirrels . . . : they had spread over an immense

district of country, and were evidently advancing from Lake Huron

to the south.”i°5^ This year Schultz found black squirrels astonishingly

numerous on the north shore of Lake Erie. On August 16, 1807, he

wrote that, “they were literally in small flocks upon the trees; on

some we found ten, twelve and fifteen, and L. even killed five of them

at one shot. Indeed, it was hardly necessary to shoot them, as you

would frequently find three or four upon a little bush not more than

twelve or fifteen feet in height. We shot one hundred and eighty-

seven in less than three hours. They were exceedingly fat . . . It is some¬

what singular that on the American side, you may range a day through

SchoTger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

211

the woods, and scarcely pick up half a dozen of these animals, while

there are such innumerable flocks on the opposite shore; an evident

sign, I think, that the present multitudes . . . have migrated from the

interior of the north-west, until their further progress south-eastward-

ly was arrested by the broad and rapid stream of Niagara.”92a

Beardsley describes an emigration that took place at Niagara Falls

in the fall of 1815: “All along the river, the trees and fences were

covered with black squirrels, and thousands were swimming from

the Canadian to the other side. I never saw them so plenty, anywhere

before; and have never seen them in such numbers in our own state

[New York] as they were that year.”^20 During the early 1800’s

there were huge movements in the opposite direction. The squirrels

were killed with sticks as they landed on the Canadian shore.^^i

Talbot 2 states that in the summer of 1820 squirrels were so numer¬

ous as to destroy about one thousand acres of corn in the township

of London, Ontario.

An emigration of gray squirrels took place in eastern New York

in 1808 or 1809. Judging from the descriptions of Bachmani23 of

some of the squirrels, the grays were accompanied by chipmunks.

They crossed the Hudson between Waterford and Saratoga, and

stopped in the mountains of Vermont. Many remained in Rensselaer

County, east of the Hudson, where they were numerous for several

years. There was no evidence of a return.

A French officer stationed at Fort Duquesne (Pittsburg) wrote

that in August, 1755, black and gray squirrels were crossing the

rivers. They crossed two and three times daily, and as many as 700

to 800 being seen at one time. He stated that they took to the

water due to an itching on the head and added: “We had to throw

the heads away because they had worms in their brains, which

caused them to blacken and make the animals somewhat crazy.”i24

When Schoepfi25 was at Pittsburg in early September, 1783, un¬

believable numbers of gray and black squirrels were emigrating from

the frontiers toward the coast. Vast numbers were killed. Two boys

at Wheeling shot 219 in three days.

Emigrations of the greatest magnitude took place in the north

central states where the preponderance of mast-bearing trees led to

high populations. Rev. Cutler^^^ on September 10, 1788, caught a

a great number of squirrels that were swimming the Ohio below the

mouth of the Little Muskingum. On September 11, 1803, at Sunfish

Creek, about 117 miles below Pittsburg, Captain Lewis recorded

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

in his journal that squirrels were crossing the Ohio, “universally

passing from the W. to the East shore they appear to be making to the

south.”9i On the 13- 15th the squirrels were swimming from the

northwest to the southeast, only one being observed to swim in the

opposite direction. On the 15th they camped 201 miles below Pitts¬

burgh so that the migration covered a front of 84 miles.

Another emigration occurred in 1807, only four years later. Schultz

wrote on October 6: “This country appears to be completely overrun

with innumerable quantities of black and grey squirrels. The river

(Ohio), since we left Marietta, has afforded us an abundant supply of

these animals, without any trouble on our part, as our boat had con¬

tinually five or six of them on board ... I have counted no less than

forty-seven at one time swimming across the river in different direc¬

tions. The shores on each side of the river are literally lined with

drowned squirrels; and I suppose that one third at least of those who

take to the river perish in the water. They all appear to be migrating

to the southward. Higher up the river we found them very fat . . .

but they have now become too poor to be eatable.”92b Ohio was

polluted by the thousands of dead squirrels on its surface and its

banks. Cuming^^y Adams County, Ohio, near the Ohio River

on August 8, 1807, when he found the woods “alive” with squirrels.

This shows that the movement extended over a period of at least

two months.

The emigration of 1807 is mentioned by Hildreth. In a paper dated

January 17, 1809, he states that “last” year crops were injured by

myriads of gray squirrels. They appeared to be “migrating from the

north to the south — hundreds could be seen crossing the Ohio, where

it was nearly a mile wide; in this attempt thousands were drowned.”^

This undoubtedly refers to 1807 for in a later paper he mentions

the years 1807, 1822, and 1843 as memorable for the emigrations and

depredations of this squirrel.129

Scott quotes Col. Keys as stating that the squirrels began to

appear in Highland County early in the spring of 1807 and that by the

first of May the whole of southern Ohio was inundated. The planted

corn was taken up almost entirely. Jones^^^ also states that the squir¬

rels emigrated in 1807 directly after corn-planting and that the crop

was a failure over a large part of the country. Spring emigrations

were unusual. As mentioned above there was an emigration in On¬

tario this year. The emigration of 1807 is accordingly remarkable for

duration and extent of territory.

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

213

The next huge emigration took place in 1822. Blane has given us

the following graphic description: “I could scarcely believe my eyes,

when I saw the immense number of these animals, who were busily

employed in destroying a field of Indian corn, and who, on our ap¬

proach, took refuge in the neighboring thicket. We shot eleven out of

one tree; from which also several others, alarmed at the noise of the

rifles, jumped out and escaped. These little animals had that year

done incalculable mischief to the Indian corn, throughout the States

of Ohio and Indiana. They also swam the Ohio river by myriads, and

ravaged the shores of Virginia and Kentucky. I found that this host

of squirrels had in many places destroyed the whole crop, and that

the little fellows were sometimes seen, three or four upon a stalk,

fighting for the ear. In parts of Ohio, the people attempted to destroy

them by means of guns, dogs, and clubs. One party of hunters, in the

course of a week, killed upwards of 19,000. In most places, however,

there were such multitudes of them, that the inhabitants quite de¬

spaired of being able to rid themselves of this plague. Whole legions

of these animals when crossing the river were killed by boys and dogs;

but their numbers did not appear to be sensibly diminished, until

they came to the open and cultivated parts of Kentucky, where, as

they had no longer the trees to take shelter in, they were easily de¬

stroyed. The farmers with whom I conversed, told me that the oldest

settlers had never recollected seeing so many. But about fifteen years

before [1807] they were almost equally plagued.”^^ The effect of

the destruction of the crops was acutely felt at Chillicothe, Ohio,

in the spring of 1823, where the farm animals, particularly hogs,

were starving to death. This shows that there was no mast left in

the woods.

The naturalist, Godman, also witnessed the emigration in Ohio in

the fall of 1822. He states: “Fortunately for the farmers these ani¬

mals are not at the same time equally numerous in different parts

of the country. We found the squirrels in 1822, most numerous

throughout the country lying between the Great and Little Miami

rivers; they became evidently fewer as we advanced towards Chilli¬

cothe, and beyond that place were so rare as to be seldom seen.”^^^

Blane’s account shows that Godman arrived at Chillicothe after the

emigration had passed. It extended beyond Columbus where squirrels

were so numerous that a county- wide hunt was organized.^ This

took place early in September and 19,900 scalps were produced.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

This was not the total kill since a great many hunters did not report.

The direction of the emigrations in Ohio was usually southeast or

south. The irregular emigrations passing through Dajrton, Ohio, orig¬

inated in the northwest.^^"^ Bushnell,^^^ jn his annals under the year

1816, mentions a large emigration of squirrels towards the south¬

east in Licking County, Ohio. The movement across the Ohio River

was not always southward. Jacob Hoffner informed Dury^^^^ that in

the autumn of 1816 great numbers crossed the river from Kentucky

below Covington.

An emigration lasting about 20 days took place in Miami County,

Ohio, “about the year 1828-29”, and passed from west to east.^^^

One of the last large emigrations in Ohio took place in 1843. Hildreth

states: “In addition to the other calamities which befell us . . . the

gray squirrels commenced their depredations on the corn as soon as it

was fairly in the milk, and continued them till it was gathered. They

were most numerous in September and October, migrating from the

woods in the interior in countless hosts; one man could kill a hundred

and more in a day. . . . Thousands of them swam across the Ohio

River.”i29

Indiana was as well populated with gray squirrels as Ohio. Flint

relates that in the emigration of 1811, “they emigrated from the

north towards the south by thousands, and with a front of some

regularity, along the lower part of the state of Ohio, and the whole

of Indiana.”^ This emigration is mentioned briefly by Latrobe.^^^

While on a collecting trip in 1819, Audubon observed large

numbers of gray squirrels swimming the Ohio. The emigration began

100 miles below Cincinnati and extended to within 100 miles of the

mouth of the Ohio; accordingly on a front of about 125 miles. “At

times they were strewed, as it were, over the surface of the water.”^^

Hamilton County was over-run in 1826. The squirrels passed

from west to east for a period of two weeks.^^^The year 1834 was

remarkable for the number of squirrels throughout Indiana. Hahn^"^^

states that in Wabash County they emigrated northward, crossing the

Wabash River in countless numbers. The woods and prairies near

Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, swarmed with them for a

period of two to three weeks.^'^^ According to Banta^"^^ this was an

exceptionally bad year for squirrel depredations in Johnson County.

