HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1956-09-20, Page 2Zoo Keepers Have Lots Of Troubles
• If you want a nice quiet job,
free from worries, don't run. a
zoo. Keeping several thousand
wild animals alive and well is
s job with plenty of headaches.
Some animals are very difficult
to keep, and demand the ut-
most care if they are to survive.
Take king penguins, those curi-
ously human birds that look so
much like dignified old waiters.
They conte from the Antartic,
where they thrive in the great
wastes of ice and snow. - Bring
them to another country and,
during the summer, they are al-
most overwhelmed by the heat.
After an acclimatizing period,
though, they get used to it, so
some zoos have managed to keep-
s small flock; some have even
succeeded in rearing an occa-
sional chick. a pretty good aeh-
levement.
Until recently, however, the
New York Zoo was out of luck
with king penguins. The trouble
lay in the very high stunmer
temperatures. All kinds of things
•steers tried, even the frequent ad-
dition of blocks of ice to their
pool, but the results were always
disappointing Within a week or
two of the arrival of hot weather
the birds were dead.
•
• blush thought was given to
the problem, because king pen-
guins are a most popular ex-
hibit. But it was not until just
after the war that someone had
the right idea. Why not build a
large refrigerator, similar to
those in which butchers keep
their meat fresh, and let them
live in that during the months
of hot weather?
So en experimental refriger-
ator was set up in the spring of
1943. It had observation win-
dows along the sides and a
small pond let into the floor.
Early in June three king pen-
guins that had arrived the pre- I
vious autumn were placed in it
for a sort of summer holiday, and
to everyone c delight remained
fit and thriving through the hot-
test weather.
Penguins are about the only
animate that find the British cli-
mate too warm for them. Polar
bears seen' q,: to satisfied with
it, even we hot summer days.
Fortunately :he majority of ani -
male soot; become accustomed to
a eleenge ee c' lice
Iteme tropical animals can be
kept . right throat
tht' welter anti seem to thrive
on At Whipsnade you can
watch 1...ns p:aying in the ...ow •
lintkitters, and •,:,e tigers me-
t ,.e. break the ice on teeir
ba, order have
•
e air.
Sonie itrii—t'4z from w: r:n
res , are extremely
sensitive -to chg s in ate.
. . : °''.i: of.
these ._ ct
keep ..^''hummingsus
A^., the :roe: be etc..:. ,!
nae iteyyre
., we
a:r.h e of 'ke . •
tht'• alive ... tins country.
They ver:‘
they can ett7:. reaernain :hen:
hiss, hede tee^ , :tires .,.d:.
MERRY MENAGERIE
HL = getteete tenet ergs paid
t}• .... f•- .., -:.»g
res:.
surroundings are kept warm,
The humming bird house at the
London Zoo is kept at '75 deg. F.,
and even at this temperature
the tiny birds have to spend
much of their time feeding to
maintain body heat.
To give them plenty of time to
eat, the lights •are left full on
until 8.30 at .night. After that
blue lamps are switched on so
that any bird feelinghungry can
alwaYs feed. Even at '75. deg., a
fast of more than a few hours
can result in death from star-
vation,
Climate, though, is only one of
the zoo man's anxieties. Certain
animals are tricky to keep be -
rause they are food faddists.
Giant pandas must have plenty
of fresh bamboo shoots,' and Aus-
tralin's delightful little Koala
bears demand eucalyptus leaves.
Bamboo shoots are scarce in this
country. and eucalyptus leaves
unobtainable- in any quantity.
So giant pandas are not easy to
keep here, and koala bears im-
possible.
In the late •summer of 1953 a
kiwi was flown over from New
Zealand as a Coronation gift to
the London Zoo from the New
Zealand Government. Its feeding
at once became- a problem, not
so murk for the Zoo keepers as
for the gardeners. Kiwis live
almost entirely on earthworms,
so the gardeners had to dig in
every available spot to supply
the new arrival with something
like 300 worms a day. Fortunate-
-1y, after a few weeks they were
able to have regular supplies of
worms sent from Scotland.
