Zurich Herald, 1951-05-17, Page 7.44
Ra » rnak ing Now
Serious Business
what is it like to live iu. a "geed.
ed" environment? This refers tc,
cloud -seeding to modify some a,•
peels of the weather.
This scientific experiment or ad-
vance. is still regarded in the ]East
as a combination of convenience,
curiosity, and annoyance—where it
is not still derided as a hoax. But
in the semi -arid 'West, we take it
;with great seriousness.
Just a little more snowpack on
the mountains to increase supplies
of irrigation water, just a little more
rain at the right time 'to mature
drying land crops and increase pas-
turage, less lightning to burn for-
ests, and less hail to blast crops—
these would make a tremendous'
difference to aur economy,
So We watch the 'weather even
:r more keenly, and with more vivid
emotions, than do people in the
East says Roscoe Fleming, writing
in The Christian Science Monitor.
Even while the natural scientists
are still debating whether it can be
done on a worthwhile scale, the
West is rapidly being covered with
cloud -seeding projects,
For 1951, they will cover areas, in
all, about six times as large as
New England or one-sixth the
nation's area.- Or perhaps more,
since new districts are being'form-
ed daily.
Denver, with 600,000 population
in its metropolitan area, is the larg-
est community so far to be in-
cluded in a consistent, scientific,
seeding program, which will prob-
bably be continuing. The Denver
Water Board has joined with neigh-
bouring interests to buy such a
program—its • first term being six
months.
l3ut, apparently, Denver has actu-
ally been experiencing "seeded"
weather for several months. Gen-
erators along the Continental Di-
vide have been seeding general
storms for snowpack in the mount-,
ains all winter. The silver-ioxide
smoke plumes reach far downwind
over the city and into the plains.
Being keenly • interested in the
subject—as well as in our weather
generally—I have been watching
it more closely than ever.
It seems to• me that every time
it made as if tcc snow this winter,
it has snowed; and that when, nor-
mally, we might have got a mere
flurry, on almost every occasion we
got from one to seven inches.
Further our weather has turned
extremely businesslike. It doesn't
fool around. When the clouds come
over:, it _starts into snow or rain,
and keeps it up until they break:
Yet the proportion•. of. §,unshine to
cloud is alibut normal, alter, of
course, very high compared to the
cloudy East,
Since the spring sealing program
started, we have had at least one
general rain, and again the char-•
acteristics were the sane: the
clouds started marching, the rain
started falling, a slow, gentle soak-
ing drizzle.
Now, though this is only one
person's impression and formed
from only a few months' experi-
ence, it seems to me that seeding
has changed these characteristics of
our climate, noticeably to anyone
who watches the weather.
Rain and snow fall for a longer
time during each storm. But the
rain falls more gently, and the water
has time to soak in, rather than
running off.
This experience has already been
reported from other areas in which
seeding has gone on longer, it is
too early to tell, of course, whether
we actually get more moisture. That
can be ' told for sure only after
years of experience and comparison
of records.
•
When we bear all elderly man
:ell about how Mucin better the boys
)ehaved when he %vas young, we
wonder whether he .is suffering
irony indigestion or had sleeping
sickness during his teen-age.—Shel-
ion i1ai1,
Heads C.P.R. Division—James W. Stewart has been appointed superintendent of the Canadian
Pacific's Bruce Division under a new setup whereby lines in and adjacent to Toronto are placed
under a separate division headquarters. Tremendous increase of business throughout the whole
territory made the separation of operating administrations necessary, in order to improve service
to Ontario centres.
TllEL&1M FRONT
Here's really good news for
everybody—excepting the rats. And
by rats I do NOT mean commun-
ists, fellow -travellers or other ro-
dents of the human variety. I mean
rats of the sort with which man-
kind has been waging a ceaseless
battle since before the dawn of
recorded history. At long last it
looks as though a new—and this
time a decisive—weapon has been
found. And here is the set-up,
* * ,
A number of years ago when
cattle were dying from eating spoil-
ed sweet clover, came the first hint
that a new rat poison was in the
making. The spoiled clover was
responsible for a hernorrhagk con-
dition caused by a toxic factoi•
which clotted the blood more slowly
than • normal, Research isolated,
identified and named this factor
Dicumarol. Dicumarol has been
adopted in medicine as a blood
anti -coagulant to prevent "strokes"
and post-operative blood clots.
