CONSERVATION CHARLEY by Harry Corry 



Elizabeth tries to pull her fur coat a little 

 closer to her body. These winter winds sure 

 seep Into a girl's system. 



Elizabeth's nose Is red and running. Shivers 

 race from her belly to her spine - and sprint 

 back again. Chills gallop up and down her back. 

 Her ankles are trim and eye-appealing - but who 

 can admire trim ankles when they're burieo in 

 eight inches of snow? 



All In all, Elizabeth is a plump miserable 

 Hereford this morning. She turns to look at 

 Sally. Sal ly's plumb miserable, too. 



"This weather Is for the birds," Elizabeth 

 remarks, " and I do mean penguins." 



Liz and Sally are munching breakfast in the 

 middle of a snowy, windblown pasture. The 

 rest of Bill Perkin's cattle are scattered 

 around stuffing hay down their throats, too. 

 They're also shivering. 



"What's with this Perkins-" asks Lizzie. "How 

 come he doesn't furnish us girls some protection 

 on glacial days I ike this?" 



"Oh, Bill Is all right," replies Sally. "He 

 Just doesn't think that we need protection. 

 Guess he figures that we're tough and winter 

 hardy." 



"Well, in my book. Perks Is a jerk," Lizzie 

 retorts. "If he'd give us some shelter from 

 this wind and cold he'd make us a lot more 

 comfortable - and make hirriself some money Sat 

 the same time." 



"That doesn't figure," Sally says, "It's 

 kinda expensive building sheds and barns for 

 us. How's he going to make money that way?" 



"Who needs sheds and barns?" snorts Liz. 

 "Trees and brush make some of the best - and 

 cheapest winter protection there Is. And 

 this clown. Perks, cleared several acres of 

 trees and brush down by the creek last summer. 

 I believe his thinking apparatus Is wired 

 backwards." 



"Well, I gotta admit," Sally replies, "that 

 It was kInda warm and cozy down there In fhe 

 winter. But he probably figured he needed the 

 land for crop production. After all, he's 

 gotta make a living, too." 



"For your Information - and his," Lizzie says, 

 "that brush was making him money just as It was. 

 The sclentlfical fellers have found In experi- 

 ments that a group of girls, like us, wintered 

 on a creek bottom with brush protection gained 

 35 pounds more per girl than another group 

 wintered with shed protection. And both 

 groups had the same kind and amounts of food." 



"Course, that was in a mild winter," she 

 admits. "But these fellers also found that in 

 a severe winter the girls In the brush each 

 lost about eleven pounds less than the shedders 

 did." 



Middle age is when you want to see how long your car 

 will last instead of how fast it will go. 



"That brush wouldn't be a very good place for 

 a girl who was trying to lose weighty would if? 

 giggles Sal ly. 



"Nope," agrees Liz. "On the other hand, It'd 

 be a mighty good place for Perkins to keep his 

 cows - unless, of course, he's trying to help 

 his bank roll lose weight;? 



"Multiply those extra pounds by the price of 

 beef and he'd have a pretty good chunk of extra 

 income from his brush," she explains. "The 

 only other way that he can make up that extjPa 

 weight Is to put more food on the table - and 

 that costs extra money," 



"He's losing even more by wintering us out 

 here with no protection," she continues. "We 

 can't even keep up with the girls In the sheds. 

 We'll end up In worse shape than they did. 

 We're liable to be bags of bones by spring." 



She shivers and adds, "Besides that, he's 

 created an erosion hazard by stripping the 

 creek bank. If ft goes on a rampage If Hilght 

 wash those extra acres right down Into the 

 Missouri River, Then he won't get anything 

 from them. 



Now It's Sally's turn to shiver. Her teeth 

 want to chatter - but she hasn't got her upper 

 plate In, 



*l wish I were down there In the brush 

 putting on weight right now," she sighs. "I 

 wish Perks would have gotten all of the facts 

 before he started to remodel fhat bottomland." i 



SOIL STEWARDSHIP WEEK 



Soil Stewardship Week sponsored by Soil and 

 Water Conservation Districts will be May 15 

 through 22, 1966, 



"Crisis In the Countryside" Is the theme. 



MONTANA CONSERVATION COUNCIL 



The Montana Conservation Council Annual Meet" 

 Ing will be April 22, and 23 at the Rainbow 

 Hotel in Great Falls. The theme of the meetlqf 

 is "Land - Montana's Basic Economic Strength", 



Don Tavenner, Deer Lodge, Is conference 

 Chairman. 



"Conservation Week", sponsored by^the Montant 

 Conservation Council, will be April 24 - 30, 



"I think he's got you whipped," said the manager in dis- 

 gust after the ninth round. 



"Yeah," agreed the pugilist, gazing dizzily through near- 

 ly closed eyes. "I should have got him in the firtt round 

 when he was alone." 



2, 



