Adair County Research Articles

Detection of Pathogenic Bacteria Among Adult Ticks Collected in Conservation Areas and Private Lands of Adair County, Missouri

Three species of ticks have been found in Northeast Missouri, where the incidence and prevalence of tick-borne infections is among the highest in the United States of America. We collected ticks and detected the presence of Rickettsia montanensis (instead of R. rickettsii) and Ehrlichia chaffeensis and the absence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum infections among adult ticks collected in conservation and private areas of Adair County, Missouri. Pathogens were detected and identified using PCR, DNA sequencing of PCR fragments and statistical sequence analysis. We found Ehrlichia chaffeensis in 10% of ticks of the species Amblyomma amercanum and Rickettsia montanensis in 7.95% of collected ticks of the species Dermacentor variabilis. These findings stress the importance of continuous monitoring and study of vector populations in the region. Such monitoring can contribute to risk assessment of ehrlichiosis, spotted fever infections, and anaplasmosis, which are considered endemic in the region.

Changes in Abundance of the Ixodes scapularis Say (Blacklegged Tick) in Adair County, Missouri, from 2006 to 2015

Ixodes scapularis (Blacklegged Tick), vector of Lyme disease, has a broad distribution in eastern North America, but is relatively rare in Missouri. In this study, we report the change in abundance of this species in Adair County, MO, from 2006 to 2015. We collected data from 85 small-mammal trapping sessions beginning in 2006, and from 175 off-host sampling sessions using both drag and bait sampling beginning in 2007. The total number of Blacklegged Ticks collected in this study was 182; we collected <10 Blacklegged Ticks in most years. However, we collected 61.5% of specimens in 2014 and 86% in the last 3 years. Systematic, long-term monitoring has provided information about the dynamics of a tick species with low abundance.

Detection of Borrelia, Ehrlichia, and Rickettsia spp. in ticks in northeast Missouri

We evaluated Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick) and Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick) in northeast Missouri for the presence of Borrelia, Ehrlichia, and Rickettsia bacteria. We collected actively questing ticks from four sites within Adair County, Missouri. A total of 15,162 ticks were collected, of which 13,980 were grouped in 308 pools (lone star ticks, 288 pools; American dog ticks, 20 pools) and tested for presence/absence of bacteria using polymerase chain reaction. Infection rates were calculated as the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Of the 308 pools tested, 229 (74.4%) were infected with bacteria and the overall MLE of the infection rate per 100 ticks was calculated as 2.9% (CI 2.61–3.21). Infection rates varied among life stages, 28.6% (CI 23.89–33.97) in adults, 7.0% (CI 5.10–9.86) in nymphs, and 1.0% (CI 0.75–1.20) in larvae. In the 116 adult lone star pools, infection rates were calculated for Borrelia lonestari (1.4%), Borrelia spp. (2.7%), Ehrlichia chaffeensis (6.1%), Ehrlichia ewingii (3.3%), Rickettsia amblyommii (18.3%), and Rickettsia montanensis (0.4%). Infection rates for the 52 nymphal lone star pools were calculated as B. lonestari (1.03%), Borrelia spp. (0.40%), E. chaffeensis (2.02%), E. ewingii (0.24%), and R. amblyommii (2.70%). In the 20 adult American dog tick pools, infection rates were determined as E. chaffeensis (9.47%), E. ewingii (5.47%), and R. montanensis (8.06%). Eight Borrelia samples were sequenced with five 99–100% identical to B. burgdorferi (s.l.) and three 99% identical to B. lonestari. Eight samples were sequenced for E. chaffeensis (all 99–100% identical) and one sample was sequenced for E. ewingii (99% identical). Seven samples were sequenced for Rickettsia and three were 99% identical to R. montanensis and four were 100% identical to R. amblyommii. This study demonstrates B. lonestari, E. chaffeensis, E. ewingii, R. amblyommii, and R. montanensis in northeast Missouri ticks for the first time. Understanding the presence and epidemiology of these causative (E. chaffeensis and E. ewingii) and suspected (B. lonestari and R. amblyommii) agents in Missouri should increase awareness of potential tick-borne disease in the medical community.