Hahn mentions that in a great squirrel hunt in Bartholomew County

the champion killed 900 squirrels in three days. The next largest

score was 783. He also stated on the authority of E. J. Chansler that

SchoTger — - Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

215

the squirrels emigrated from Knox County this year and again in

1836 and 1837.

It is stated that Kentucky was invaded by squirrels in great

numbers early in the spring of 1850. The great southward emigra¬

tion across the Ohio into Kentucky in 1822 is also mentioned.^'^'^

In September, 1877, Harrison and adjoining counties in Indiana were

overrun by squirrels. The movement was northward.^^^ much

larger emigration was said to have taken place in 1833.

Large emigrations have occurred west of the Mississippi and south

of the Missouri. Galland, writing of Iowa in 1840, stated: “The

common grey squirrels are found plentifully in the woods, with a few

scattering fox squirrels, but no black ones . . . neither have I

discovered the singular phenomenon of migration and emigration,

profusion and scarcity, of these little animals, which are so remark¬

able in the early settlement of the Ohio valley

The middle of September, 1859, “hundreds of thousands” of gray

squirrels appeared along the Merrimac River, Missouri, crossed the

Mississippi, worked their way down the river, then crossed to Cape

Giradeau in “countless myriads”.^"^^ The old French settlers said

that similar hordes were encountered in 1834 and 1852. It was the

year 1834 that Townsend^® found the gray squirrel so numerous in

Missouri.

There has been a great number of comparatively small emigrat¬

ions of the gray squirrel during the past 100 years. A few of these

movements will be mentioned subsequently to emphasize a particu¬

lar point.

Nature and Cause oi Emigration, One of the most striking features

of the movement of gray squirrels was the persistance with which

these animals adhered to a course when it became set. They would

not be turned aside by prairies, rivers, lakes of moderate size, or

even villages. Before entering the water, they were said to climb trees

to view the hazard ahead. Attempts to cross a stretch of water more

than a couple of miles wide were rarely made. No instances were

found where they blindly entered the Great Lakes. Crossings be¬

tween Ontario and New York were made at the Niagara River. A

hunter told Comstock^'^® that in September, 1848, he saw “two acres”

of black and gray squirrels crossing Seneca Lake, New York, at a

place where it was five miles wide. They crossed from east to west.

The next year these animals were plentiful on the west side and

absent on the east.

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

A good account of the crossing of a lake is given by De Voe.

He states: “It is said that they always travel to the east, often

hundreds of miles, and when necessary to cross a river or lake they

enter the water like dogs, if it is quite smooth. In the month of

September, 1851, 1 arrived at Lake George [N. Y.] where I found the

gray and black squirrels had been travelling for several days and

were still moving. Early one morning I discovered three or four at

several distances, swimming from the western to the eastern shore

of the lake, which at that time was as smooth as glass. I watched them

as long as I could see the ripples which they made, and supposed

they succeeded in crossing the lake, which at this point was more

than a mile wide. They will not enter the water when there is a

ripple, as they swim very deep and of course drown easily; some¬

times they are caught out in the rivers or lakes with a sudden breeze,

just enough to agitate the water, when it drowns them, without they

are lucky enough to catch a floating piece of bark or wood to mount

upon, and with their tails curled up they are blown or wafted ashore.

(People finding them in this situation are led to believe that they

started with a float). ”^"^9

One writer remarks that he had frequently seen black squirrels

crossing the Niagara River and that they “swam across, when the

morning first began to dawn. On reaching the opposite shore they

would appear greatly fatigued, and if unmolested would take a

pretty long rest preparatory to their setting off for the neighboring

woods.”i50^j^gj.g seems, however, to be no particular time of day

chosen to cross water. Schultz,92b while floating down the Ohio, en¬

countered them throughout the day.

The gray squirrel was considered by Bachmani23 to be a clumsy

swimmer. Those that crossed the Hudson swam deeply and

awkwardly, their bodies and tails being wholly submerged. On the

other hand Lewis wrote that, “they swim very light on the water and

make pretty good speed.”^^ Weld^^ states that no animal swims

better and that when pursued he has seen them take to the water

voluntarily. On reaching shore the first task is the drying and

dressing of the fur.^^

The fanciful assertion that in crossing a body of water each

squirrel provides itself with a piece of wood or bark in which it

sets sail is alluded to by many writers. I have traced this tale back

as far as 1728, when William Byrd^^i had it from an Indian. When

Linnaeus^ 52 ^^e island of Gottland in 1741, he was told by

Schorger ~ — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

217

the inhabitants that the squirrels crossed lakes on chips and pieces

of bark. This is an interesting case of the same folklore having

independent origins.

The direction of the emigrations was seldom, if ever, the same in

any region. There is little specific information on the size of the area

involved in the movements and the distances travelled by individual

squirrels. During the emigration of 1807, Featherstonhaugh^^^^

thought that the squirrels that he encountered were advancing from

Lake Huron. Since, at the same time, great numbers were crossing the

Ohio into Kentucky, it is possible that they were moving in a line 400

miles in length from north to south.

Kennicott^'^^ states that he has never known them to migrate

“except when exceedingly abundant” and adds: “After one of these

grand migrations, very few of the species are found in the localities

from which they have moved, and these, as if alarmed at the un¬

usual solitude, are silent and shy.” The term abundant is scarcely

applicable to the emigrations of the present day and there is serious

doubt that mere numbers caused the exodus.

The squirrels as a rule were in good condition at the outset of

emigration. Mass hysteria pushed them onward to die of exhaustion,

disease, or starvation. At times they were heavily infested with the

larvae of Cuterebra emasculator, that may have set them in frenzied

motion. About one-half of the 50 chipmunks collected by Merriami53

at Lake Champlain in October, 1885, contained this parasite. The

last stage of an emigration in southern Ohio is described by Hildreth.

He states that, “they were much emaciated, and most of them covered

with running ulcers, made by worms of the grub kind. By the first of

January they mostly disappeared; after that, and to this time, it was

observed that on cutting hollow trees, their usual habitations, they

were found in a manner filled with the bones and hair of squirrels;

some trees containing as many as 40 or 50. By this it would seem they

had died of some disease; for had they died of famine, they would

have been found in the fields instead of hollow trees.”^28

The great scarcity of squirrels in Vermont in 1811 was attributed

by Gallops 54 destruction by “pestilence”.

There was a southward emigration of black squirrels in Clinton

County, Pennsylvania, in October, 1865. Seton^^ was informed that

less than 40 percent of the animals shot were free from warbles.

Chapman^ 5 5 found that an average of 12 percent of the gray squirrels

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

in southeastern Ohio in the years 1935-37 were infested by Cuterebra,

the percentage being highest when squirrels were abundant. Only

one squirrel out of 326 was infested with mange mites. During the

emigration of 1883, the squirrels shot at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, were

reported to be “wormy.”i56

Some of the gray squirrels in August, 1933, at the beginning of the

emigration from Connecticut, showed bare patches on the body, and

hairless tails.i5^Dr. Erwin Jungherr, pathologist of the Connecticut

State College found that the skin lesions resembled papilloma. The

symptoms strongly suggest infestation by the mange mite

(Sarcoptes). Errington^^s found that a high percentage of the

Sciuridae taken by the red-tailed hawk in southern Wisconsin in

April and May, 1930, had mange. A fox squirrel found dead in the

woods was completely hairless. Mange is common in the squirrels in

Madison and is more prevalent in the city than in the country.

Allen52a found mange to occur mostly in winter and spring, and it

seemed to be closely associated with malnutrition. There is no

evidence that any parasite is the direct cause of emigration.

The stimulus for emigration has long engrossed the attention of

travelers and naturalists. In 1838 Hall wrote: “At the commencement

of their march they are very fat; but towards its conclusion they be¬

come poor and sickly. After such an event they are scarce for

several years, then multiply, emigrate, and perish as before. The

cause of this phenomenon has never been explained. It cannot be

want of food, for the districts they leave are often as fruitful as

those to which they direct their course, and the healthy condition

in which they set out, leaves no room to suppose that the danger of

starvation has driven them from their home.”^59

Half a century later Merriam wrote in a similar vein: “Scarcity of

food very probably gives rise to the disquieting impulse that prompts

them to leave their homes, but the true motives that operate in

drawing them together, and in determining the direction and distance

of their journeys, are as little understood to-day as they were before

the discovery of the continent on which they dwell.”^^^

Early opinion is preponderated in favor of a shortage of food as

the cause of emigration. Kalm states that nuts were extremely

plentiful in Pennsylvania in the fall of 1748. The following autumn

great numbers of squirrels moved into southeastern Pennsylvania

and “it appeared that their migration was occasioned by the scarcity

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

219

of nuts and acorns, which happened that year in the higher parts of

the country, and obliged them to come hither for their food.”^^The

emigration of 1783 in western Pennsylvania,^^) that across the

Ohio from Kentucky in 1816,^5^ was also ascribed to the absence

of mast.

