Clinton News-Record, 1967-05-18, Page 9t
Rambling With Lucy
(Ducy R. Woods)
“We, stgglftt; cow’rin’, tim’rous beastie
&h, what ■& panic's in thy breastie.”
No doubt Sand! the cat has given mice and their
relatives many a heart-flutter when he pounced on one
of these small rodents and walked off with a fat mem-
ber of the family. He invariably brings such juicy fid*
.bits home to enjoy them on the drive at “The Hut \
Lucy was surprised to know how species of mice,
moles, shrews, lemmings and voles were common to
this district. As .far as she was concerned, they were
.all mice and moles.
The House Mouse is best known, being a plague
to the housewife, jiis ancestors followed caravan
routes from southwest Persia; centuries ago, to Italy
and Spain, They stowed away on ships to the new
world. They are carriers of disease,
Long ago the House Mouse found his existence
was easier if he moved in with man, especially in the
fall, This species can breed when 40 days old. The
white strain is kept as a pet and used for experimental
tion.
Mice play the’hero in many of Aesop’s fables.
Plautus the Roman enjoins us to “consider the little
mouse, how sagacious an animal it is which never
■entrusts its life to one hole only?’ Pliny the Elder
noted, “When a building is about to fall down, all the
mice desert it?’
Mice enjoy the distinction of being the first earth
lings to survive on a rocket trip into space.
' The House Mouse is the presumed ancestor of
Mickey Mouse.
Also common to this area, is the Deer Mouse,
.3” to 4” with a tail 2” to 5” in length. It varies in
colour from gray to brown to orange brown, some-
limes with a dark 'dorsal stripe, sharply bi-coloured
tale and tufts in front of ears often whitish, Probably
most often seen in corn shocks. and farmland, it is
ground dwelling but can climb.
White-Footed Mouse: Tail is not sharply bi
coloured, shorter than head, and body and less hairy
than Deer Mouse. Its food includes nuts, acorns'and
seeds of conifers which it stores. Many a camper has
returned to a cabin or cottage and found a nest of
White-Footed mice in an old hat or mattress.
During the second World War when Lucy’s moth
er was Postmistress, one of the extra duties‘attached
to the postal work was the rubber collection; The
rural mail couriers brought,in donations of old rub
ber tires, boots, etc. (some right from the barn).
These were stored in the room back of the rural mail
^courier’s office. It wasn’t long before Trixie, the fox
terrier also began sniffing in the room. It was not
bam odour but a nest of mice in an old boot which
interested her an$ they were soon despatched. They
were probably Deer Mice. Also, the little White-Foot
led Mice carried sunflower seeds up into Lucy’s attic,
/chewed a hole in the lid of a trunk and stored their
cachd with her blankets!
Gaffers red-backed mouse is hard to distinguish
from voles, lit trots, does.not hop, and is a good
climber. ,
Should you be walking through a field or woods
.and see a small delicate mouse leaping like a frog, it
will either be a meadow or a woodland jumping mouse.
‘They have long tails and hind legs which enable them
to leap more than six feet. Both swim and .take to
water readily. _ They hibernate for six months in
winter nests in burrows at least a foot below ground
:in well-drained soil.
Moles are small burrowing animals with dark, soft
velvety fur that rubs both ways. They weigh V/2 to
4 ounces and usually lack eyes and external ears. Their
outwardly turned forefeet make them strong, power
ful diggers. The diet ,is largely earthworms and other
invertebrates and some roots.
Moles check wasteful run-off by churning up the
forest or meadow floor, thus helping rain soak into the
ground. Species found here are the Hairy Mole, 4^2
in., tail 1-116 in., which can eat three times its weight
in earth worms in 24 hours. It has a straight pink
nose. The Star-Nosed mole with 22 fleshy pink ten
tacles at the end of the 'nose which move as the ani
mal searches for food. It can swim and dive. Both
make mounds of earth.
The Shrew looks half-way between a mouse and
a mole, 316” to 6” in size, with a long sharp nose, in
conspicuous eyes and ears, grayish or brownish, lighter
underneath in colour. They do not dig but use the sur
face runways, of mice and voles, and are fast runners.
In disposition they are aggressive, irascible, and ner
vous whence our word “shrew” as a synonym for an
ill-tempered woman. Their diet includes insects, earth
worms, grubs, snails,, other invertebrates and mice,,
also berries and soft vegetation. To sustain life, they
eat their weight in food every 24 hours. Native here
are the Masked Shrew, the Smoky Shrew and the
Short-tailed Shrew. The latter is one Of the few pois
onous mammals. The saliva in its bite can paralyze its
prey and is painful but not otherwise. dangerous to
man J but children should not play with a captive,
Southern Bog Lemming, 3 2/5” to 4 3/5”, tail
Tt” to %” long, is the only member of the family
to be found here. Their long, grizzled grayish-brown
fur almost hides their ears. The thumb has a strong
digging claw.