Insecticide Evaluations for Grasshopper Control in Bermudagrass Pasture, 2014: Table 1

Selected insecticides were evaluated for control of a mixed population of second- and third-instar Melanoplus spp. grasshoppers on bermudagrass pasture at the Todd Snyder Farm in Adair County, OK. Plots measuring 25 by 30 ft were established and treatments arranged in an RCB design with four replications. Plots were sprayed on 2 Jun with a CO2-charged bicycle sprayer with a 12.5 ft boom and 20 inch nozzle spacing …

Sustaining the Cherokee Family: Kinship and the Allotment of an Indigenous Nation. By Rose Stremlau (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011. xiii plus 320 pp. $24.95)

The federal government's allotment of Indian reservations into privately owned tracts of land at the turn of the twentieth century dispossessed native communities of most of their holdings and embedded arcane complexities in law and administration that have endured to the present day. While scholars recognize allotment's significance in the history of nearly every tribe in the United States, few have undertaken study of the allotment process and its consequences. Stremlau's close analysis of allotment's impact on Chewey, a community in the Cherokee Nation that now falls within Adair County, Oklahoma, is thus a valuable addition to the historiography. Stremlau's effort to situate this legislative disaster within the history of the family also makes her book noteworthy, since the family in native history has received even less scholarly attention than allotment. The first half of Stremlau's book provides a general overview of Cherokee history in the nineteenth century. The second half of the book contains most of the new material that Stremlau has diligently gathered from the vast bureaucratic storehouse of records listing Cherokees, individually and in various family groupings. These lists include several important censuses that the Cherokee Nation conducted before the 1898 Curtis Act called for its dissolution. The federal government also generated lists in the form of the regular decennial U.S. census, special rolls of Cherokees produced during the 1830s removal period and at the turn of the twentieth century when the descendants of those removed in 1838–1839 received some compensation, and lists of Cherokees compiled by the Dawes Commission during the long and complicated implementation of land allotment: the Dawes Rolls and its accompanying applications, petitions, maps, correspondence, hearings, probate records, and Indian account case files. Using the methods of a genealogist to reconstruct Cherokee kin connections and residence patterns, Stremlau had no choice but to restrict her study to a small segment of the Cherokee population. The book's many photographs add greatly to bringing to life the individuals affected by allotment policies.

Agricultural landscape change (1937–2002) in three townships in Iowa, USA

While agricultural landscape change over the course of 20th century has generally resulted in substantial gains in productivity, there is growing concern that the spatially uniform, functionally homogenized agricultural landscapes lack both environmental resilience and socioeconomic sustainability. The State of Iowa, USA provides a specific example where agriculture is highly developed and functions in a highly modified, human-dominated landscape; yet, few spatially explicit, comprehensive, and consistent data are available from which to assess change. To begin filling this gap, we digitized land cover information from aerial photographs for three Iowa townships (Orient Township in Adair County, Bloomfield Township in Clinton County, and Denmark Township in Emmet County) at five time steps between 1937 and 2002 and analyzed landscape change using a case study approach, landscape metrics, and graphical analysis. Results showed several consistent patterns across townships, including increased area devoted to row crops; decreased area devoted to small grains, hay, and grass; decreased numbers of farm fields concomitant with an increase in average field size; and a loss of rural infrastructure, such as farmsteads and rail lines. This generalized pattern describes an overall loss in agricultural landscape diversity over time, which is clearest in Denmark Township, while more detailed analysis reveals fine-scale diversification in Orient and Bloomfield Townships due to the adoption of conservation practices. A comparison of the three case study landscapes suggested that technology, economics, and federal farm policies, as meditated by variability in natural resource constraints, were drivers of the changes we observed.

A quantitative comparison of two sample methods for collecting Amblyomma americanum and Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae) in Missouri

In studies of tick communities, sampling methodology may influence observed patterns. The objective of this study was to compare two sampling methods, dragging and dry ice baiting, in two habitats to assess abundance of off-host ticks. Tick communities were monitored from March to December in a forested and an old-field habitat in northeast Missouri. In each habitat, eight drag and eight dry ice bait samples were collected every 2 weeks on a permanent grid. The most common ticks collected were all life stages of Amblyomma americanum L. and adult and larval Dermacentor variabilis Say. Capture data was analyzed to determine if there were differences due to sampling method, habitat or an interaction for each life stage of each species across the entire monitoring period. Data indicate that there were differences in the methods. Significantly more A. americanum nymphs were captured by bait sampling. Dragging captured significantly more larval A. americanum. Significantly more larval and nymphal A. americanum and larval D. variabilis were caught in the forest, whereas significantly more adult D. variabilis were collected in the field. Significant interaction between site and method was found for A. americanum adults and D. variabilis larvae. These differences are likely due to differences in behavior among species and developmental age that interact with microclimate. These data indicate that community monitoring studies should use multiple sampling methodologies to avoid bias. While comparing these methods, the first documented collection of off-host Ixodes scapularis Say in Adair County, Missouri was made.

