THE ANIMAL WORLD.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 8, Issue 13, 12 February 1907, Page 2

THE ANIMAL WORLD.

ITEMS THAT WILL INTEREST YOU. .n An Ashinglon 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 he was uptown the seagulls took possession of the boat. Ou his return all but sixty flow away. That number had so gorged themselves with herring that they could not liy, but Lopped about in a state of helplessness.. The fisherman finally clirnbsd 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. ***** 4 Edward H. Hadley, assistant cashier of the Farmers’ Bank, Morrisville, Tnd., last summer raised a beautiful white pigeon, which is a great pet. The pigeon began to follow him to the bank every day, going home with him to meals. If the pigeon happens to lie date and misses its. owner, it flies to tho bank and beats against the window with its wings till the door is opened ; or else takes its station on an Indian cigar 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 near Mr. Hadley. ***'*** 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 I.6th century. Twenty-five years ago it was estimated that these horses numbered 600, 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 trees by means of sharp spines situated near its head and tail. It has a peculiar breathing apparatus, which enables it to extract oxygon from the water stored up within a small chamber near its gills, for use while on land. *** * * * What is believed to be tho tiniest horse or pony in the world is tho property of an Indian nobleman, who makes a speciality of brooding 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 dogs 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. ****** Tho 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 mpnu. In a nest in the Alps, side by side with an eaglet, he found a bare, freshly killed ; 27 rabbits’ feet : four pigeons’ feet, 30 pheasants' feet, 11 heads of fowls, 18 heads of grouse, and the remnants of rabbits, marmots, and squirrels,