“In the summer of 1910 there occurred in various departments of the Province of Mendoza, a great invasion of Isocas (larvæ of a lepidopteran) and in various inspections which I realized in the infected countryside I was able to confirm that a number of birds occupied themselves in eating the larvæ and adults of these Isocas (Colias lesbia Fabr.) and among them Molothrus bonariensis predominated.
“It is also a voracious destroyer of the white worm (larva of Ligyrus bidentulus Fairm.) when these are exposed in ploughing furrows in the vineyards. The ‘bicho de cesto’ (Æceticus platensis Berg) is also very much persecuted by the bird with which we are occupied.
“The corn-fields suffer damages by reason of Molothrus bonariensis, but only during the period between the beginning of the ripening of the ear and its collection; certainly, one ought not to take this damage into consideration when, during eleven months, Molothrus bonariensis has fed in the cultivated country on other products, not on maize, and among these has predominated the larva of Chloridea armigera, the most formidable enemy of the maize-fields.
“I have examined the stomach contents of more than sixty specimens of Molothrus bonariensis, freshly shot, in the various seasons and have encountered about 90 per cent of substance of animal origin and the rest grains, principally maize, but the maize they have generally obtained from the offal of horses and mules, as in Mendoza a good deal of maize is given to working animals, and, as the grain is fed entire, a goodly percentage of it is eliminated without having been digested. It is for this reason that one frequently finds this bird scratching among and turning over the offal. This custom is why it has been given the name of virabosta in Brazil. Therefore, Molothrus bonariensis may be looked upon as a bird helpful rather than destructive to agriculture.”
Rice is planted in “boxes” about twenty-five feet square. Water is supplied through a system of canals some of which are many miles long, and its level is regulated by sets of locks and gates. A few of the fields had already been cut over and the sheaves piled in stacks to dry. Small rodents—rats and mice—were so numerous that they worked great havoc. We ran over our traps thrice daily and always found all of them filled. At dusk short-eared owls came to the vicinity and perched on the mounds from which they could swoop down and capture the mice that teemed in the stubble below. I fired several heavy charges of shot at these birds one evening, and the weather being clear and quiet, the sound carried to the village about a mile and a half away. Early next morning a police sergeant rode up and informed us that we were under arrest. We thanked him for the information, and he left while we went on with our work. At noon another orderly came to repeat the message of the first, and to add that we were expected to report at the police-station immediately. The next day we went to see what all the trouble was about. The “jefe” was waiting for us at the entrance to the jail, surrounded by a curious audience of townspeople. He looked sad, grave, and offended as he began: “Señores, I heard five shots night before last.” “Yes, señor,” I interrupted, “I fired at least eight or ten.” “Pues, that is absolutely prohibited here; one may not shoot under any circumstances whatsoever, so I am compelled to place you in confinement.” At this part of the proceedings I merely flashed our permit and asked him why the governor of the province should give out such a document, and charge two pesos for it, if one could not hunt under any circumstances. He was taken completely by surprise and did not know what to say, so we wished him good morning and went home, much to the amusement of the crowd which had a good laugh at the jefe’s expense.
The Argentinians are inveterate drinkers of maté. It is taken from a bombilla, as in Paraguay, and all classes of people indulge in the habit. I heard that a law had recently been passed requiring each person to use an individual tube as the old system of everybody’s using the same one indiscriminately had caused the spread of various diseases, among them cancer of the mouth, at an alarming rate. Our good friends at Los Sarmientos were very fond of their daily brew, and usually took nothing else for breakfast. They at first very generously passed the steaming bowl to us, but soon grew accustomed to our refusals and refrained from extending further invitations to drink.
The weather grew rapidly colder and rain or snow fell almost daily. A mantle of white completely covered the Andes stretching in an unbroken range to the west of us; the picture presented in the early mornings was one of great beauty, as the sun lit up the snowy summits with a rosy light, while a thin bank of purplish vapor enveloped the foot of the range in a soft mantle of regal splendor.
Hunting in the marshes grew most difficult on account of the cold, and the thin ice through which we had to crunch to reach the better collecting-grounds. We therefore decided to seek a friendlier clime, and returned to Tucuman to prepare for a visit to the desert regions of Santiago del Estero.