A few writers believed that the exodus was not due necessarily to

lack of food. Schultz^^ gave no information on mast during the

migration of 1807. He found the squirrels very fat in Ontario and on

the upper Ohio, but very poor lower down the river. Lewis,^^ who

witnessed the emigration across the Ohio in 1803, concluded that

they were not traveling in search of food since walnuts and hickory

nuts were abundant on both banks. It is obviously incorrect to

assume that because squirrels are found traveling in a region where

mast is abundant that the movement began in one equally well

supplied with food. Dr. Hoy informed Kennicott^^a and Wheaton^^®

that the squirrels emigrated at Racine in the years 1842, 1847, 1852,

and 1857. Mast was stated to have been abundant in these years and

the squirrels in excellent condition. If many squirrels took part in

these emigrations, it seems strange that none of the latter are men¬

tioned in the Racine newspapers.

Regarding the emigration in southern Ohio in 1822, Blane^^ states

that the black squirrels do not appear unless there is a failure of

mast in the northwestern forests. Beardsley^^® ascribed the exodus of

squirrels from Canada to New York in the fall of 1815 to the

unusually large crop of mast in this state.

It has been mentioned that in 1834 Indiana and Ohio were over¬

run with squirrels. A satisfactory cause has been found. This year

was noted for late frosts in the north central states. Maximilian,^^^

writing in June, stated that all the mast had been destroyed at

Princeton, Indiana. In Seneca County, Ohio, the woods had the

appearance of winter on the first of June and Staib added: “In the

summer of 1834 we were pestered greatly with squirrels, the woods

were literally filled with them.”^^ Forest fruits were “annihilated” by

the frost at Marrietta, Ohio.^^^

In southern Ohio, in the autumn of 1843, “the forests produced no

nuts or acorns, and the poor squirrels were forced to travel in quest

of food or perish.”! 29 Fortunately it is possible to substantiate the

statements of Blane and Hildreth that there was no mast in Ohio in

the years 1822 and 1843. Jackson^^^ kept a nearly complete record

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

of mast at Cincinnati during the years 1814-48 and states that there

was none in 1822 and 1843.

Seton^^ was strongly of the opinion that the large emigrations

were due to overpopulation and likened them to those of the lemming

(Lemmus lemmus). The food problem must be considered. Elton

makes the following remarks on the lemming cycle: “The danger-

signals are not long delayed in a community dependent upon the

exiguous supplies of a northern land. Vegetation is denuded of the

reserves built up in the previous time of lemming scarcity.” And

again: “The three factors that spring at once to the mind — food

shortage, epidemic, and emigration — probably all play a part in

the lemming crash.”

The emigrations of recent years are attributed to lack of food.

In 1933 the squirrels traveled westward from Connecticut into New

York. More than a thousand swam the Connecticut River between

Hartford and Essex, a front of about 35 miles, on September 24;

and hundreds crossed the Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson.

Anthony^ offered no explanation for this movement, but suggests

overcrowding and mentions the coincidence of the rise and fall of

animal populations with the periods of sun-spot maxima and minima.

This emigration has been described in considerable detail by

Goodwin. After crossing the Connecticut on September 24, the main

body did not reach the Bear Mountain Bridge until about December

10. Since 75 days were taken to cover a distance of approximately

85 miles, the rate of travel was slightly more than a mile a day. He

states: “A general census of available data indicates that lack of

suitable food in some places, correlated with a fairly large squirrel

population started the migration. Neighboring districts with a suffi¬

cient supply of food to support their own squirrel population were not

able to stand the added burden of greatly increased numbers, and

the intruders were either driven out or more likely, all were forced to

join the advancing army when the food supply was exhausted. Once

a stampede was started, it would not be long before the recruits

numbered several thousands, and of necessity the rate of travel

would be accelerated.”^

There was a westward movement of gray squirrels in the fall of

1936 that extended over most of Vermont.^^^ A late frost in the

spring destroyed the potential crop of nuts. Gray squirrels were

abundant in western Massachusetts in 1934 and 1935, and were re¬

ported to have migrated in the latter year.i^'7 The direction was

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

221

westward. Jackson^^® stated that 2000 were found dead on the

western shore of the Hudson between Albany and the Rip van

Winkle Bridge. Food conditions in New England in the fall of 1935

were investigated by Hoover, ^ ^ho found that there was a very

light crop of acorns, beechnuts, and other nuts. Since there was a

light mast in New England in 1935, and again in Vermont in 1936,

the emigration in the latter state could not have been induced by

mere numbers.

Gray squirrels, according to Hamilton,50i> ^^^gre unusually plentiful

in central New York prior to the influx from New England. The

second brood of young had appeared by early July, 1935. A third

brood was produced that year, and possibly also in the year pre-

ceeding. The number of young in a brood was also “noticeably

increased.” He suggests that the New England squirrels were equally

productive and that the emigration was caused by over-population.

No information on food conditions is given by Hamilton; however, I

have been informed by Robert W. Damer,^^® that 1935 was a poor

mast year, particularly for beechnuts. He added that while most of

the squirrels were traveling westward, many were moving in the

opposite direction at the same times and places. The observations

were made principally at Lake Champlain, the Hudson River below

Albany, and the Gilboa Reservoir on Schoharie Creek.

It is obvious that a high squirrel population will cause a rapid

depletion of food even in a good mast year. Hahn^'^i states that at the

University Farm, Mitchell, Indiana, 80 acres were heavily wooded

with white oaks and that an additional 100 acres had a considerable

stand of this species. The acorn crop was very large in the fall of

1906, and he estimated that each of the large oaks produced from

2000 to 8000 acorns. This immense crop was harvested so completely

by the gray squirrels by the first of November that only an occa¬

sional acorn could be found by searching. Unfortunately we do not

know how many acorns were consumed by the squirrels and how

many were buried for winter consumption.

The movements of the red squirrel, like that of the other squirrels,

seems to be governed largely by the food supply. In the fall of 1881

there was a good yield of beechnuts in the Adirondacks. The following

fall the beechnut crop failed and scarcely a red squirrel was to be

iound?^^ Hatt, from his study of the red squirrel, concludes: “It is

probable that such migrations occur only in times of maximum

population and of food shortage, for certainly there are no regular

222

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

seasonal movements of all the red squirrels. The migrations appear

to be overflow movements due to an urge of hunger.”^^^

Recent emigrations of the gray and fox squirrel in Missouri have

been recorded by Bennitt and Nagel.^^ The year 1934 was very dry

and there was a shortage of food. They suggest that the emigration

of the gray squirrel is cyclic. There was a shortage of young of this

species that year but not a “commensurate shortage of food.” How¬

ever, regarding the movements of the fox squirrel, they state “We

believe they were due only secondarily to population pressure,

through failure of the food or water supply. . . . Their movements

seem to have followed exhaustion of the food supply.”

Late frosts destroyed the mast on the Bankhead National Forest,

Alabama, both in 1939 and 1940. Gray squirrels remained abundant

the winter of 1939-40. About October 1, 1940, they began moving

northward only to return about two months later. The southward

movement was so complete that not a squirrel was left in the forest.

The very limited food supply seemed to Moore^^^ to be the cause of

the emigration. In the fall of 1944, hundreds of fox squirrels, and a

few gray squirrels crossed the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, moving

in all directions. The mast had failed. The extensive movement of

squirrels in northwestern Wisconsin in the fall of 1946 was very

plainly due to lack of acorns.^^

Three abstracts from the Russian literature, kindly furnished by

Dr. Charles Elton, Oxford University, show that the emigrations of

the European squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris L.) are due to failure of the

food supply. They are sufficiently important to be given in full.

“Squirrel migrations are widespread in the northern taiga zone of

the U.S.S.R. but their effect on population dynamics is only large in

certain years. When food is abundant in typical nesting stations

only small changes of place are affected by young leaving the nest

and when food is abundant everywhere dispersal of young takes

place to a rather greater extent. Only when there is a shortage of food

do mass migrations, accompanied by mass destruction, take place in

the second half of the summer.”^^^

“After the period of nesting and of family life is over, first the

young squirrels, and then the adult ones, scatter through the stations

not occupied before. This is due to the fact that the conditions of

safety presented by the former stations cease to be of the same

importance as during the reproduction and shedding seasons. In the

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

223

period of dispersion and of the redistribution of the squirrels among

the different stations, the question of food resources is the principal

factor. In years when the crop of staple food — the seeds of conifers

(cedar, fir, spruce, and pine) - — ^ is a bad one this redistribution of the

squirrels takes the form of mass migrations. Such migrations occurred

during the investigations. They found their reflection in the numerical

fluctuations of the squirrels, especially at the stations not charac¬

terized as belonging to the period of the sedentary existence of these

rodents.” 1

“Hunting publications of the 19th and early 20th centuries are

strewn with complaints from places in which the squirrel has

‘suddenly’ disappeared and with news of a mass appearance the

animal has made in other areas. A. Cherkasov (1867) writes in

‘Journal of a hunter in East Siberia’: ‘The number of squirrels in

these parts is extremely variable . . . since it depends on the food

crop the squirrel is not a settled animal: it wanders every year

from one place to another. . . .’