Voles, commonly known as “Meadow Mice”, have
grayish brown fur, short ears and tails and beady eyes,
head and body 316” to 5” long. The meadow vole is
the only resident here. A population of 15 to an acre
may increase to 250 in four years and destroy an
alfalfa field. This is “Danny Meadow Mouse” of the
Burgess Bedtime Stories.” Fruit growers can thank
him for most of the damage done to trees* Un fact,
even a maple tree on the street east of' “The Hut” has
been girdled near the ground.
In many instances “Danny” has cleaned out
vegetables left in the garden. “Mr.” found the shells
of parsnips and a row of carrot tops were eaten.
Lucy doesn’t know whether tulip bulbs have fallen
prey to him or whether hungry shrews, lemmings and
moles have taken their share.
P.S.—The following are excerpts from a letter
to Lucy after a previous column about mice. It came
from Mrs. Nelson Howes, Harriston;
Dear Lucy:
Cheers for .Carl! I’m so glad he spared the wee
deer mice. I had an experience with them a few years
ago when doing the Spring cleaning at the fishing
camp. On opening a cupboard door to Wash the con
tents, I noticed a nest in one comer made of Soft dry
gfaSS. When I pulled out the nest there was Mrs.
Mousikins looking at me with beady eyes and daring
me to touch her. She Was a very Unusual shape *—
fringes out the sides. When she backed out Of the
home in the cupboard, I discovered that the fringes
were wee deer mice hanging on for dear life.
ID
TV
tlHearA
■I Thursday, May 18, News-Record-—-Pa jje 9
YES WE ARE CONTRACTING
V >’ ?i
Confirmation Class at CFB Chapel
Flanked by Padre F. P. Delong, left; Bishop H. F, Appleyard, centre, and
Rev, R, Wenham, right, are candidates at a recent Confirmation Service at CFB
Clinton, Arthur Smith, Marc ‘McKenzie, Ted Leather, Pat Quinn, Dan Davis and
Susan Humphreys, Linda Greenaway, Judy Brown, Beverley Smith, Susan Cail,
Susan Reid, Susan Patmore-Went. , '(CFB Clinton Photo)
Centennial
Report
1867 II1967
Joe Crowfoot; of the Black
foot Indian Reserve, Gloichen,
Alberta, is a, direct descendant
of the Blackfoot Confederacy.
Jerry Potts of the Megan In
dian Reserve, Brocket, Alberta,
is ’a direct descendant of the
famous ROMP scout of .the
same name who was with as
sistant Commissioner J. F.
Macleod when he arrived in
Alberta in 1874 to build the. out
post Fort Macleod and gain
the confidence and goodwill of
the Blackfoot Indian Confed
eracy.
This year., the two descend
ants, Crowfoot and Potts, will
have parts to play in the
RCMP’s Centennial project, the
June to November tour of the
Musical Bide and 50-member
Concert Band,
.When the Mountlie’s Centen
nial performers arrive at Fort
Macleod on June 14 this year
there will be a re-enactment of
the historic arrival of Macleod
in '1874. Both Crowfoot and
Potts will play the parts of
their colorful and famous an
cestors.
For those interested in the
-history- of fhe Royal Canadian
Mounted Police perhaps June 14
will be the high point in the
Centennial tour of the Musical
Ride and Band.
The history of the Musical
Ride goes back about to the'
beginning of the ROMP whose
development has been a sig
nificant factor in Canada’s Con
federation, especially during
western expansion in the years
1873 to 1905. Aside from the
Riel uprisings, Prairie settle
ment was relatively peaceful in
Canada because the rule1, of law
was established by the Mounties
first — before the mass influx
of homesteaders.
„ The Mounties performed their
first Musical ride in 1876, only
three years after the force was
founded. The first unofficial'
band of the police force was set
up the same year but the “of
ficial band” was not created
until 1938.
Having performed before hun
dreds of thousands, at events
such as the Canadian National
Exhibition and on ceremonial
occasions such as the coron-
atiion of King George V, King
George VI and Queen Eliza
beth, the Ride has become an
important tradition for Can
adians. A performance of intri
cate figures and formations lj>y
a full troop of 32 men and
horses, it also is thrilling en
tertainment.
Like the Musical Ride, the
Concert Band' is a permanent
branch of the Force. There have
been at least bight separate
bands, dating as' far back as
1867. In the early days of the
by JOHN W. FISHER
CENTENNIAL COMMISSIONER
west a band was a morale
guilder at times when lonliiness
and isolation were almost as
much a threat as warring In
dians and-rum runners.