New State Record and Western Range Extension forPseudosinella dubiaChristiansen (Collembola: Entomobryidae) from Oklahoma, U.S.A.

Pseudosinella dubia Christiansen 1960 was described from specimens collected in four caves of Washington County, Arkansas (Christiansen, 1960). Christiansen and Bellinger (1998) documented another Washington County cave record, and Peck and Peck (1982) recollected the species from one of the original four localities. Gardner (1986) reported a Pseudosinella collection from a cave in Dent County, Missouri, which was subsequently identified as P. dubia by K. Christiansen (pers. comm., 2009). Although two recent biological inventories have been conducted in Arkansas caves, no additional records of P. dubia were reported (Graening et al., 2003; Graening et al, 2006). On 11 January 2003, GOG, DBF, R. Stark, and A. Harris collected various collembolans from Oklahoma's largest cave, the Duncan Field System (Adair County), in an attempt to acquire specimens needed to describe a new species endemic to this cave (Pseudosinella sp. nov. “AB”, reported in Christiansen and Bellinger, 1996). Instead, 5 specimens of Pseudosinella dubia were collected (out of 20 observed) and identified by K. Christiansen (Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa). This is the first record of P. dubia in Oklahoma and represents a western range extension of 27 km from the cluster of caves in Arkansas. Although P. dubia shows no clear troglomorphism, it has never been collected outside caves (K. Christiansen, per. comm., 2009). Specimens are retained in the personal collection of K. Christiansen.

Structuring the Cherokee Nation Justice System: The History and Function of the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service

On July 4, 1986, a Cherokee tribal member was shot in the leg and arrested by a deputy in Adair County, Oklahoma. In a subsequent civil action, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that absent a statutory grant of authority by Congress or consent from the tribe itself, Oklahoma law enforcement officers have no criminal jurisdiction “in Indian country” unless the crime is committed by a non-Indian against another non-Indian or the crime is a victimless crime committed by a non-Indian. Realizing that they were no longer protected by the state, the Cherokee Nation responded by creating its own Marshal Service. This article describes the evolution of that agency, checkerboard jurisdiction, and the need for cross deputization. In particular, the article addresses the recent political tribal crisis that almost devastated the newly formed Marshal Service and the tribe's current struggle to regain stability in the politically charged aftermath.