“Wanderings occur in all areas occupied by the squirrel and in

some parts they recur regularly every so many years. The migra¬

tions take place mainly at the end of the summer and during the

autumn. They may be caused by drought and forest fires (central

and eastern Siberia) but in the majority of cases are due to a bad

crop of the squirrels’ main foods. . . . The squirrel has been known

to make journeys of 250-300 kilometers when migrating, venturing

into forest-tundra, crossing the bare parts of mountains, steppes and

ploughland, passing through villages and even large towns. It under¬

takes the crossing of wide rivers such as the Northern Dvina, the Ob,

Yenesi, and Amur and starts to swim across the Tatar Strait, Lake

Baikal, Tazor Bay, the Gulf of Finland and Mezen Bay. In these

crossings and in the unfavourable conditions of the districts in which

they find themselves during the winter, thousands of squirrels die.”^'^'^

In a previous paper I have cited references to the literature

showing that emigrations of bears, gray squirrels, and even turkeys,

have occurred simultaneously. The coincidence of the emigrations of

bears and squirrels in Wisconsin is impressive. Since the two species

compete for mast, it is improbable that they would emigrate

simultaneously for any reason other than lack of food. It will be

shown later that there are considerable data for Wisconsin to

support this contention.

It should be mentioned in connection with emigration that there

224

H-'^fscofisin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

is a far greater shifting of squirrel populations than is generally

supposed. Unless there is a mass exodus, this phenomenon readily

escapes notice. A forest near Cleveland studied by Williams^^^ had a

large yield of beechnuts and seeds of the sugar maple in the autumns

of 1930 and 1931. About 50 gray squirrels occupied the area the

winter of 1931-32. The fall of 1932 all but one squirrel left the nearly

foodless tract. Edminster^^® found that on the Pharsalia Refuge,

Chenango County, New York, the gray squirrels decreased from a

population of 1,172 in 1935 to 371 in 1936, and to 107 in 1937.

During the three years the populations of the refuge and of a public

shooting area five miles distant both declined 91 percent.

Allen52i> found a high population turn-over of fox squirrels in

Michigan. In fact shifting seems to have been a continuous process.

Fox and gray squirrels were equally abundant in the summer of 1936

on an area in Oklahoma studied by Blair.^^^ In June, 1937, both

species were equally scarce. Goodrum^^^ paid particular attention to

the food supply and found that the gray squirrel population in Texas

was directly related to it. The squirrels shifted from one locality to

another where their favored food was abundant.

The fall dispersal of fox squirrels in Ohio is attributed by

Baumgartner^ to intra-specific intolerance since it occurs at a time

when food is most abundant. It is doubtful if intolerance is an

adequate reason. The fall dispersal is a phenomenon secondary to

emigration. It occurs regardless of the size of the squirrel population

and the abundance of food. The autumn kill of squirrels by motor

cars is higher than at any other season.

There are many cases where squirrels have shown a remarkable

tolerance to dense populations as long as the food lasted. Browning

and his uncle were hired to shoot the squirrels destroying com in a

field at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in the autumn of 1798. He states:

“The next day we started off before day-light, and as soon as we

could see, found ourselves surrounded by the greatest number of

squirrels I ever saw, which were running by the hundreds in all

directions.”!^'^ The uncle left on the fifth day and Browning continued

shooting for nine and one-half days before the animals were

exterminated.

While traveling in southwestern Ohio in July, 1817, Palmer

sometimes saw 50 or 60 squirrels at a time dash out of fields of grain.

Porter says: “The myriads of squirrels that are to be found on a few

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

225

acres of favorable feeding-ground during the season of plenty is

almost incredible to those who have not witnessed it. ”5 5

Food Supply and Squirrel Populations. The breeding potential of

the northern gray squirrel is very high. Normally it produces two

litters a year, in March-April and September, of two to six young each.

A pair, allowing eight young annually, could lead to a population of

6250 squirrels at the end of five years, if there were no casualties.

Kennicott54a mentions the probability of three litters annually; and

Seton^"^ cites a case of a captive squirrel in Toronto that had three

litters in one year. However, Hamilton^o*^ appears to be the only

observer to determine that three litters are sometimes produced in

the wild.

It was pointed out by Thompson ^ that a high squirrel population

resulted from a mild winter preceded by a summer productive of

food. The beech in New York, between 1871-1883, showed a bearing

cycle of two years. Gray squirrels were most numerous in a year when

there were no nuts. This was attributed to the influx of squirrels from

distant parts during a good nut year, and they remained to breed the

following spring. Merriam continues: “During the summer and early

autumn a multitude of young, now nearly full grown, mingle with the

parent stock. Hence the species attains at this time, its maximum in

numbers. But this is the year when the next crop is a failure. There¬

fore, as the fall advances and they find that there is a scarcity of

provision for the winter, many of them migrate — we know not

where.”^^^ The biannual exodus would not necessarily take place in

regions where the mast is diversified.

It is obvious that a high squirrel population is dependent upon an

adequate supply of food, but it is not always simple to show that the

rise and the fall of populations are related unquestionally to the food

supply. Linnaeus,^ 52 while in Gottland in 1741, was informed that the

squirrels had a seven year cycle of abundance. Blomquist^^^ thought

that there was a 6 to 7 year cycle in the production of seed by pine

and spruce in Finland. He found that seed was produced heavily in

the years 1839, 1846, 1854, 1860, 1871, and 1875, spruce seeding a

year prior to the pine. The abundance of seeds paralleled closely that

of the squirrels. In Russia the number of squirrels shot annually

follows seed production so closely that it has been suggested as a

method for evaluating seed years. The Siberian “cedar” (Pinus

cembra sibirica) bears seeds very irregularly, but when there is a

good seed year, the squirrel population rises rapidly.^^^

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Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

No cycle of approximately constant duration has been established

for the gray squirrel. Hoy found a cycle of exactly five years for four

migrations at Racine. Chapman^55 gives data for the years 1901-1935

showing that this species in the middle west probably reaches peak

populations every five years. The extensive emigrations of the early

days show no such regularity. The movements in Wisconsin show a

5 to 7 year cycle.

The breeding rate of squirrels rises when food is plentiful and falls

rapidly when it is scarce. The white and black oaks in Michigan

failed to bear during the summer of 1940, so that the fox squirrels

suffered from malnutrition during the following winter. Of 52 females

handled by Allen52c between March and June, 1941, only one was

pregnant. Following the failure of mast in Missouri in 1944, the

female squirrels did not have the usual spring litter in 1945.^^^

Several factors may govern the rise and fall of animal populations.

McAtee^^® has shown how difficult it is to prove that a population is

limited by the means of subsistence. Space, or intolerance, may be

equally important. Errington writes: “There are scant grounds for

challenging the reality of the subnormal food supplies, the heavy

infestation by parasites, the mortality from predators or disease, the

losses of the immature during adverse weather, the miscellaneous

factors to which competent investigators have ascribed the declines

of wild vertebrates in 1936 and 1937. . .

It will suffice to point to a few clear and spectacular cases of the

decline of population through failure of the food supply. Approx¬

imately every four years the population of lemmings and related

rodents crashes, resulting in the reduction of the numbers of the

arctic fox and snowy owl through migration and death. The cycle of

the lynx is a striking example. Elton and Nicholson state: “This

cycle is a real one in lynx populations, which are dependent upon the

snowshoe rabbit (Lepus americanus) for food, and which starve

when the rabbits disappear periodically.”

The opinion is expressed by Elton and Nicholson that climate

may be partially responsible for controlling the ten-year cycle in the

lynx. It had been previously suggested by Weaver and Clements^^^

that the ten-year cycle of some mammals was dependent upon rainfall,

that in turn is influenced by sun spots. The rainfall influences the

amount of food and cover, hence the animal population. If climate is

the factor determining the long cycle as well as the shorter and

differing cycles of the various rodents, it would seem to lose para-

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

227

mount significance. The effect of climate upon the food supply is

beyond question.

No known disease seems to be responsible for the die-off of the

snowshoe hare. Green makes this impressive suggestion : “Dense

populations may ‘seed’ something into the ground, the extent of which

builds up with increasing populations, or the increasing population

may eradicate certain plants that contain food elements essential for

the maintenance of healthy populations.’’^^"^ Dennis Chitty told me

recently that if, during a die-off or Microtus in England, some of the

animals are trapped and given succulent foods, they survive. It

appears therefore that a nutritional deficiency may be directly

responsible for the die-off of certain species of mammals. Also, Wald

and Jackson^^s have shown that nutritional deprivation in rats

stimulates activity in the form of running. They suggest that this

represents the behavioral basis of mammalian emigration and that,

“This is recognized to be motivated primarily by nutritional need.”

The data available support strongly the belief that squirrel

populations and movements are governed by the food supply.

Emigrations in Wisconsin

1842

Gray squirrels emigrated at Racine, according to Hoy, though mast was “ex¬

ceedingly abundant.” They moved southward in large numbers for about a month.

The population north of Racine was not depleted greatly or it recovered quickly.

Two years later, 1844, a man shot 84 black and gray squirrels in the town of

Oak Creek, Milwaukee County, during a hunt, the duration of which was not

stated. 1

1. Milwaukee Courier. In Lancaster Herald, Dec. 7, 1844.

1847

They again emigrated at Racine, according to Hoy.

Squirrels were very plentiful at Watertown in 1849.1

1. Watertown Chronicle Sept. 5, 1849.

1852

There was an emigration at Racine.