Today the band is a full time
unit stationed in Ottawa and in
-the past 30 years it has had
more than two thousand en
gagements including national
tours and historic occasions
such as royal visits', coronation
ceremonies, conferences of war
time leaders," British Empire
Games, exhibitions and carni
vals.
Hundreds of thousands will
see the Musical Ride and Band
on its Centennial tour which, in
cludes engagements at the Can
adian National Exhibition and
Expo ’67.
In Clinton
Following a lengthy illness
over a period of years, Donald
Robert Bisseitt, 59 Sheridan
Ave., Guelph, passed away in
Victoria Hospital, London, on
Thursday, May 4, in his 53rd
year.
Bom March 10, 1915 in Gode
rich., a son of Mary and Charles
Bissett, the deceased married
Bessie Livermore, formerly of
Clinton in December, 1939. The
couple had one son, Wayne
Donald and one daughter, Pat
ricia, both still living at home.
Mr. Bissett was a volunteer
fireman in Goderich for 25
years before moving to Guelph
where he was employed as ’ a
heavy machinery shipper at
Bucyrus-Erie, Guelph, for 10
years. He was a member of the
Presbytertan Church.
Other survivors besides his
wife and children are two bro
thers, Edward and Frank, both
of Goderich; and two sisters,
Mrs. James (Isobel) Murray,
Dundalk and Mrs. Jack (Mar
garet) Yeo, Clinton.
Funeral was from the Beattie
Funeral Home In . Clinton on
Saturday, May 6 wliith Rev. R.
U. MacLean officiating. Inter
ment was in Clinton Cemetery.
Pallbearers were Harold Ste
wart, Bruce Sowerby, 'Lewis
Ellwood, Goderich, Charles
Worsen, Kitchener and‘Ronald
Davie and William Gordon, both
of Guelph. Flower-bearers Were
John Biissett of Goderich and
Ross Pultord and David Biggs,
both of Guelph. ■
The Bible Today
Recently a,n Indian pastor
from Bangaiiapet was touring
through an out-of-the-way hill
tribal area of Tamolnad, where
many are illiterate and came
across a man reading a copy of
the Gospel of Luke. Asked
where he had got the book, the
■ man beamed and explained that
some time ago he had' been to a
large country market some dis
tance away on the plains. A
blue van with waving banners
and loud-speakers had arrived
and a team of young men began
preaching and selling Gospel's.
He continued, "I bought this
book and am talcing the corre
spondence course, and this Word
has brought me the light of
life. I have torn out all my
idols. Not only that, but I have
shared this little book with my
neighbour the postmaster, and
he has also team out his idols,
and now our two families are
studying the 'Word and pray
ing.”
The first two lessons of a
Bible Correspondence course
are included when Gospels are
sold.
Suggested Daily Bible Readings
Sunday, May 21: Romans 4:
1-25.
Monday, May, 22: I Corin
thians 15 :■ 1-34.
Tuesday, May 23: I Corin
thians 15: 35-58.
Wednesday, May 24: II Cor
inthians 4: 1-18.
Thursday, May 25: Ephesians
4: 17-32, "*
Friday, May 26: I Thessalon
ians 4: 1-18.
Saturday, May 27: I Timothy
6: 12-21.
Wm.Wluting
The Prime Minister announc
ed that television cameras Spay
be allowed in the House of
Commons during this session ph
an experimental basis,
“Television might give the
public a better idea of the
problems we have to face”, the
PM W&
You can siay that again, Les
ter, Z
It will ■ give toe voters a
chance to see how many times
tihe House 1$ never full —4 some
times nearly empty.
It will give' the voters an
opportunity to hear, the mem
bers speak,
It will be an excellent way
to determine who should remain
in the Hpuse, and who should
be ousted at the next general
election, .
Yes,, it will be interesting
to see how the members per
form on camera.
One thing is certain, it will
stop the childishness.
Here’s a look at the com
parative' network schedule for
Tuesdays when the fall .season'
begins in September:
At. 7;30 ABC will play Gar
rison’s Gorillas, while CBS will
run Daktari, NBC will play I
Dream of Jeannie; CTV Will go
with The Jerry Lewis Show,
and CBC will play He and She.
At 8 o’clock ABC, CBS and
CTV will ■ be finishing - their
hour-long shows, While NBC
will start Jerry Lewis and CBC
Will play Red Skelton.
kt 8:30 ABC will play The
Invaders; CBS will start Red
Skelton, and CTV will play
ironsides.
At 9:00’ NBC. will run a
movie, and CBC will, feature a
Canadian Drama.
At 9:30 'ABC will go with
NYPD; CBS will feature Good
Morning World, and CTV will
play The Prisoner.
At 10 o'clock ABC will run
Hollywood Palace; CBS Will
play Dundee arid Culhane, and
CBC will feature Public Af
fairs.
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