A few years ago New York
Zoo faced a similar worm prob-
lem, In 1948 they received three
duck-billed platypuses, the curi-
ous Australian egg -laying ani-
mals that are now extremely
rare. To keep them going, the
Zoo had to And about 1,000
worms a day.
To meet this colossal demand,
a worm farm was set up in at
cellar beneath the lion house.
Here adult worms are kept in
small breeding boxes filled with
rich soil, the temperature and
darn tress of the boxes being
carefully regulated. Under
these conditic's the worm eggs
take about three weeks to hatch,
when the wormiets are then
transferred t0 growing pits.
Ali kinds of food: for the
worms s are added to the soil of
these pits Fortunately. worm:
are not fussy. They will thrive
on a... any kind of garbage.
Every `ti keepers
are fated
with e tedious job of going
throagh seine . the soilthese
p...red. a:: they
).ave picked out t:. of worms
•
like ... ,'l) average
size wornts.
Sometimesat"-,-tls:leveler, in-
explicable,
nexp . feed f at can be
most
.:e , ^f irritating.- . you might
exre: :e: ter en
some el the large gyllions in the
reitouse have
eleveleeee
mos: eneseal feed
r.eee ere e.a
These larger snakese: -
eee'1y> icy. 1
rats. New
cp ereferenee
certain oeleor. tele., eee witl
en ea: a nets. while :
wen' well leek e ..nhe-e•hee
brewn enes Seine ;y. {ae•
-
r.... ... only ea:
ben C n : has ...
- ere. ...:k ..
, ..
...,...... . will ...leve .. ... elle.
.hen ...e e. it ._sill ekes: -.
• ..'.e :arise: mitt nese :le ex-
,
:al;elle... elle.. ., .. -
TRDCk;N ON DOWN Ca :s lore . „'`e aro.
sire- a -a _`•sea, @ti " 'e Pelee.a v a ;' e.. C eve -
to ,. ".e' try. .the .^.'.e. ...p -
eve; e; ., :Ssz.sBaac'a a.
Ree -- ' s y 29Sa ee'-en torrecee nee zee eetec
the seen..,.den ceb,sr , " e es
c<� a , svo No Vic..Lana :n e
s.. ret . 4 rc a s
th "e' ca t.vc \ems,
The .c. , aste-ea ..'•y .e .s_ '.en's a e~to �`p
pa , _, : tiaz a been ars .c`. -'_
Lt 4 -.. se+ . w' a` `e P C toe 3'.£ sd
the "._, •-e 4' 'e~a ..'.1a., , .. se _ ael
yr Leen so oil.
LEATHERNECK .ON LEATHER STOMACH — The marines have
landed — right on the tummy of Elaine Malbin. At attention on
her abdomen is 1, Sgt. James R. Pippin, a 200 -pounder. Elaine
was crowned Queen of the 2nd Marine Division at the unit's
seventh annual reunion. Her strong stomach was developed by
singing exercises—Miss Malbin is also an opera star.
2a.'` TABLE TALKS
eJane Andmws.
Pickling time already? Hardly
seems possible, does it? How-
ever, no use worrying about the
Sight of time — so here are
some recipes that have been
thoroughly tested and which I
can highly recommend.
* 9 • *
GHERli1NS
4 quarts cucumbers
2 to 3 inches long
4 quarts (20 cups) boiling
water
1 cup table (bag) salt or ills
cups coarse salt
8 cups blended vinegar
�4 cup salt
re cup sugar
Spices rsee Note helot-)
r cups sugar
Waeh. cucumbers, scrup we:.,
r....t, drain well and place in a
crook. Cover with hot .rine
made by . M ware: aa.',
Peuir over C... ^...;ors.
cover andle: stand overnight.
Drain
.....:mer. shore -y
anti clean, dry creek.
r spare pickle mixture by cer -
bir - the v:r.e , salt.
the '4eep. segtee and sp
Fon: over cucumbers. ..