Black and gray squirrels were very abundant at Appleton the autumns of

1853 and 1854.1

1. Appleton Crescent Oct. 22, 1853; Sept. 16 and 23, 1854.

1855

Thousands of gray and black squirrels moved eastward, following the old rail

fences. Unfortunately Triggl does not give the locality.

In October of this year, during a large-scale hunt in the town of Greenville,

Outagamie County, about 500 squirrels were killed.2

1. J. S. Trigg, Madison State Journal, July 23, 1900, 7.

2. W. A. Goodspeed, et al. History of Outagamie County, Wisconsin. [1911]

p. 1299.

228

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

1856

Black squirrels emigrated from Dane County.99

Thousands of squirrels visited the cornfields at Jefferson 1 and Green Bay 2 where

nuts were scarce. The woods at Milwaukee3 and at Neenah^ were “full” of

squirrels.

1. Jefferson Jeffersonian Sept. 11, 1856. 2. Green Bay Advocate Aug. 28,

1856. 3. Milwaukee (w) Wisconsin Oct. 15, 1855. 4. Neenah and Menasha

Conservator Sept. 4, 1856.

1857.

Squirrels emigrated at Racine for the last time, according to Hoy.

They were abundant at Oshkoshl in 1859; and in 1863 black squirrels were

“swarming in the woods” at Appleton.2

1. Oshkosh Courier Sept. 16, 1859. Appleton Crescent Aug. 22, 1863.

1866

There were movements in the eastern portion of the state. Grays were abun¬

dant at Sturgeon Bay the middle of July and swam across the bay.l At the same

time an unusual number of red squirrels appeared in the city of Green Bay.2

Squirrels of all species were “never more abundant” at Appleton3 where the red

squirrel and chipmunk were reported moving northward.

Squirrels were abundant around Lake Winnebago, especially on the eastern

side, where four men shot 198 in one day.4 A boy at Wautoma5 shot 10 gray

and black, and 2 red squirrels with an hour. West Bend^ reported gray squirrels

“thick as hops.” During a side hunt, 350 black, gray, and fox, and about 200

red squirrels were killed at Jefferson.7

In 1868 black and gray squirrels appeared in great numbers at Prescott; § and

at Richland Center^ they were never “so abundant”. In 1870, though no definite

migration was reported, black and gray squirrels swarmed at Sturgeon Bay. 10

A hunter at Mishicott killed 83 in one day. 1 1 They were very abundant at Apple-

ton. 12 Prairie du Chienl3 reported the greatest gray squirrel season ever known;

and at La Crosse 14 two men killed 45 in three and one-half hours.

1. Sturgeon Bay Advocate July 19, 1866. 2. Green Bay Advocate July 12,

1866. 3. Appleton Crescent Aug. 11, Sept. 22, 1866. 4. Fond du Lac Reporter

Sept. 1, 1866. 5. Wautoma Argus Sept. 27, 1866. 6. West Bend Post Sept. 1,

1866. 7. Jefferson Banner Oct. 10, 1866. 8. Prescott Journal Sept. 25, 1868. 9.

Richland Center Sentinel. In Madison State Journal Oct. 17, 1868. 10. Sturgeon

Bay Advocate Sept. 15, 1870. 11. Manitowoc Tribune Nov. 24, 1870. 12. Apple-

ton Crescent Sept. 3, Oct. 1, 1870. 13. Prairie du Chien Courier. In Madison State

Journal Oct. 14, 1870. 14. La Crosse Leader Dec. 3, 1870.

1871

Gray squirrels in large numbers attempted the crossing of the Mississippi

near La Crosse. The captain of the ferry-boat reported that, “the river is full of

them swimming to the Minnesota shore.” 1 The exodus was attributed to the

shortage of nuts in Wisconsin. They were very plentiful at Osceola.2 Near Osh¬

kosh black and gray squirrels were moving northward, swimming the Wolf

River, where acorns and nuts were reported plentiful.3 They were again reported

abundant at Appleton.4

1. La Crosse Democrat Sept. 19; Milwaukee Daily News Sept. 23, 1871. 2.

Osceola Press, Sept. 15, 1871. 3. Oshkosh Times Sept. 6, 1871. 4. Appleton Post

Oct. 5 and 26, 1871.

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

229

1873

A westward emigration was reported at Beaver Dam,l where squirrels were un¬

usually plentiful the autumn of 1872.2 Black River Falls, 3 in June, had more

squirrels than ever known previously. In October they congregated in large

numbers at Prescott.^

Gray squirrels “abounded” at Princeton,5 and at Sheboygan^ a man shot 55

in one day in the beech woods. A side hunt by 28 men at Oshkosh7 produced

88 gray and 63 red squirrels. They were not plentiful at Lancaster.^

In 1875 four men shot 555 gray squirrels in one afternoon in Crawford County.9

A hunter at ReedsburglO killed 26 in one day. They were unusually numerous

at De Pere,ll and Richland Center; 12 and “swarmed” at Sheboygan. 13

Squirrels were very plentiful in 1876 at De Pere,14 Green Bay 15 Hartford, 16

and Sheboygan. 17 At the latter place they entered the town. They were scarce

at Oshkosh. 18

1. Forest and Stream 1 (Nov. 27, 1873) 243. 2. Beaver Dam Citizen Oct. 31,

1872. 3. Black River Falls Banner June 14, 1873. 4. Ellsworth Herald Oct. 8,

1873. 5. Princeton Republic Sept. 6, 1873. 6. Sheboygan Herald Oct. 31, 1873.

7. Oshkosh Times Oct. 15, 1873. 8. Lancaster Herald Nov. 6, 1873. 9. Boscobel

Dial Nov. 5, 1875; cf. Aug. 25, 1876. 10. Reedsburg Free Press Nov. 11, 1875.

11. De Pere News Oct. 16, 1875. 12. Richland Center Republican Oct. 14, 1875.

13. Sheboygan Herald Oct. 8 and 22, 1875. 14. De Pere News Sept. 16, 1876.

15. Green Bay Advocate Aug. 31, Dec. 7, 1876. 16. Hartford Republican Sept. 28,

1876. 17. Sheboygan Herald Aug. 18, Sept. 1, 1876. 18. Oshkosh Northwestern

Oct. 28, 1876.

1878

In view of the abundance of squirrels in certain localities in 1875 and 1876, and

the very high populations of 1878, it seems strange that squirrels were reported

numerous in only four localities in 1877.1 Movements took place over much

of the state in 1878. This was the banner for squirrels and none like it has oc¬

curred since. It was a very poor year for mast.

In the eastern portion of the state, squirrels were unusually plentiful at Green

Bay, 2 Two Rivers, 3 Sheboygan,^ Oconto, 5 Menasha,6 Sturgeon Bay, 7 Manitowoc,^

Oshkosh,9 Appleton, 10 Montello,!! Grand Rapids, 12 and West Bend. 13 Due to

the scarcity of acorns, they were crossing open country at Winneconne,14 and

“over-running” the region about Stevens Point. 15

Damage to corn was especially heavy in the western counties where squirrels

were very numerous. Exceptional numbers were reported at Richland Center, 16

Dodgeville,17 Arcadia,18 Durand,19 Whitehall,20 Baldwin,21 River Falls,22

Menomonie,23 and Mondovi.24 The three latter places stated that there was nothing

in the woods for the animals to eat. Both Black River Falls25 and Hudson26

claimed that gray, black, and red squirrels were never more numerous. The

town of Spring Lake thought that it had the highest population of red squirrels

and chipmunks in Pierce County. 2 7

Hunters at Alma28 brought in about 1000 squirrels in a period of a week.

Side hunts at Tomah29 and Viroqua30 resulted in the killing of 280 and 485

squirrels respectively. They were killed by the “thousands” at Dodgeville.3 1

Madison32 had them in abundance.

Squirrels emigrated at Sparta,33 Prairie du Chien,34 and La Crosse.35 Nor-

230

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

beck36 reported that at La Crosse squirrels “can be had by the barrel.” No squirrels

were observed to cross Lake St. Croix, but it was presumed that they did so

since they were very plentiful in St. Croix and the surrounding groves.37 Crossing

of the Mississippi, however, began in Pierce County and extended down the

river through Vernon County, a distance of about 130 miles.

It is probable that only a small portion of the army of squirrels that at¬

tempted to cross Lake Pepin from Pierce and Pepin Counties reached the Minne¬

sota shore. A statement from Lake City reads: “We are informed that there are

thousands of black and gray squirrels over on the Wisconsin shore of the Lake —

all the squirrels in Wisconsin seeming to have determined to ‘go west’ and take

a tree claim. Scores of them have been seen swimming the lake to this side, a

distance of two and a half miles, and Captain Murray, of the steamer Pepin,

says there is certainly a general emigration going on among them, from Wiscon¬

sin to Minnesota. Many of them are found drowned along the shore, the big

fish get many more, and doubtless many survive the perilous voyage and arrive

safely at the shore of our Gopher State.”38

They were “very numerous” at Winona,39 Minnesota, about a hundred being

killed within the city. BunnelHO mentions that several times within his memory

squirrels arrived at Winona after a long swim across the Mississippi, but he gives

no dates.

