California Condor Eben McMillan 21 may 1964 The month of May has had no warm days. So far moderate to cool temperatures have prevailed. Considerable fog on occasion, west of the San Joaquin valley at times, with showers or more than one instance. It was cool again this morning when I drove down the Bitterwater valley on way to Bakersfield. The Cattle have all been removed from the lower Bitterwater valley and the dust blown area east of Blackwell's Corner continues to grow larger and become more active whenever moderate to high winds blow, from any direction. Stopping at Agricultural Commission's Office in Bakersfield I was given a copy of Kern County Agricultural Crop Report for 1963, in which were estimates of the numbers of livestock on the ranges of Kern County on both January 1, 1963 and January 1, 1964. The estimate of Cattle on the Ranges of Kern County on January 1, 1963 was 139,100, while the number of Sheep on these ranges at this same date was 172,000. The Cattle Number of Livestock on Ranges of Kern County, given for January 1, 1964 was 146,800 while the Number of Sheep on these ranges on this same date was 168,300. Figuring these Numbers roughly, but conservatively, by assuming the annual death loss for Cattle to be .03 percent and the annual death loss for Sheep to be .05 percent I come up with a figure of Twelve Cattle per day dying, on an average day throughout the year in Kern County while Twenty Three Sheep expired each day, on an average, throughout the year in this same County. While at the Kern County Agricultural Commissioners Office, in Bakersfield, I was introduced to a Mister John B. -