:earning..e next 4 '.
add p seem, stirrer.__ well
.� t e :he see,ar. When
as ef tRizazadded. remove
pickles ~.kin-
to s:.e.._ z
mixture to reran a :y::C„
aver:tile. sea:. 1._.u.
Ayr: x. 4 ce _._.
x x
NINE DAF PICKLES
4 quarts cucumbers
2 to 3 inches long
4 quarts i20 cure' boiling
water
2 cups table (bag' salt or
3 cups coarse salt
1 te.,spoon alum
4 quarts #29 cups' boiling
water
S carts blended vinegar
6 cults sugar
spices =see NOTE below+
Wash eawereezere...e...
again lit stand 2
_. _ _:_ elle
4 ein.arte water an::
:7E: 2.771 Stind
;..:.ans
NOTE:—i n_geated combina-
tions of spices:
tFi -4 cup arrrstricl seeel and
a, cup mixed ple.kling
spice
i 2 t I onnee cinnamon stick and
2 tablespoons eelrey seed
31 1 tablespoon celery seed
and.
3 tablespoons whole clove_
1,4) 1 ounce cinnamon stiekand
2 teaspoons whole cloves
DILL PICKLES
ilio _ pinked ._,. r......
3 «. 5 iuWes ..ggg S+i'._:•., s'ak
overnight in cold water, Drain
thoroughly, Place pieces of dill
in the bottom of clean jars.
Pack cucumbers into jars and
place more dill on top. Com-
bine:
cup table (bag) salt or 34
cup coarse salt
2 cups white vinegar
6 cups water
Bring to bell and pour hot
l quid
over cucumbers, Seal.
Let stand in a cool place at
least 6 weeks before using.
Yield: sufficient liquid for 4
quarts pickles. If desired, a
small piece of garlic may be
added to each quart of pickles.
BREAD AND BETTER
PICKLES
6 quarts small cucumbers
1 to Pe inches in diameter
1 quart Small white onions
4 -green peppers
1 sweet red pepper
1 cup table tbag) salt or lt_
cups coarse salt
9 cups water
S cups vinegar
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon tumerie
3. teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
Wash all ve-s.. . s. Slice
conic t 1"crs and "iii,+?y.
Rernove seeds
a r i peppers,
Make a ::e of the salt and
waeer. trot• ar.d peer over
vegetaeles. Let steed eve.rnight,
Drain there:se:Ile% Coreb.ine
vi era. st:- seiees. Bring
be^': ar.el add
vegetables.
When ti::- '-:v lueated. naok
in hen Kari:ire:I ars and seal.
absi:: 6 &u ^:s.
x � x
CHILI SAUCE
1 tablespoon whole cloves
3 tablespoons whole allspice
1 gailen peeled. chopped ripe
tomatoes '3 Ib.%
2! cups chopped. peeled onions
•.6 medium'
2 cups chopped. seeded green r
or sweet red peppers (6
medium)
1,A cups sugar
2 tablespoons salt
4 cups vinegar
Tie spices in a cheesecloth
bag. Combine with remaining
ingedients in saucepan, Cook,
uncovered, 21/2 to 3 hours or
until quite thick, stirring fre-
quently. Remove spice bag.
Pour into hot sterilzed sealers
or jars and seal. Yield: about
12 cups.
:p * 4,
GREEN TOMATO PICKLES
30 medium green tomatoes
6 large onions
sup table (bag) salt or 3/4
cup coarse salt
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1 tablespoon whole allspice
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon peppercorns
? lemon
2 sweet red peppers
2.34 cups brown sugar
3 cups vinegar
Slice tomatoes and onions
thinly and place in a crock or
enamel vessel in alternate lay-
ers with the salt. Let stand
overnight. In the morning, drain
thoroughly, rinse in cold water
and drain well again. Tie all
spices loosely in a cheesecloth
bag; slice lemon thinly; remove
stem and seed cores from pep-
pers and slice thinly. Add spice
bag and sugar to vinegar, bring
to boiling point, then add to-
matoes, onions, lemon and pep-
pers. Cook for 1 hour, stirring
gently to prevent sticking. Re-
move spice bag and pack
pickles in hot, sterilized jars
and seal, Yield: about 12 cups.
