THE ANIMAL WORLD.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2008, 1 October 1906, Page 7

THE ANIMAL WORLD.

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ITEMS THAT WILL INTEREST YOU. —4. — An Ashington State fisherman had a unique experience with a flock of seagulls recently. He reached Nanaimo in an open boat containing two tons of herring. While ho was uptown the seagulls took possession of the boat. On his return all hut sixty flew away. That number had so gorged themselves with herring that they could not lly, but Lopped about in a state of helplessness. The fisherman finally climb?d into the boat and lifted them overboard. They were able to swim with an effort, and most of them went ashore to recover from the effects of their feast. Edward 11. Hadley, assistant cashier of the Farmers' Rank, Jforrisville, Ind., last similiter raised a beautiful white pigeon, which is a great pet. The pigeon began to follow him to the bank cvwy day, going home with him to meals. If the pigeon happens to be date and misses its owner, it flies to the bank and beats against the window with its wings till the door is opened ; or else takes its station on an Indian pigar sign nearby and watches for a patron to enter the bank, when it, alights on the man's shoulder, rides , into the bank and seeks a position I near Mr. Hadley. I

****** On Sable Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia, troops of wild horses are to be found. The original stock is believed to have landed from a Spanish wreck early in the 16th century. Twenty-five years ago it was estimated that these horses numbered GOO, but at present there are scarcely 200. Sable Island is an accumulation of loose sand, forming a pair of ridges, united at the two ends and enclosing a shallow lake. There are tracts of grass in places, as well as pools of fresh water.

Of all the land-frequenting fish, the most famous is the climbing perch of India, which not only walks out of the water, but also mounts into i trees by means of sharp spines situated near its head and tail. It has a peculiar breathing apparatus, which enables it to extract oxygen from the water stored up within a small chamber near its gills, for use while on land. ****** What is believed to be the tiniest horse or pony in the work) is the property of an Indian nobleman, who makes a speciality of breeding dwarf horses on his estate in Lombardy. The diminutive creature barely measures 19in. at the withers, scarcely the size of a large dog. The owner possesses many such equine dwarfs. ****** The municipality of Nice has organised a troop of dog scavengers for the cleaning of the sewers. Some of the sewer pipes are too small to allow the passage of men. The clogs have been trained to draw a cord with a brush at the end of it from one end of the pipe to the other. The system is meeting with success. ****** The voracity of the eagle is a wellknown fact, but it has been left to a Swiss hunter to define the variations which take place in its daily menu. In a nest in the Alps, side by side with an eaglet,'he found a hare, freshly killed ; 27 rabbits' feet ; four pigeons' feet, JJO pheasants' feet, 11 heads of fowls, 18 heads of grouse, and the remnants of rabbits, marmots, and squirrels.