Question: Who composed the folk song that tells the story of an old woman who swallowed increasingly large animals, each to catch the previously swallowed animal?
Context: Rocket nets and cannon nets are types of animal traps used to trap a large number of live animals, usually birds, but they also have been used to catch large animals such as various species of deer.  Rocket nets, cannon nets, and other net launching devices are built upon similar principles have been used since the 1950s (Dill and Thornsberry 1950, Hawkins et al. 1968, Grubb 1988 and 1991). A catch dog is a specially trained dog that is used to catch large animals in hunting, working livestock, and baiting. New Bolton Center is the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s 700 acre campus in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.  It is home to one of the busiest large animal teaching veterinary clinics in the nation.  Since 1958, it has been located at the former South Brook Farm.  Founded in 1964 with contributions from equestrienne Esther du Pont Thouron and others, each year the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals (named for horseman George D. Widener, Jr.) sees more than 4,000 patient visits, and its Field Service sees more than 31,000 patient visits.  In addition to its role as one of the nation’s finest equine surgical facilities, New Bolton Center encompasses hospital facilities for the care of large animals and livestock as well as diagnostic laboratories serving the agriculture industry and the monitoring of emerging infectious disease.  Prior to the opening of "New" Bolton Center in 1952, the old Bolton Mansion in Levittown was the site of the farm for the School of Veterinary Medicine. In Carl Jung's theory of analytical psychology, the Wise Old Woman and the Wise Old Man are archetypes of the Collective Unconscious.  'The "wise old woman"...[or] helpful "old woman" is a well-known symbol in myths and fairy tales for the wisdom of the eternal female nature'.  The 'Wise Old Man, or some other very powerful aspect of eternal masculinity' is her male counterpart. Alan Mills, CM, (born Albert Miller September 7, 1913(sometimes given as 1912) – June 14, 1977 ) was a Canadian folksinger, writer, and actor.  He was best known for popularizing Canadian folk music, and he composed the classic folk song "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" (with lyrics by Rose Bonne) which was later recorded by Burl Ives, Peter Paul and Mary and many others.  He also appeared on several radio and television programs and in movies.  He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1974 for his contributions to Canadian folklore.  Mills has also released several albums on Folkways Records of Canadian and French folk songs. Sham feeding is any procedure that mimics normal food consumption but where food and drink are not actually digested or absorbed.  It is generally used in experiments studying hunger, eating or digestion, and is a predominant method used in studying binge eating disorder.  In animal research it often involves inserting a tube into either the oesophagus or stomach, that leaks out anything that has been swallowed.  Animals who are sham fed in this manner eat and swallow almost continually without becoming satiated.  Chewing gum can also be considered sham feeding, as whilst very-little or no nutrients are being absorbed into the body, the process of chewing still stimulates digestive system nerves which trigger the release of gastrointestinal hormones, and also increase the production of both saliva and pancreatic secretions.  In human studies a process known as modified sham feeding (MSF) is typically used, which involves smelling, tasting and chewing food, then spitting it out when it would normally be swallowed. "There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" is a popular English language nursery rhyme, with a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19132.  Debates over its meaning and origin have largely centered on attempts to match the old woman with historical female figures who have had large families, although King George II (1683–1760) has also been proposed as the rhyme's subject. A hairball is a small collection of hair or fur formed in the stomach of animals, and uncommonly in humans, that is occasionally vomited up when it becomes too big.  Hairballs are formed from hair or fur than is felivered into stomach orally.  Hairballs are primarily a tight elongated cylinder of packed fur, but may include bits of other elements such as swallowed food.  Animals with hairballs are sometimes mistaken as having other conditions of the stomach such as lymphosarcoma, tuberculosis, and tumor of the spleen.  Felids are especially prone to hairball formation since they groom themselves by licking their fur, and thereby ingest it.  Rabbits are also prone to hairballs because they groom themselves in the same fashion as cats, but hairballs are especially dangerous for rabbits because they cannot regurgitate them.  Due to the digestive systems of rabbits being very fragile, hairballs in rabbits must be treated immediately or they may cause the animal to stop feeding and ultimately die due to dehydration.  Cattle are also known to accumulate hairballs but, as they do not vomit, these are found usually after death and can be quite large. An ovariectomized rat (OVX) is a female rat whose ovaries have been removed.  Currently there is no single animal model that identically represents the stages of osteoporosis in humans although there are some animals that are relatively close and can be used for the purpose of comparison.  Both small animals and large animals are used depending on which aspects of the osteoporotic condition are being studied.  Such animals include rats, rabbits, and sheep. The phrase and title There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly—alternatively, "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," or "There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly," or "I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly"—is a children's rhyme and song of a kind known as cumulative.  The song tells the story of an old woman who swallowed increasingly large animals, each to catch the previously swallowed animal.  There are many variations of phrasing in the lyrics, especially for the description of swallowing each animal.  The spider and fly are described in each verse, but the other animals are only described when they are introduced starting with the bird.  The absurdity stems from the increasingly improbable solutions that only worsen the initial problem and are more likely to cause the woman's death: the logic of swallowing of even more animals of preposterous sizes without dying, contrasted with the expected, matter-of-fact recounting of her death from swallowing an animal larger than herself, when in fact the swallowing of any animal as a solution was absurd.
Answer: Alan Mills