Survival of Reintroduced Ruffed Grouse in North Missouri

We studied survival of a reintroduced ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) population in north Missouri from 16 September 1986 to 30 April 1987. Estimates of survival were derived from 77 radio-marked grouse with the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. Survival from release to spring was 0.245 ? 0.05 (SE) and was not constant. Most losses occurred from release through fall. Adult male survival differed from that of immature males and immature females. No other differences were evident among age and sex classes. Grouse whose movements exceeded the mean daily movement had higher mortality rates than more sedentary birds. Survival of grouse into the breeding season may limit the success of reintroductions. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 52(2):248-252 Ruffed grouse were extirpated from major portions of their southern range during the late 1800's and early 1900's because of exploitative land use practices (Bump et al. 1947, Lewis 1970). Unregulated sport and market hunting also contributed to the decline (Hunyadi 1984). Since the 1950's many states have initiated ruffed grouse restoration programs with varied success (Lewis et al. 1968, White and Dimmick 1978, Backs 1984, Woolf et al. 1984). Estimates of grouse survival from release until the subsequent breeding season are useful to evaluate restoration programs. However, data are not available concerning the effect of condition or movements on the survival of reintroduced ruffed grouse. Objectives of our study were to determine survival of reintroduced ruffed grouse in north Missouri during September 1986-April 1987 and to examine the effect of condition and movement on grouse survival. We thank J. A. Balkenbush and V. L. Kimmel-Truitt for assisting in field work. The staff of the Missouri Department of Conservation, Kirksville, provided essential assistance. G. S. Olson and S. L. Sheriff assisted with data analyses and study design. This study was supported, in part, with the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act funds, under Pittman-Robertson Project W-13-R. R. M. Scheidt typed drafts of the manuscript. L. D. Vangilder, E. K. Fritzell, J. B. Lewis, D. T. Zekor, and F. R. Thompson reviewed the manuscript. STUDY AREA AND METHODS From 16 September to 7 October 1986, 77 ruffed grouse (42 ad, 35 immature) were released on Sugar Creek State Forest (SCSF) in Adair County, Missouri. Wild-trapped grouse were obtained from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources through a cooperative agreement with the Missouri Department of Conservation. The 1,056-ha SCSF, located in northcentral Missouri, is >90% forested. Most stands are composed of small sawlog and pole-sized oak (Quercus spp.) and hickory (Carya spp.). Since 1980, 7 stands totaling 72 ha were clearcut on SCSF and 128 ha received intermediate thinnings. Private lands surrounding the study area are a mosaic of forest, pasture, and cropland. Vegetative conditions of SCSF met the criteria for ruffed grouse release sites in Missouri (Hunyadi 1984, Kurzejeski et al. 1987a): a minimum size of 404 ha, predominantly forested, >10% in early forest succession, and an active timber management program. Grouse were released in a 6-year-old clearcut (9.8 ha) centrally located within the eastern unit of SCSF. Age (Davis 1969), sex (Roussel and Ouellet 1975), and weight of grouse were determined at release. Weight loss between time of capture and release was recorded and used as an indication of condition. Each bird was fitted with a mortality-sensitive, poncho-mounted transmitter (Advanced Telem. Systems, Inc., Isanti, Minn.). The 16-18-g transmitters had an expected life of 200 days and were assumed not to affect movements or survival of grouse (Small and Rusch 1985). We attempted to relocate grouse daily from date of release through 30 April 1987 with vehicle-mounted antennae and portable receivers. When necessary, fixed-wing aircraft were used to relocate grouse. Triangulation error with the vehicle-mounted antenna system was estimated at ?1.440 (n = 448) (Springer 1979). We estimated time of death within 24 hours of receiv-

Reproductive Parameters of Wild Turkey Hens in North Missouri

Reproductive parameters of eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) were studied on a 52-km2 area in north Missouri during 1981, 1982, 1984, and 1985. Nest success, hen success, nesting rates, clutch size, fate of nests, and poult mortality were estimated from a sample of 127 radio-instrumented hens. Nesting success and hen success were highly variable among years. Average nest success was 30.6% with hen success averaging 37.8%. Few differences were detected between adult and subadult hens in nest success or hen success. Predation was the major cause of nest losses. Renesting rates averaged 55.0% in 1981, 1982, and 1985; but only 14.0% following a late spring in 1984. Both renesting rate and nesting chronology appeared to be affected by early spring temperatures. Poult mortality averaged 61.9% at 4 weeks post-hatch. Reproductive success in this study was lower than has been reported elsewhere in the subspecies range. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 51(3):535-540 Reproductive parameters of recently reintroduced eastern wild turkey populations have been studied extensively (Eichholz and Marchinton 1975, Little and Varland 1981, Clark 1985, Miller et al. 1985). Reproductive success and nesting ecology also have been examined in indigenous turkey populations in the south (Williams et al. 1968, Hon et al. 1978, Everett et al. 1980, Metzler and Speake 1985, Speake et al. 1985). Porter (1978) investigated reproduction in an established, but rapidly expanding, turkey population in Minnesota, the northern boundary of the eastern wild turkey range. To date no studies have reported reproductive parameters from stable turkey populations in the Midwest. Eastern wild turkey densities in this region of the country are among the highest reported for the species, exceeding 30 birds/ km2 of timber (Kurzejeski et al. 1987). Effective management of these populations requires quantitative estimates of reproductive success and poult mortality. The purpose of this paper is to report reproductive parameters and poult mortality estimates for an established wild turkey population in north Missouri, and to examine the relationship between yearly breeding chronology and temperatures. Assistance was provided by E. A. Keyser, J. S. Fleming, B. J. Otten, D. J. Newswanger, and K. C. Ehlers. E. R. Jayne, C. J. Scriven, M. E. Wade, C. Turner and numerous others provided access to their private lands that was essential in conducting this study. G. S. Olson and S. L. Sheriff assisted with data analyses. Partial funding for this study was provided by the State Chap. and local chapters of the Natl. Wild Turkey Fed., and by the Fed. Aid Wildl. Restor. Act, under Pittman-Robertson Proj. W-13-R. The Wildl. Res. secretarial staff typed drafts of this manuscript. K. C. Sadler reviewed the manuscript. STUDY AREA AND METHODS Wild turkey hens were captured using cannon nets during 4 winters (1980-81, 1981-82, 198384, and 1984-85). Each hen was aged (subad or ad), instrumented, and released at the capture site. A 140-g mortality-sensitive radio package, operating on 164-165 MHz band, was attached using a back-pack harness. The radio package was powered by a lithium battery with an expected life of 24 months. Instrumented hens were monitored daily on a 52-km2 study area about 8 km west of Kirksville in Adair County, Missouri. A more detailed description of the study area can be found in Kurzejeski et al. (1987). We monitored hens using an ATS programmable-scanning receiver and a 4-element handheld Yagi antenna. Prior to 1 April, mortality was monitored daily by taking single readings. Beginning 1 April, triangulation occurred daily. Highly localized movements were assumed to be indicative of nest initiation (Porter 1978:61).