Squirrels in “immense numbers” were swimming westward across the La Crosse

River at West Salem during the third week in August.*^ 1 Although the woods

near La Crosse “have for some weeks past been literally full of gray squirrels”,

only a small number were moving here in comparison with Vernon County where

men in boats scooped them in by the dozen as they were crossing the Mississippi

westward.42

By 1882 the squirrel population had become exceptionally high again at

Oshkosh,43 Richland Center,44 Boscobel,45 Sparta,46 Chippewa Falls,47 Gales-

ville,48 Chetek,49 and Durand.50 Three men at Prairie du Sac^l shot 41 squirrels

in one day; and at Elroy52 eleven men killed 145.

1. Appleton Crescent Oct. 13; Montello Express May 17, Sept. 22; West Bend

Democrat Oct. 17 and 24; Darlington Republican Oct. 26, 1877. 2. Green Bay

Gazette Oct. 5; Fort Howard Review Oct. 8, 1878. 3. Two Rivers Chronicle Sept.

3, 1878. 4. Sheboygan Herald Sept. 27, 1878. 5. Oconto Reporter Aug. 10, 1878.

6. Menasha Press Sept. 19, 1878. 7. Sturgeon Bay Advocate Sept. 26, 1878. 8.

Manitowoc Pilot Sept. 12, 1878. 9. Oshkosh Times Sept. 28, 1878. 10. Appleton

Post Sept. 5, Oct. 3; Crescent Aug. 17, Sept. 14, Oct. 12, 1878. 11. Montello

Express Aug. 31, 1878. 12. Grand Rapids Reporter Sept. 12, 1878. 13. West

Bend Democrat Sept. 11 and 18, Oct. 9, 1876. 14. Winneconne Item Sept. 21,

1878. 15. Stevens Point Gazette Sept. 4; Journal Sept. 7, 1878. 16. Richland

Center Republican Sept. 5 and 19, 1878. 17. Dodgeville Chronicle Sept. 20, 1878.

18. Arcadia Republican and Leader Sept. 15, 1878. 19. Durand Times Oct. 4;

Courier Nov. 2, 1878. 20. Whitehall Messenger Sept. 18, 1878. 21. Baldwin

Bulletin Sept. 14, 1878. 22. River Falls Press Aug. 22 and 29, Sept. 19, Oct. 3;

Journal Aug. 22 and 29, Sept. 12, Oct. 3 and 10, 1878. 23. Menomonie News

Aug. 31, Sept. 7 and 28, Oct. 5 and '12, 1878. 24, Mondovi Herald Sept. 21,

1878. 25. Black River Falls Banner Sept. 6, 1878. 26. Hudson Star and Times

Aug. 30, 1878. 27. River Falls Journal Aug. 29, 1878. 28. Alma Express Aug.

29, 1878. 29. Tomah Democrat Nov. 30, 1878. 30. Viroqua Censor Sept. 18,

SchoTger — - Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

231

1878. 31. Dodgeville Chronicle Sept. 3, 1878. 32. Chicago Field 10 (Nov. 2,

1878) 186. 33. Sparta Herald Sept. 3, 1878. 34. Prairie du Chien Union Sept.

12, 1878. 35. La Crosse Republican and Leader Aug. 24, 1878. 36. C. Norbeck.

Chicago Field 10 (Sept. 28, 1878) 97. 37. Hudson Star and Times Aug. 30,

1878. 38. Squirrels coming by thousands. Lake City (Minn.) Leader Aug. 24,

1878. 39. Winona (Minn.) Herald Sept. 20, 1878. 40. L. A. Bunnell. Winona and its

environs. Winona (1897) p. 332. 41. La Crosse (w) Republican and Leader

Aug. 24, 1878. 42. Ibid. Sept. 21, 1878. 43. Oshkosh Times Sept. 23, 1882;

American Field 18 (1882) 198. 44. Richland Center Republican and Observer

Sept. 14, 1882. 45. Boscobel Dial Oct. 27, 1882. 46. Sparta Herald Oct. 17; La

Crosse (w) Republican and Leader Sept. 23, 1882. 47. Chippewa Falls Herald

Oct. 13, 1882. 48. Galesville Independent Sept. 28, Oct. 5, 1882. 49. Chetek

Alert Oct. 27, 1882. 50. Durand Courier Oct. 20, 1882. 51. Prairie du Sac News

Oct. 14, 1882. 52. Elroy Tribune Nov. 17, 1882.

1883

This was the last year of great abundance and extensive movement of squirrels.

It was also a year of great scarcity of mast. In the eastern part of the state squir¬

rels were very plentiful at Peshtigo,! De Pere,2 Appleton,3 Oshkosh,^ Stevens

Point,5 Grand Rapids, 6 and Manitowoc.7 Three men at Green Bay8 shot 30

squirrels in a day’s hunt; and near Racine^ two men shot 56 in 7 hours.

The western part of the state again showed the highest population. Squirrels

were abundant at Richland Center 10 and entered the town. Due to the “great

scarcity of acorns” they were feeding on corn at Richland Center and Spring

Green. Food was so scarce in the woods at Prairie du Chienll that they invaded

the cornfields in the country and the gardens in the city. The same condition pre¬

vailed at Elroy. 12

Squirrels were abundant at Eau Claire, 13 Chippewa Falls, 14 Montfort,15 Ells¬

worth, 16 Phillips, 17 New Richmond, 18 Durand, 19 Hudson,20 and River Falls.21

They were very plentiful at Soldiers Grove22 where a man is reported to have

shot 76 in an afternoon. Three men at Dodgeville23 killed over 50 in a day’s

hunt; and four hunters at Mauston24 shot 101. A hunter at Alma25 brought in 18.

These animals were abundant and emigrating at Lancaster, 26 Mineral Point, 27

and Trempealeau.28 At the latter place the squirrels were gray, black and fox,

the former predominating. Some crossed the Mississippi from the Minnesota

side. The direction of the movement at Menomonie,29 Whitehall,30 and Potosi31

was southward. A year later, 1884, squirrels were very scarce at Potosi32 and

Richland Center. 3 3

In the fall of 1887, squirrels were plentiful at Necedah,34 Racine, 3 5 Richland

Center, 3 6 Prairie du Chien,37 and New Richmond.38

1. Marinette and Peshtigo Eagle Oct. 13, 1883. 2. De Pere News Sept. 15,

1883. 3. Appleton Post Sept. 20 and 27, 1883. 4. C. M. B. American Field 20

(Sept. 29, 1883) 294. 5. Stevens Point Journal Sept. 15, 1883. 6. Grand Rapids

Tribune Sept. 15, 1883. 7. Manitowoc Pilot March 8, Sept. 13, 1883. 8. Green

Bay Gazette Sept. 29, 1883. 9. Racine Journal Dec. 12; Post Dec. 13, 1883. 10.

Richland Center Republican and Observer Aug. 30, Sept. 20, 1883. 11. Prairie

du Chien Union Sept. 14; Courier Sept. 4 and 11, 1883. 12. Elroy Tribune Sept.

14, 1883. 13. Eau Claire (w) Free Press Oct. 4 and 25; (d) Leader Oct. 20,

1883. 14. Chippewa Falls Independent Sept. 20, 1883. 15. Montfort Monitor

232

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Sept. 6, 1883. 16. Ellsworth Herald Oct. 3, 1883. 17. Phillips Badger Sept. 5,

1883. 18. New Richmond Republican Sept. 26, 1883. 19. Durand Courier Sept.

28, 1883. 20. Hudson Star and Times Sept. 14, 1883. 21. River Falls Journal

Sept. 27, 1883. 22. Soldiers Grove Journal Sept. 5, 1883. 23. Dodgeville Chron¬

icle Sept. 28, 1883. 24. Mauston Star Nov. 22, 1883. 25. Alma Journal Nov. 22,

1883. 26. Lancaster Teller Sept. 6, 1883. 27. Mineral Point Tribune Sept. 13,

1883. 28. Arcadia Republican and Leader Sept. 27; Whitehall Times Oct. 4,

1883. 29. S. J. B. American Field 20 (Oct. 20, 1883) 366. 30. Whitehall Times

Sept. 20, 1883. 31. Lancaster Herald Sept. 20, 1883. 32. Ibid. Sept. 25, 1884.

33. Richland Center Rustic Oct. 18, 1884. 34. Necedah Republican Oct. 7, 1887.

35. Racine Journal Dec. 21, 1887. 36. Richland Center Rustic Sept. 17, 1887. 37.

Prairie du Chien Courier Oct. 4, 1887. 38. New Richmond Republican Sept.

14, 1887.

1888

An emigration for this year was not well defined; however, 1888 was outstand¬

ingly the best squirrel year between 1883 and 1895. In the fall of 1888 the

bears moved southward.

Squirrels were numerous at De Pere,l Appleton, 2 Baraboo,^ Richland Center, 4

Boscobel,5 and Neillsville.^. Racine^ reported that the autumn “crop” was the

best ever known. Hunters commonly killed 20 to 30 daily, but two hunters killed

83 in one day.8

1. De Pere News Oct. 13, 1888. 2. Appleton Crescent Nov. 10, 1888. 3. Baraboo

Republic Oct. 17, 1888. 4. Richland Center Rustic Oct. 13, Nov. 24, 1888. 5.

Boscobel Dial Sept. 27, Dec. 6, 1888. 6. Neillsville Republican and Press Sept.

27, 1888. 7. Racine Journal Nov. 7, 1888. 8. Racine Daily Times Oct. 29, 1888.