'5 ,= *
During the past fifteen years in
the 'Department of • Biochemistry
of the 'University of Wisconsin,
Professor Karl Paul Link and his
associates have been studying .the
effects of anti -coagulants. With the
identification of Dicumarol, they
went further to find a compound
more speedy in action, In 1943,
among one. hundred. and fifty ex-
perimental chemicals, they discov-
ered one to have toxicity too great
to be used in medicine.- This fact
led them to believe that it might
he effective as a rat poison. Further
research lay inactive during the war,•
but four years later Link's staff
found an anti -coagulant most effec-
tive hr. -producing hemorrhagic con-
ditions in rats and price. It was
found to loe twenty to thirty eines
more toxic than Dicumarol. It was
named "Comcutrlarol 42" from the
forty-second compound investigated
and from this code designation the
product is now known as "warfar-
in." Scheel and \Vti, unknowingly
had discovered the compound which
1.itil had predicted earlier could
snake a 'good rat poison,
.0. RV •
' HAROLD
1 ARNETT
[cthrAIw REPAIR REPAIR RIPS IN A
S HUOWRETR ACURTA BY RUNNING. tORI .ONT'ALPI CE
OP TAPE ALONG- THE' PIP AND LOOPING. A Vf<I T1CAL
PIECE OV 'R IT. :,,,e if '•;
An unusual feature of the poison
is that single doses are rarely fatal.
The amount of warfarin in the bait
is so small that the danger of pois-
oning to humans or domestic ani-
mals is low. Single doses are rarely•
fatal even to rats or mice, but over
a five, ten or fifteen -day period of
bait feeding the anti -blood coagu-
lating chemical induces gradual in-
ternal hemorrhage. After three to
five days, less and less of the bait
is eaten and dead rodents are found.
Two weeks may be required for the
control of rats and somewhat long-
er for nice. Warfarin is effective
against both Nofway and roof rats
as well as nice which gives this
new product a definite advantage,
a feature which hitherto has not
been incorporated in any other ro-
denticide. Rats and mice accept the
bait with no shyness, thus eliminat-
ing the necessity of pre -baiting.
A great deal of research and ex-
perimentation has presented con-
clusive evidence of the advantages
of warfarin. Lender laboratory ob-
servation large single doses of the
poison are not indicated, but rather
small amounts placed in the bait to
which the rats have free access
have proven most effective. Bait
containing as little as 0.0125 per
cent has resulted in a one hundred
per cent death rate. However, after
consideration of all factors, it was
found that 0.025 per cent content
of poison was to he recommended
to insure complete kills in all sec-
tions of the country where rodents
had the choice of More tempting
fonds other than the poisoned bait.
•
whi.c rat o: ere tis en warfarin
by stomach tube in varying,
amounts, Findings 1u•rc indicated
thats snr:.11 doses r, Prated over a
number of days were more affec-
tive than large doses. For example
doses of one tttilligram per kilo -
grant given at one day intervals
for a period of five day:, gave one
hundred per rent mortality of the
animals.
A single dose of 100 nig. per kg.
gave only fifty per cent death -rata
of ten rats, even though the amount
given was twenty times as great.
Oatmeal, cornmeal and ham-
burger baits were used in the la-
boratory feeding tests and a coin-
plete kill resulted in all cases even
though the rats were able to choose
between the poison bait and their
regular diet, in many cases, the
animals preferred the deadly ma-
terial. Neither did the rat:: seem
aware that the poison was harm-
ing them. Very sick animals were
observed dragging themselves to
the poison dishes and eating more
of the deadly bait.
'5 * *
In field testing warfarin was
found to be particularly useful on
poultry farms. On one farm as
many as fifty rats were counted
every night, Cornmeal baits were
put out and at the end of five days,
fourteen rats were found dead. Fol-
lowing the first count, the chicken
house was examined every day for
a period of six nights and sixty-
three dead rats were discovered. It
is unlikely that all the rats killed
were found, But the rodents had
completely disappeared from the
premises.
*
In another test, dead rats were
found on the third day and at the
end of ten days, fifty-three had been
accounted for, In this case, it ap-
peared that the rats had been com-
pletely eliminated. It is worth, men-
tioning ' that during these experi-
meats the rats had a free , choice
between the baits and the. mash
provided for the hens.
�<
* *
In addition. to laboratory and
field tests practical experiments
were carried out in abattoirs, bak-
eries, grocery stores and ware-
houses. The results were satisfac-
tory and numerous business estab-
lishments have reported that their
premises are free or almost free of
rats for the first time, even though
on many previous occasions they
had used other rodenticides.
w *:
In another -test carried out a
white Leghorn lien, one year old,
was given 0.075 milligrams per c.c.
of Warfarin in the drinking water
for a period of almost fourteen
months. During the whole of this
time, the hen showed little evidence
of poisoning.
When rats first eat the poison
bait, no marked changes can he
noted in the appearance or activity
of the animals. 'Elie first indicated
evidence that internal hemorrhage
is taking place may be seen by the
bleaching of the skin of an albino
rat. This usually begins on the
third or fourth day and persists
until death, The pink eyes of the
albino become red caused from in-
ternal hemorrhage in the eye, As
subcutaneous hemorrhage develops,
the rats become quiet and inactive.