Survival of Wild Turkey Hens in North Missouri

Survival and cause-specific mortality of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) hens were investigated in north Missouri during 1984-85. Survival estimates and distributions were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method from a sample of 60 radio-marked hens. The annual survival rate was 0.435 ? 0.073. Predation and poaching were the major causes of mortality, accounting for 54.9 and 38.7% of the losses, respectively. Legal fall harvest was responsible for only 3.2% of the deaths and was considered a minor cause of mortality. Seasonal losses were highest during spring. Forty-two percent of the illegal hen kills occurred during the spring gobbler season. Survival probabilities with poaching or predation as the only source of mortality followed similar patterns. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 51(1):188-193 Wild turkey populations in the mixed timber-agricultural regions of the Midwest have been reported to exceed 30 birds/km2 of timber (Hanson 1984, Lewis and Kurzejeski 1984). Effective management of these populations requires quantitative data on hen turkey survival. Radio-telemetry data have been used to examine survival in reintroduced turkey populations (Swank et al. 1985), expanding turkey populations (Porter 1978), and indigenous turkey populations in the traditional southern range (Everett et al. 1980, Holbrook and Vaughan 1985). Data on survival rates and causes of turkey mortality are scarce, and estimates of hen wild turkey survival are lacking for established populations in the Midwest. Estimates of hen turkey survival are important in the formulation of fall harvest recommendations and as an indication of reproductive potential. Furthermore, determining seasonal and cause-specific survival provides inference as to the relative importance of natural, illegal, and where appropriate, legal harvest mortality. The objectives of this study were to determine annual and seasonal survival and causes of mortality for hen wild turkeys in north Missouri during March 1984-March 1985. We thank V. L. Kimmel for coordinating and conducting the fieldwork, and E. A. Keyser, J. S. Fleming, D. J. Neuswanger, and B. J. Otten for assistance in trapping turkeys. C. J. Scriven, M. E. Wade, C. Turner, E. R. Jayne, and numerous others provided access to their private lands that was essential in conducting this study. S. R. Winterstein, C. Bunck, and S. L. Sheriff provided assistance with data analyses. Partial funding for this study was provided by the Mo. State Chapter and various local chapters of the Natl. Wild Turkey Fed. This study also was supported, in part, by funds supplied by the Fed. Aid to Wildl. Restor. Act, under PittmanRobertson Proj. W-13-R-38. S. S. Sapp typed drafts of the manuscript. The manuscript was reviewed by K. C. Sadler, O. A. Torgerson, R. W. Cannon, S. R. Winterstein, and L. M. Smith. STUDY AREA AND METHODS Hen wild turkeys were captured, radio instrumented, and released in a 52-km2 area in Adair County, Missouri, about 8 km west of Kirksville. The topography is rolling with elevations ranging from 226 to 297 m. Forested land comprises 59.6% of the area. Agricultural lands comprise the remainder, with 16.2% of the area in row crops and 24.2% in pasture. The timber component is 2nd growth oak (Quercus spp.) and hickory (Carya spp.) predominated by pole-sized stands. The floodplain of the Chariton River, which bisects the study area, contains a majority of the cropland. The upland portions of the area are a mosaic of timber interspersed with pastures and hayfields. Trapping was conducted using cannon nets during 2 periods (1 Aug-15 Oct 1983 and 1 Jan-13 Mar 1984). Hens were aged, radio instrumented, and released at the capture site. Transmitters were attached using a backpack harness. The 140-g radio package included a