1895

There were unusual numbers of squirrels at Green Bayl and Manitowoc,2 at

which places they were traveling southward. The black and gray squirrels ar¬

rived from the north at Green Bay where the dock swarmed with them. After

several years of scarcity at Chilton,3 squirrels came from “the north in droves.”

Gray and black squirrels “were never so thick” at Oconto.^ They were abundant

at Two Rivers^ where a man shot 22 gray squirrels within two hours. A hunter

at Shawano^ killed 36 in a day’s hunt; and a man at Sheboygan Falls7 shot 23

in one day. There were squirrels in abundance in the beech woods at Kewaunee^

in the fall of 1894; and in the fall of 1895 the hunting was “excellent.”

Squirrels were very plentiful at Viroqua,9 Trempealeau, 10 and New Lisbon.H

New Richmond 12 had a big influx of gray and black squirrels, and Prairie du

Chien 13 received gray squirrels from the north in “droves.”

1. Green Bay Advocate Sept. 5, 1895. 2. Manitowoc Pilot Sept. 12, 1895.

3. Chilton Times Sept. 14, 1895. 4. Oconto Reporter Oct. 11, 1895. 5. Two Rivers

Chronicle Sept. 3, Oct. 8, 1895. 6. Shawano Advocate Aug. 15, 1895. 7. Sheboygan

Falls News Oct. 30, 1895. 8. Kewaunee Enterprise Nov. 3, 1894; Sept. 20, 1895. 9.

Viroqua Censor Oct. 9, 1895. 10. Trempealeau Herald Sept. 27, Oct. 4, 1895. 11.

New Lisbon Press Aug. 29, 1895. 12. New Richmond Republican Sept. 5, 1895. 13.

Prairie du Chien Courier Sept. 24, 1895.

1897

A southward emigration of gray squirrels took place at Baraboo 1 in September.

The fox squirrels did not participate. The rate of travel was stated to be one-

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

233

half mile per day. The last exodus was said to have been eight years previous.

Hough, 2 referring to the movement of 1897, remarked that to his personal

knowledge, the past two seasons had been very good squirrel years in southern

Wisconsin.

1. Baraboo News Sept. 25, 1897. 2. E. Hough. Forest and Stream 49 (Oct. 9,

1897) 288; cf. A. H. Gouraud, ibid. 60 (Feb. 14, 1903) 125.

1903

The crossing of the Mississippi at Reed’s Landing by fox squirrels was men¬

tioned previously.

1905

In the autumn of this year gray and black squirrels crossed the Mississippi,

some remaining in Winona, Minnesota. Jackson 1 states that the direct cause

of the emigration was a shortage of nuts on the Wisconsin side. A crossing to

Minnesota also took place this year in the vicinity of La Crosse.2

1. H. H. T. Jackson, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc. 8 (1910) 87. 2. La Crosse

Press-Leader Sept. 17, 1907, 8.

1907

In September hundreds of squirrels crossed the Mississippi from Minnesota due

to the scarcity of nuts in the latter state. 1 Warden G. L. Kingsley stated that

they rested on French Island, near La Crosse, before proceeding to the Wiscon¬

sin shore.

1. La Crosse (d) Chronicle Sept. 18; (w) Argus Sept. 21, 1907.

1914

Owing to the shortage of acorns in Wisconsin, “hundreds” of squirrels crossed

the Mississippi to Minnesota from the neighborhood of La Crosse 1 in the autumn

of 1914. Jackson2 records an emigration of gray squirrels from Pepin westward

across Lake Pepin in the early fall of 1914 or 1915. Since he was informed that

acorns, nuts, and com were abundant on the Wisconsin side, we have a contradic¬

tion on the food supply, granted that both accounts refer to the same year.

1. La Crosse (d) Leader-Press Sept. 4, 1914, 9. 2. H. H. T. Jackson. A re¬

cent migration of the gray squirrel in Wisconsin. J. Mamm. 2 (1921) 113-4.

1925

Thousands of squirrels crossed the Mississippi to Iowa, in the vicinity of

Prairie du Chien according to a press item from Prairie du Chien dated October

16, 1925. This was quoted by Fryxell.l I have been unable to find any mention

in the Prairie du Chien papers of an emigration of squirrels in the fall of 1925,

nor could I find any inhabitant who had heard of it.

1. F. M. Fr5ncell. Squirrels migrate from Wisconsin to Iowa. J. Mamm 7

(1926) 60.

1946

There was an extensive movement of gray and fox squirrels extending along

the Mississippi for about 180 miles and eastward for about 60 miles. The general

direction was westward across the Mississippi.! Statements obtained from wardens

and other sources2 agree that an exceptional shortage of acoms caused the

emigration.

1. A. W. Schorger, J. Mam. 28(1947)401. 2. Milwaukee Journal Oct. 3, 5, and

27, 1946.

Lack of food may cause an emigration at any season. In March, 1876, hundreds

234

W^isconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

of gray and black squirrels were observed moving southward near the Eau GaUe

woods, Dunn County. 196 They were in poor flesh. Near Montellol97 in February,

1882, sixty squirrels were counted in the distance of a mile.

A severe winter depletes the population. The winter of 1874-75 was marked

by deep snow and extreme cold. During this winter squirrels practically disap¬

peared from the vicinity of the Red River near Green Bay. 198 Two squirrels

were found frozen to death in a hollow tree near Montello.199 The following

statement illustrates the effect of a severe winter: “Forest, Richland County,

August 7, 1870. Squirrels are getting very plenty in the woods. Last winter they

were the most numerous ever known. Fields of unhusked corn were literally alive

with them. Mr. Benj. Starkey, of Sylvan, killed 23 at one time on one tree,

and enough more on two other trees to make 33 in all . . . Toward spring their

feed became scarce, some starved, and others became so poor they could be easily

caught by boys and dogs. Many were killed that way. ”2 00

Food Conditions in Wisconsin

Oaks of various species form so large a portion of the trees of south¬

ern Wisconsin that acorns are by far the most important squirrel

food. Beech is limited to a narrow strip along Lake Michigan. The

butternut, walnut and hickories were widely but sparsely distributed

and their nuts were of little influence on the food supply except in

a few localities. Years when the passenger pigeon nested are given

since it is a reasonable assumption that the nestings were based on

a crop of acorns or beechnuts the previous autumn.

The data on mast are too few to give a satisfactory picture of food

conditions during the nineteenth century, but there are some definite

cases of large migrations of squirrels resulting from lack of forest foods.

1836

Hogs lived in the woods at Kenosha the winter of 1836-37 without

being fed.^^^

1837

“In July of ’37, Ephraim Perkins . . . drove two hundred hogs from

Illinois into Sugar Creek woods, in Spring Prairie (Walworth County),

and left them to fatten on acorns.”292

1841

Squirrels were cutting acorns and beechnuts at Racine.^o^

1842

According to Hoy, “mast was exceedingly abundant” at Racine.^"^®

1844

“The cold season at the north blasted the mast . .

1847

Mast was “very abundant” in Grant County and at Racine, but

SchoTger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

235

scarce north of the lower end of the Wisconsin River. Hazelnuts were

quite plentiful in Jefferson County.

1848

Hazelnuts plentiful in Jefferson County.

1852

Mast abundant at Racine.

1853

Beechnuts plentiful in Manitowoc County.

1854

Deer were very fat in Jefferson County due to the abundance of

“shack”. Acorns were more abundant than usual in Outagamie County.

There was a large nesting of pigeons in Waupaca County in 1855.

1856

“Scarcity of most kinds of nuts” at Green Bay.

1857

Butternuts were plentiful in Dodge County, and hazelnuts very

abundant in Dane County. Pigeons nested in Outagamie and Oconto

Counties in 1858,

1858

Hickory nuts abundant in La Crosse County, acorns exceptionally

abundant in Iowa County, and a large crop of beechnuts in Door

County.

1859

Acorns were reported scarce north of Berlin, but plentiful at Tomah.

Hickory nuts were offered in large amounts in the Milwaukee market.

Cravath^os states that at Whitewater there was frost during every

month of the summer and that very little corn matured.

1860

Acorns abundant in Dane County. The pigeons nested in Green

County in 1861.

1861

Large crop of butternuts and hazelnuts in Richland County. The

pigeons nested in Green County in 1862.

1862

Butternuts plentiful in Dane County.

1863

There was a large nesting of pigeons along the Kickapoo River,

Vernon County, and in southwestern Monroe County in 1864.

1864

The pigeons nested in Fond du Lac County in 1865.

236

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

1865

Hickory nuts and hazelnuts were unusually plentiful in Dodge

County, and nearly all kinds of nuts were plentiful in Fond du Lac

County. The crop of beechnuts in Door County was exceptionally

heavy.

1866

There was an abundance of “shack” in Adams County. The pigeons

nested in Fond du Lac County in 1867 and flew westward for food.

1867

Hickory nuts were abundant in Outagamie County and hazelnuts

in Polk County. The pigeons nested in Outagamie County in 1868.

1868

There were large nestings of pigeons in Green, Monroe, and Fond

du Lac Counties in 1869.

1869

Walnuts were plentiful in Rock County. In Jackson County the

crop of hazelnuts was abundant, but that of butternuts was spotty.