At this stage, they become drowsy
and the animals are content to re-
main as quiet as possible. When
walking they move with a slow
and measured shuffling gait with
a tendency to drag the hind feet,
*
The last twenty-four hours pre-
ceding death, the rat lies on its
side with little or no movement
other than breathing. Finally it
dies from suffocation caused by
lung hemorrhage or from exhaus-
tion due to insufficient blood to
carry food to the tissues. The vas-
cular system has no sensory nerve
connections, consequently, there is
no previous warning when hem-
orrhage occurs and no pain. The
animal passes on, showing no out-
ward signs of violent actions which
might educate other members of
their population and thus cause
"bait shyness." The bait gives no
.physical association between it and
the hemorrhagic condition, and the
stricken animals continue to eat
the bait until the end.
*
Examinations made on dead ani-
mals disclose internal hemorrhage
confined usually to areas such as
the heart, lungs and less often to
the gastro-intestinal tract. Inter-
nal organs were pale, indicating that
the real cause of death was the ap-
parent lack of oxygen to vital
organs. Little or no blood appears
externally unless the rat has been
injured, although occasionally, a
small amount of blood is passed in
the urine and through the nose. In
eight months about six hundred
tests were studied and summarized.
The pre -testing has now been pass-
ed on for the benefit of everyone,
At present, warfarin is sold chief-
ly as a powdered concentrate, a five
per cent dilution of warfarin in
cornstarch, tinted green to distin-
guish it from foods. Suggested doses
are one part of the poison thor-
oughly mixed with nineteen parts
by weight of some other ingredient
such as bread crumbs, cornmeal,
rolled oats, nut crumbs, dogfood
meal, crushed corn or other similar
foods. Some companies sell it ready
mixed. Where the poison Oras a
tendency to dust, add enough min-
eral oil to moisten the bait mixture.
If perishable baits are used, such
as fish, fresh ground meat or vege-
tables, they should be set out in
late afternoon and replaced daily
with fresh baits. However, because
such materials are perishable and
are likely to be • more attractive to
cats and dogs, they are not so
highly reconmteuded. Owing to the
danger of children and livestock
coating in contact with it, bait that
may be readily carried by rats and
mice should he avoided. Do not
use mouldy, soured or decomposed
baits. Animal fat or oils should not
be used for bait because of their
vitamin K content. Vitamin K acts
as an antidote to warfarin poisons.
Cereal baits are more generally
employed.
Baiting should be done where
rats and mice frequent and should
continue as long as the rodents
are feeding. This will be from the
beginning of control and lasting
over about a two-week period, Re -
baiting is merely a matter of re-
plenishing the bait supply as the
animals eat it. After the fourth day
smaller quantities will be needed
for replacements. Where infestation
of the rodents continues from near-
by fields and dumps, permanent bait
stations should be safely placed and
replenished when necessary. Even
though warfarin is comparatively
safe to use, it must be out of reach
of children and livestock.
* • * *
Rodent control through warfarin
is most attractive from ar econ-
omical standpoint. Five pounds
make about one hundred pounds of
bait, which is enough for a large
farm. One pound makes twenty
pounds which is about right for the
average farm or for small ware-
houses and food handling plants.
One-quarter pound makes five
pounds of bait, enough for the aver-
age householder over an extended
period of time.
* ,1, *
Success in using the poison de-
pends largely on providing the
pests with all the bait they will
eat during the first fourteen days
of control. Warfarin is an entirely
new method of rat and mouse con-
trol and not just "another rat
poison."
"A, FEATHER IN YOUR CAP"
Sometimes, if you pull oft some-
thing particularly creditable, such
as passing a hard examination or
heating an expert at his own game,
people will say, "That's a feather
in your cap,"
Though they may not realize it,
they are referring to the blood-
thirsty practice of scalping. North
American Indians used to add a
feather to their headgear every
time they killed an enemy. The
custom was also known in other
parts of the world, and in ancient
Hungary, no one was allowed to
adorn himself with a feather un-
less he had first killed a Turk,
The reason the average girl
would rather have beauty than
brains is that the average man
would rather look than think.—
Mason City Globe -Gazette.
Fashion
Note
Who Wouldn't Want To Live In That Dear .Russia?
MINUTES OF WORK REQUIRED TO BUY THESE FOODS
UNITED GREKT
STATES CANADA BRITAIN FRANCE
index of Amount
of Work Required
to Buy Food Basket
POTATOES
{1 ib,)
COFFEE
(1 ib.)
SUGAR
CI 1b.)
JITTER
.,.AND WHeN t CAME
NOME T FOUND MY
JEWEL BOX UPSIDE
DOWN AND EVERYTHING
WELL,, Dory YOU Wafts/ LADY
WWII CATCH THE CULPRIT
AND RECOVER YOUR THNGs -
A CRU K ALWAYS MAKES
SOME FALSE MOVE AND
THEN YOU'VE GOT HIM/
y Arthur Pointer