Developments in East-Central States in 1975

Total oil production in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee in 1975 was 39 million bbl, down 5.3% from 1974. This compares with a decline of 8.9% in 1974 and of 11.9% in 1973. All 4 states had decreased production. Gas production in Kentucky in 1975 was 62.9 Bcf, a decline of 9.8% from 1974. Gas production in the other states is insignificant. A total of 2,445 oil and gas tests was drilled in 1975, up 24.5% from 1974 and 60.4% from 1973. Exploratory tests totaled 868, up 31.9% from 1974; of these 168 (19.4%) were successful. Tennessee had 203 oil and gas tests in 1975, up 50.4% from 1974. Exploratory tests were up 68.2%. Most of the drilling was in Morgan, Fentress, and Scott Counties. Successful exploratory wells included 23 new fields, 8 new pools, and 13 extensions. None of the discoveries adds significant reserves. At Indian Creek field, operators began recycling gas to the Fort Payne reservoir for pressure maintenance, the first known secondary-recovery project in Tennessee. Oil and gas potential in fractured lower Trenton rocks in the Cumberland Plateau and eastward into the Valley and Ridge province was suggested by several wells in Grundy County that found gas in these rocks. Leasing activity continued in the Mississippian play in the northern Cumberland Plateau. Plans for deep tests in eastern ennessee appear to have been shelved because of tightened exploration budgets. Illinois had 956 oil and gas tests in 1975, up 20.3% from 1974. Exploratory tests were up 14.9%, development wells 22.3%. Two oil fields, 6 successful newpool wildcats, 6 deeper pools, 8 shallower pools, and 12 extensions were discovered. None of the discoveries adds significantly to reserves. The two new fields are Louisville in Clay County and Vergennes in Jackson County. Production in Louisville is from the Aux Vases, McClosky, Salem, and Ullin (all Mississippian). Production in Vergennes is from the Devonian. Deep testing increased in Illinois. Of the 106 new-field wildcats drilled in 1975, 2 tested Pennsylvanian rocks, 31 Mississippian (all but 6 Valmeyeran), 59 Devonian-Silurian, 10 Ordovician (all Trenton), 1 Cambrian-Ordovician (Knox), 2 Cambrian, and 1 Precambrian. A Cambri n test in Johnson County was drilled to TD of 14,274 ft, a new depth record in Illinois. It was dry and abandoned, and Johnson County has no production. Indiana had 374 oil and gas tests in 1975, down from 376 in 1974. Exploratory holes were down from 168 to 156. Development wells were up from 208 to 218. Success ratio of exploratory drilling was 12.8%. Successful exploratory wells included 3 new fields, 13 new-pool wildcat discoveries, and 5 extensions. One of the new fields, Elnora West, was an old dry hole that involved no new footage. A new-pool discovery, the Salem Limestone in Odon South field, established an additional productive reef-associated structure in Daviess County. In Owensville North Consolidated field, Gibson County, 12 wells were completed in the Salem in 1975. Drilling in 1976 is expected to continue at the current rate. Deeper stratigraphic units probably will command increased attention. A total of 1,011 wells was drilled in Kentucky in 1975, up 45% from 1974. They included 315 exploratory wells (up 71.2%), 597 development wells (up 25.9%), and 99 miscellaneous wells. The success percentage for exploratory wells was 23.8% and development wells 58.8%. Successful exploratory tests included 17 new fields, 6 new-pool wildcats, 25 extensions, 11 shallower pool tests, and 16 deeper pool tests. Recent new discoveries in Lower Mississippian strata have caused many old wells to be deepened and many new tests to be drilled to the Fort Payne-Warsaw-Salem sequence in the Illinois basin part of Kentucky with much success. The discovery of Knox and shallower Ordovician production in Adair County has caused additional drilling and exploratory successes in adjoining Green County, and much more Knox prospecting throughout central Kentucky. Devonian shale-gas exploration will be curtailed severely in 1976 because of increased drilling costs. Several tests were drilled, the deepest of which was a 14,340-ft Precambrian test in Webster County.

