Pearson - 1988 Pilcaniyeu. Also a paper on Reithrodon; a Brazilian-Uruguayan species, and an Argentine species. The power shortage is said to stem from lack of water in the Parana drainage. December 17 Buenos Aires. Second-hand book shopping with Fraga in the morning. One 2-volume travel book by an Englishman Scarlett on page 81 describes going to the Natuiral History Museum in Buenos Aires, seeing a stuffed crocodile, some ill-shaped fishes, all not being cared for and he opined not destined to last very long. Then he went to the legislature, which was in session. They were discussing a scheme to pay off the national dept "by borrowing the money!" This was about 1836. Tea with Helmut and Litzi Strohmeyer in their apartment. They have had some rain on their two estancias in San Luis and Media Luna in Mendoza, but considerable losses of cattle via fences burned in last year's fires and via rustling. She assumes rustling because the sex ratio of calves at the roundup was 700/500. The cattle loading chute is 12km from the ranchouse. Lots of plains viscachas and pumas. They gas viscachas by putting a moisture-sensitive vial down the burrow and cover it up. This kills the females and young. The males, she says, live elsewhere. The males come and open up some of the burrows, so mthey then gas those burrows again to get the males. Supper with the Franzmanns, whom we met on the sidewalkj by chance. They had been to Ushuaia. He, from Alaska, agrees that the Tierra del Fuego c climate is not all that bad and that the Fuegians don't want the rest of Argentina to know that they don't deserve their hardship pay. He say many mice running across the roads, not brown or yellowish, tail about as long as head and body. He was told not to bother going trout fishing because the trout were not biting because they were full of mice. They had been to Mendoza with Roig and to Parque Luro for field work with the red deer. The New Zealand deer man is starting asn operation near Luro. Franzmann had also been to Julio Contreras's house in Corrientes. Reig had been there and, according to Franzmann, told Julio that he should stop publishing "Historia Natural." Jan. 20, 1989 - Summary of trap success Oct-Dec 1988: 1592 trap nights, 183 animals = 11.49% 122 Ako longi, 35 Oryzomys, 16 Auliscomys, 6 Ako olivaceus, 2 Geoxus, 1 Ako xantho, 1 Reithrodon. Effectiveness of Shermans vs. Museum Specials for Akodon longipilis: 535 Sherman nights caught 65 longi; 492 MS nights caught 39 longi. Chi 2 = 4.51 df 1, p=.05 Effectiveness of Shermans vs MS for Oryzomys: 290 Sherman nights caught 15; 295 MS nights caught 16. Not significant. Used only lines that caught at least one Oryzomys.