When Stars Fall
On 26 April, 1803, at one
o'clock in the afternoon, the in-
habitants of the little French
village of L'Aigle were disturb-
ed by a strange sound. It was
not unlike a violent roll of
thunder—yet the skies were al-
most cloudless, and there was no
sign of any storm in the vicinity.
As the villagers rushed out of
their houses in alarm, they
caught sight of an immense ball
of fire darting across the sky,
and as it vanished from their
view there came a series of
violent explosions audible for
over fifty miles around. A few
minutes later, a great number
of stones fell to the earth, land-
ing at speeds great enough to
cause them to bury themselves
deeply in the ground.
Up to that time, the old stories
of 'stones from heaven" had
been disregarded as strictly non
proven, but the L'Aigle affair
could not be explained away..
Jean - Baptiste Biot, one of
France's leading` astronomers,
was sent to the village to draw
up a report. Biot was suitably
conscientious. He interviewed
witnesses, collected all the facts
he could, and — most important
of all — recovered some of the
strange stones that had fallen.
The heaviest of them weighed
11/2 pounds .. .
Further research into the na-
ture of ordinary meteors, or
shooting -stars, provided a clear
answer. Meteors, ranging from
gigantic masses weighing many
tons clown to tiny particles
smaller than sand -grains, re-
volve round the Sun just as the
planets do, though in orbits that
are generally more elliptical, So
long as they keep in airless
space, they are safe, as there is
nothing to impede their move-
ment; but if they venture too
close to the Earth, and are drawn
"downwards" by the powerful
gravitational pull, friction is set
up, and heat results .. .
Over a hundred years after
L'Aigle, an even greater monster
landed in Northern Siberia. It
was fortunate that Siberia is not
a densely populated place; . . .
about mid-day on 30 June, 1908,
a bluish disk about half the size
of the Moon appeared in the
sky, accompanied by a terrific
noise like a cannonade. This was
followed by an explosion audible
hundreds of miles away, and
trees were blown flat for a dis-
tance of fifty miles round the
spat where the impact occurred,
seared by heat and stripped of
their bark and branches .. .
Ordinary shooting -stars have
been known from ancient times.
Now and then. magnificent dis-
plays are seen, and A.D. 902 was
named the Year of the Stars, be-
cause on one night 'there were
seen lances, an infinite number
of stars, which scattered them-
selves like rain to the right and
the left". The showers of 1202,
1360 and 1833 were no less re-
markable, while another meteor
display occurred m )709. Sig-
nificantly, all these shouere oc-
curred in the month of Novem-
ber, as did the 1eeeer but still
brilliant display of 1866. It be-
came clear that this tv. s nu mere
coincidence. Every November
the earth apprnaehed shod! o:
meteors, and once in 33-1/3 tars
passed right through the thick.
k
est part of the celeetiel yarn:.—
From "The Story of Mien and the
Stars," by, Patrick 7-1 o ' ; te
F.R.A.S.
THIRD -PARTY NOMINEES — The Republicans and Democrats are
not alone in their campaigning. At a convention in New York,
the Hobo Party nominated Boxcar Betty, left, for vice presider.'
and Bozo, right, for president. They have not, as yet, announced
their platform.
"SAW siVA,
AA
WHOSE PICTURE ARE YOU DIALING? The hear -and see telephones of the future area t far
Was, urn• m Food K. Becker, a Bell Telephone Laboratories engineer, demonstrates a
s .-c es, r' ae a a':Jure -phone sastent. A two -by three-inch screen and smolt transmitter
le:-. a -e c 5' pal components of the system, which uses only one eetra telephone line on
ses it t+i11 be possible to dial a caller's picture like an ordinary telephone
ca I, Ee nests hove transmitted recognizable pictures between New York and Las Angeles,.