Developments in East-Central States in 1969

Interest in the Lower Ordovician and Cambrian strata continued in the east-central states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee). Twelve successful Knox wells were completed in Adair County, Kentucky, and several pre-Knox tests were drilled in the state. One company leased almost a million acres in eastern Kentucky in 1969 for drilling rights to pre-Silurian strata. Many basement tests are expected in Kentucky in 1970, especially in the eastern part of the state. A deep test in Morgan County, Tennessee, was abandoned at 8,025 ft, but further information on this test has not been released. At year-end, a proposed basement test was being drilled on the Sequatchie anticline in Sequatchie County, Tennessee. There was no significant exploration of deeper strata in Illino s and Indiana, although thousands of cubic miles of essentially unexplored Lower Ordovician and Cambrian rocks await exploration. Moderately significant discoveries in the Mississippian in all 4 east-central states should provide some stimulus for exploration of the shallower strata in 1970. Oil production in the 4 states was 71.5 million bbl, down 9.7% from 1968. Gas production, nearly all from Kentucky, was 88.8 Bcf, down only slightly from 1968. The total number of wells drilled for oil and gas was 2,231, a decrease of 17.4% from 1968. Successful exploratory tests did not significantly increase reserves.

Two Historic Indian Burials from an open Site, 23AD95, Adair County, Missouri

Two historic Indian burials from Adair County, Missouri, are discussed. A summary of the site and description of the find are given; ethnohistoric inferences are made on the basis of the available ...

Retirement with noblesse oblige

A contemporary of mine once said that he had all the Christian virtues except that of graceful retirement. This is not my sentiment. Be that as it may, all men who are fortunate enough to reach the retirement age must somehow learn to cooperate with the inevitable. It is an adjustment that requires foresight and planning if a happy transition is going to be effected. Herbert Hoover said on his 84th birthday that a man in retirement should engage in some productive enterprises rather than spend his time thinking about his pains, pills, and income taxes. He died recently at 90 having among other things authored more than 40 books. The great red-towel-waving basketball coach, Ed Diddle of Western State College, seems to have a wholesome philosophy regarding retirement. He has just retired this year after coaching 42 years at Western. Few, if any, coaches have equaled or surpassed his record as a coach. Upon retirement he said, You don't give up a job you've enjoyed for 42 years without missing it. I'm not going to be an ex-coach who sits in the stands and gripes. But I'll tell you this: I'll fight the fans who do gripe. And knowing Uncle Ed, back in Adair County, that's exactly what he'll do. Last August I met a most interesting professor of Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. I went there to fill in some gaps on the history of the James boys, Frank and Jesse, whose father took two degrees at my college. This professor's life was a rebuke to me. now paralyzed, he was the most cheerful man I ever met. He said to me, Though I'm retired and confined in a wheel chair, I am not a shut-in for I have my TV, my books, my friends, and my rocking chair memories which carry me back to many scenes dear to my heart. To the outside world an unkind fate had dealt him a crushing blow, but his Christian faith seemed sufficient to sustain him in the frost of his years.

