The Girl Guides

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19451, 15 December 1934, Page 18 (Supplement)

The Girl Guides

(By “Captain.”) ABOUT CATS. All members or me great cat family, which Includes Hons and tigers, etc., are built on the same lines as our domestic pussy, t-lie sole member of the ramily which man has really tamed. From the king or beasts, which can strike, kill, and carry away and eat an ox, to the playrul kitten pouncing for the first time at a mouse, all are eaters of flesh and killers or living animals. All have the same sort of teeth and claws. For teeth they have three cutting teeth in the front or each jaw, alongside which range four sharppointed fangs. There are no true grind-ing-teeth among the remainder, and cats cannot therefore masticate their food. The strength or the teeth is terrific and terrible ' —they are well compared to Ivory skewers—there is no hope for the prey they transfix. ir you look at a cat’s feet you will And that the hind feet have five toes, but the fore feet only Tour. Look closer, and you will find a sharp curved claw—the dewclaw as it Is called —halfway between toes and elbow—this Is really a relic of the thumb, its nail and It Is useful for holding prey. Notice the great length of the projecting heel-bones —this Is what gives the cat her marvellous jumping power. What you cannot see Is that the cat has practically no collar-bones. Her front legs are not strongly connected to the skeleton, rather, it is as ir They are attached by elastic. If the cat had strong collar-bones like our own, they would be liable to be broken when she sprang on her prey, at the same moment striking, out with her fore-paws. Note how the pointed talons are curved like hooks. You cqn see that If the cat were to walk upon them, as a dog walks on his toe-nails, they would soon become worn, and then they would be useless to the hunting cat. Besides the talons would make a noise, and the success of the cat’s hunting largely depends on perfect noiselessness. 'So we find below the toes a large, elastic pad, giving a noiseless tread, and we And tnat the talons can be withdrawn into its sholter as into a sheath, though not actually guarding the tip. Difference In Cats and Dogs. The difference in the jaws and teeth or cats and dogs, and their digestive organs, if we go deeply into the matter, explains a remarkable difference in their tongues, of which wo becomo aware when they lick our hands. The upper surface or the cat’s tongue is covered by backward-pointing projection, rasps, which allow it to scrape flesh rrom bones. The dog can break bones, eat and digest them, but not so the cat —nor could the cat’s teeth manage to clean all the flesh from* the bones. And this accounts for the dry and rough feel of the cat’s tongue on one’s hand, and the wot, smooth feel or the dog’s tongue. One of the most sensitive useful hunting weapons or the cat Is provided by her sensitive whiskers. Thanks to her peculiar eyes, she can see well in, the dark; the pupils narrow to a slit in daylight, hut open wide in the dark to admit all possible light. ■ Wo may note here that the lion Is like a cat in all respects, except that Its pupil does not narrow thus. In the dark a cat Is aided by her whiskers in feeling her way, and what is important they will, allow her to judge the width of any hole down which she wants to pass In the dark. DEBATES. All Ranger Companies, especially, should have debates, because they teach us to express ourselves, to think quickly ( deeply too) and to notice the chief points In a speech, Through them seir-consciousness and shyness disappear (which helps our entertainments) and we learn to be friendly towards those with whom we may hotly disagree on many subjects. The great thing about debates !s that there Is

.THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK. To-day, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope.

scarcely a subject in the world upori which we cannot argue, and there is no need to keep to serious debating'—humour and “nonsense” play a big- part. After debating: on some very simple subject you will probably gro away with at least two fine thoughts in your minds. “ The ideal combination for an Individual or a society Is light-heartedness and deep-mlndedness,” and “The simple things or life lead us nearer to truth and reality.” The sublime and the ridiculous are vpry close to each other. variety being the spice of life, It Is well to have different methods of conducting debates, in addition to the usual way or selecting a subject beforehand and choosing speakers for and against. It is most exciting (to say nothing of it being excellent practice) to havo Impromptu debates, with, say, only five minutes’ preparation; or to appoint someone who selects two or three subjects, which are then 1 given at random to any members of the company. A few moments’ preparation would be allowed, and the debates proceed as usual, although nocos.sarlly of a briefer character. ■ Methods of Debating. A further mothod is to send from the room one person, the rest or the company meanwhile select a word, preferably one with several meanings, the absent ono is recalled and has to speak for live minutes (or any othor stated time) on the word chosen; and artorwards listeners may question, criticise or comment as thoy choose. In addition to indoor debating, it will be found worth while to have camp-flre debates —the comparative darkness and the pervading sonse of comradeship help to unloose the tongue's or the shy and nervous. The whole thing Is more informal, whilst at the same time the nearness of nature and the spirit of the campfire should inspire and deepen thought. Debating Is a world full of riches of all kinds, We could perhaps have a debate through this column— Rangers interested could choose a subject and form sides—and the two best discussions received on both sides or the question could be published. If Rangers are interested and would send me subjects they would like discussed, a suitable one could be chosen and considered, ready for publication early in the New YeaT. SHORT STORY ON GUIDE LAW 10. A Guide is Pure in Thought Word and Deed, There Is a story or a girl who rose from the lunch table at school and said, “Until you stop this filthy conversation I’m going outside." This was such an unexpectedly brave move that after that day no dirty talk was heard. Purity is one of the most beautiful virtues, Wo must train ourselves to appreciate beautirul tilings, beautiful words, beautiful thoughts and deeds, more and more. Everything we think, and sa.v and do makes an impression on mil* cliarauter. > How Important it Is therefore, Mutt each thought-, word and action of ours is beautiful and good, There should he no time for thinking and talking of ugly things. We want to love poeiry, palming, music, and “ all things bright amt ncautifui” —the. open air—swift movement of running, rltlillg, jumping, the strength and hoinity or swimming—all healthy games—all the hoaniies of the out-of-door world —theso things are pure. Dwell on them!