Butternuts were unusually plentiful in Jefferson and Fond du Lac

Counties. All kinds of nuts were reported plentiful in the latter

county. Shawano County had beechnuts.

1870

There were no butternuts in Outagamie County. Acorns were

abundant in Dane and Fond du Lac Counties and in the center of the

state. The large pigeon nesting extending from Kilbourn to Sparta

in 1871 was due to the abundance of acorns in the fall of 1870.

1871

Butternuts were abundant in St. Croix, Polk, Dunn, Jackson, Rich¬

land, and Fond du Lac Counties; black walnuts in Fond du Lac, Dane,

and Richland Counties; hickory nuts in Brown and Fond du Lac

Counties; and hazelnuts in Door County. Acorns and nuts were

plentiful in Winnebago County. The squirrel migration at La Crosse

was attributed to a shortage of nuts.

1872

There was a good crop of butternuts at Racine, but other kinds of

nuts were a failure. Hickory nuts were scarce over most of the state;

however in Outagamie County butternuts, hickory nuts, and hazel¬

nuts were reported plentiful.

A professional pigeon trapper stated that few pigeons nested in

the state in the spring of 1873 due to the great scarcity of mast.

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

237

1873

There were a few walnuts in Walworth County. Hickory nuts were

abundant in Walworth, Green Lake, Winnebago, and Brown Counties;

butternuts in Walworth and Calumet Counties; and hazelnuts in

Walworth County. Butternuts were selling at 25 cents a bushel at

Lake Geneva in the spring of 1874. Nuts were reported plentiful at

De Pere and the woods alive with squirrels.

Deer were stated to be eating the acorns of the black oak in Dunn

County. So few pigeons appeared in 1874 that a small crop of

acorns in 1873 is indicated.

1874

Butternuts were abundant in Marathon County. The woods in

Portage County were full of acorns. The pigeons nested in Pierce and

Wood Counties in 1875.

1875

This was a remarkable year for nuts. Walnuts, hickory nuts,

butternuts, beechnuts, and hazelnuts were all abundant.

There was a nesting of pigeons in La Crosse County in 1876.

1876

Hickory nuts were abundant in Dodge, Outagamie, and Columbia

Counties; and acorns in Rock and Dunn Counties. The pigeons nested

in Monroe County in 1877.

1877

This was another year in which the hazel, walnut, hickory, butter¬

nut, and beech yielded abundantly.

There was a bountiful crop of red oak acorns in St. Croix County.

Acorns were plentiful in Dunn and unusually abundant in Eau Claire

County. “Unusual quantities” were reported for the state. The pigeons

nested in Adams County in 1878.

1878

This was a very poor year for mast. There were but few hickory

nuts in Rock County, and in Oconto County acorns and beechnuts

were scarce. Winnebago, Chippewa, Buffalo, Dunn, and Pierce Coun¬

ties reported a great scarcity of nuts and acorns. There were no

hazelnuts in Wood County.

1879

There was a large crop of beechnuts in Door County. It was an

excellent season for all kinds of nuts throughout the state. Acorns

were abundant in Pierce, Chippewa, Walworth, and Kenosha Coun-

238

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

ties. Some oak trees in the latter county yielded three to five bushels

of acorns.

1880

There were no beechnuts in Door County. It is unusual to have

two successive years in which the nut trees bear heavily, but this

was another year in which walnuts, butternuts, hickory nuts, and

hazelnuts were plentiful. Acorns were plentiful in Barron and Pierce

Counties.

1881

Hickory nuts were abundant in Kenosha, Racine, Green Lake,

Fond du Lac, and Waushara Counties. “Nuts” were also abundant

in Iowa County. Squirrels were reported plentiful in Waushara

County due to the “large crop of nuts and acorns”. The butternut

crop in Trempealeau County was about one-fourth that of 1880.

Hazelnuts were plentiful.

This year was marked by the abundance of acorns throughout the

state, in the central portion of which the crop was described as

“immense” and as yielding “thousands of bushels”. There were large

nestings of pigeons near Sparta, Tomah, and Kilbourn in the spring

of 1882.

1882

Beechnuts were plentiful in Sheboygan County. Hickory nuts were

abundant in Rock, Walworth, Green Lake, Outagamie, Winnebago,

and Trempealeau Counties. The crop in the latter county was ex¬

ceptionally large. “Nuts” were quite plentiful in Brown County.

Butternuts and walnuts were abundant in Rock County, and hazel¬

nuts in St. Croix and Richland Counties. No information on acorns

was found.

1883

This year was one of great scarcity of mast. Hickory nuts, walnuts,

and butternuts were scarce in Walworth County; and hickory nuts

were scarce in Kenosha and Waupaca Counties. A man at Reedsburg

is stated to have gathered 50 bushels of black walnuts from a grove

planted 24 years previously. The acorn crop was a failure in Rich¬

land, Iowa, Juneau, and Dunn Counties.

1884

Walnuts, butternuts, hickory nuts, and hazelnuts were plentiful

to abundant. Though nuts were very plentiful at Potosi, squirrels

were scarce. The pigeons nested in the southeastern corner of Lang¬

lade County in 1885.

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

239

1885

Hickory nuts were abundant but in Racine, Walworth, Green Lake,

and Sheboygan Counties only a few nuts had meats in them. The

crop of walnuts and butternuts was good to fair. Hazelnuts were

plentiful in Iowa and Buffalo Counties. Green Lake reported an

“immense acorn crop”.

1886

All sections of the state reported unusually large yields of walnuts,

butternuts, hazelnuts, and hickory nuts, especially the latter. There

was a large crop of acorns in Waupaca County. In the spring of

1887, the pigeons attempted to nest near Wautoma.

1887

There was an immense yield of beechnuts in Oconto, Kewaunee,

Manitowoc, and Sheboygan Counties. Butternuts were plentiful in

Sauk, Juneau, and Jackson Counties. The crop of hazelnuts was

enormous throughout the state. Nuts were not as plentiful in Rock

County as the previous season and many of them did not fill. Acorns

were reported abundant in Sheboygan County.

1888

Hickory nuts, walnuts, butternuts, and hazelnuts were abundant.

No information on the yield of acorns was found.

1889

Shawano County reported beechnuts plentiful while Manitowoc

County had none. Butternuts were plentiful in Rock County. There

were no hazelnuts in St. Croix Coimty.

1890

Hickory nuts were plentiful in Walworth and Juneau Counties.

Nuts of all kinds were exceptionally scarce in Iowa County. No re¬

ports on the yield of acorns in Wisconsin were found. Near Chicago

acorns were abundant on the species of oaks fruiting biennially.^o^

1891

There was a large crop of beechnuts in Sheboygan, Manitowoc,

Brown, Oconto, and Shawano Counties. Hickory nuts were plentiful

in La Crosse and Sheboygan Counties; butternuts in Pierce, Crawford,

Richland, Jackson, Kewaunee, and Brown Counties; walnuts in Craw¬

ford County; and hazelnuts in St. Croix and Richland Counties.

No information on the acorn crop in the state was found. There

was a medium yield near Chicago, but from 50 to 75 per cent of some

species were destroyed by weevils.206

240

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

1892

The yield of hickory nuts in Dane County was poor. This was

also true of beechnuts and hazelnuts in Oconto and Kewaunee Coun¬

ties. Kewaunee reported that squirrels were visiting the farmyards,

and even the city, for food, and on the other hand that acorns were

plentiful in the woods.

1893

Beechnuts were plentiful in Manitowoc County. Walnuts, butter¬

nuts, hickory nuts, and hazelnuts were abundant in most regions.

The hazelnuts in Juneau County were heavily parasitized.

1894

A heavy crop of beechnuts was reported from Manitowoc, Kewau¬

nee, and Brown Counties. Butternuts were plentiful in Waupaca

County.

1895

Walnuts were abundant in Vernon and Dane Counties. Hickory

nuts were scarce in Trempealeau, plentiful in Calumet, and a drug

on the market in Florence County. Hazelnuts were a large crop.

Only a few were parasitized in Juneau County.

ADDENDA

I. A. Lapham lists the gray squirrel for Ashland in his Diary

(Library Wis. Hist. Soc.) under date September 6, 1858.

There is the following additional information for the emigration

of 1834 for southern Illinois: “The gray squirrel (some individuals

black) was very plentiful in early day ... In the fall of 1834 there

was a great immigration of squirrels from Kentucky, which crossed

the Ohio River by swimming, and made their way northward through

Gallatin and White counties, over-running the country and doing im¬

mense damage to the corn crop.” Near Phillipstown in September,

during a hunt of ten men on a side, each side killed 4,000 to 5,000

squirrels. Near Christmas they produced nearly 30,000 scalps on

each side. — Anon. History of White County, Illinois. Chicago (1883)

pp. 209-10.

“In Sept., 1801, an astonishing emigration of squirrels took place,

from Kentucky across the Ohio river. As many as 500 per day" were

killed as they crossed the river.” — L. Collins, History of Kentucky.

Covington, Vol. 2 (1874) 468.

Schorger — Squirrels in Early Wisconsin

241

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246

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

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* The correspondent wrote: “We think it is caused by the white weasel chasing the mother

and frightening her.” PQuien sabe?

* Emigration is more correct than the customary term, migration.

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