Notes on Salamanders Collected in Oklahoma

THE recent descriptions of new salamanders, Eurycea tynerensis Moore and Hughes, Eurycea griseogaster Moore and Hughes, and Typhlotriton nereus Bishop, prompted the writer to collect and study salamanders in the Ozark uplift in northeastern Oklahoma. The observations presented herein are mainly from northeastern Oklahoma although interesting notes from other regions of the state are included. Some specimens were placed in the University of Oklahoma Museum of Zoology. Some were presented to Dr. G. A. Moore, and the remainder are in the writer's personal collection. Ambystoma maculatum (Shaw).-An egg mass collected Feb. 28, 1944, in an overflow pool of a small spring fed strealh 2 miles south of Scraper, Cherokee County, was taken to the laboratory where the larvae began emerging on March 10. Unfortunately these larvae failed to survive but others were collected later (Mar. 28, June 11, 16, and 25) in abundance. On June 16 metamorphosing larvae were found and carried to the laboratory where they developed the adult color pattern in sufficient detail by June 27 to confirm their identification as A. maculatum. A thorough search for adults and newly metamorphosed individuals in the vicinity of the pool was futile. Ambystoma texanum (Matthes).-Large numbers of this secretive species were taken from beneath logs in a shallow slough 2 miles south of Norman, Cleveland County. Males taken here as early as December 4, 1942, had greatly enlarged testes which contained active spermatozoa. On February 28, 1942, eggs were collected. At the same time larvae about 8 mm. in length were seen swimming in the slough. Several specimens from Osage County, 3 miles northwest of Tulsa, represent a new locality record. Ambystoma trigrinum mavortium Baird.-Neotenic individuals of this species were taken April 24, 1942, and June 9, 1943, in a cattle tank 6 miles east of Norman, Cleveland County. In April terrestrial adults were found in the same pool. Neotenic males taken in April had enlarged testes containing active spermatozoa. The only previous report of neoteny in mavortium is from Estes Park, Colorado (Gadow, 1908). The new Cleveland County record is 500 miles southeast of Estes Park and at a considerably lower elevation (1200 ft m.s.l.). This suggests that neoteny in mavortium may be considerably more widespread than previously suspected. Plethodon cinereus angusticlavius Grobman.-A specimen taken 2 miles south of Scraper, Cherokee County, on April 27, 1945, appears to be the first record from Oklahoma. It was found beneath moist leaves in a narrow stream valley in rugged limestone hills. Another specimen was collected in Adair County, 5 miles south of Kansas, on March 28, 1944.

Morrow Group of Adair County, Oklahoma

Detailed field work during the summer of 1938, and subsequent insoluble-residue studies, have yielded considerable additional data on the character of the Morrow group of rocks in Adair County, Oklahoma. Sufficient information is at hand to permit the recognition of the divisions of the Morrow group, the Hale sandstone at the base and the Bloyd shale above. In addition, the Brentwood and Kessler members of the Bloyd are developed in Adair County. The Brentwood can be recognized as an interval of alternating shale and limestone beds, and the westward extent of the Kessler has been determined to be about 4 miles west-southwest of Stilwell, Oklahoma. Only by insoluble-residue studies is it possible to differentiate between the limestone beds of the Hale formation, and the Br ntwood and Kessler limestone members. The Kessler member, in particular, has a diagnostic insoluble residue. There is a marked disconformable contact between the Pitkin limestone and the Hale sandstone in almost every section measured and studied. In all but a very few cases this contact consists of a highly ferruginous, calcareous, conglomerate bed averaging less than a foot in thickness. It is invariably phosphatic.

The Effect of Drought on Public Water Supplies in Iowa

The State of Iowa may be roughly divided into three sections as to the predominating sources of water supply. The municipalities in the southern third of the state, except in the extreme east where there are a number of deep well supplies and river supplies, and in the extreme west where shallow well supplies predominate, depend principally upon impounded surface water supplies. The municipalities in the western fourth of the state and the west central portion of the state depend principally upon shallow wells, whereas in the remainder of the state the principal sources of municipal water supply are from deep wells. Shallow wells are arbitrarily taken as those that are 100 feet or less in depth. For the most part the shallow wells terminate in the unconsolidated loess, glacial drift or alluvium, and the deep wells terminate in consolidated formations and may be classed as rock wells. There are, of course, exceptions as the result of the arbitrarydepth classification. The drift is at least 200 feet deep in a few instances while in other cases wells terminate in bed rock at depths less than 100 feet. The principal deep aquifers in the east part of the state are the St. Peter, Jordan, Dresbach and Mt. Simon sandstones and intermediate limestones and dolomites. These formations outcrop in northeastern Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin and dip to the southwest so that the St. Peter, the upper extensive sandstone, is about 3,000 feet below the ground surface at Greenfield in Adair County. These formations run roughly parallel to each other and are quite continuous although the thickness is not uniform.

Geology of Adair County

Geology of Adair County