Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1891-05-22

What Sometimes Happens when Re ~
Out Too Late.

What Sometimes Happens When Re ~
Out Too Late.
How do we account for the ability
Of cats, rats, owls, and other nocturnal
providers to see in the dark? How can
the cat see the rat at night. and how
can the owl see the sleeping bird on
the limb OF a tree? In the economy
of nature there is no provision for
times of inactivity, and certain ami
mails are so constituted that their work.
ing hours begin just when those OF the
other animals cease. When the weary
laborer has finished his evening meal.
when the chickens are seeking their
roosts and the little birds are putting
their little heads under their wings,
then the tiger energies from the Jungle.
the rat from his hole, and the owl from
his haunt in barn or swamp tree. In
natures stillest moments there are
animals working in accordance with
that first law Of nature self-preserva-
ton, just as we see others doing in the
glare of the sunlight.
1t is a mistake, however, 60 suppose
that any animal, whether quadruped.
bird or reptile. can see in absolute
darkness. The cat can not see the rat
in the cellar il there is total darkness,
nor can the owl see the sleeping bird.
Some light is an absolutely necessary
condition OF sight but while this is
true nature has provided that the ma
tural night workers may see with the
very minimum OF light, and as an adj
ditional help certain other senses are
amazingly sharpened in owls to assist
the effort to see in the dark.
The owl which is the only night
worker that will be considered now is
popularity supposed to be capable of
seeing in utter darkness While it
probably comes nearer to this ability
than any other creature, the owl would
be as helpless In total darkness as it
would be at MONDAY il it were not for
its remarkable organization for hear
ing and feeling. The so-called barn
owl, which is the most common in our
country. has perhaps the best nocturnal
vision of all the blinking family. 1t
can undoubtedly attend to business
very we'll when it is so dark that you
would hardly be able to see your hand
before your face.
All animals that prowl at night have
eye-pupils that are capable of great
distension. BY this means the quantity
OF light focused in the inner eye is
greatly enlarged. But the owl has a
strange additional arrangement for the
same purpose. There is feathery
disk surrounding the eye which
answers the purpose OF reflector,
concentrating the rays of light and
focusing them upon the pupil.
The favorite working hours of the
common owl are the early morning
and the late evening, when the faint
light is ample for owlish purposes but
insufficient for the visual organs of the
owls victims. 1t sometimes happens,
however, that the owl falls victim
himself to his keen nocturnal vision.
He occasionally stays out too late at
night. just as large unfeathered
creatures sometimes do, and then, like
the latter, he has difficulty in finding
his way home. II be forgets the flight
of time in the pleasure of gratifying
his inordinate appetite, If daylight
comes upon him while he is still far
away from home, then he is as help
less as a child in its first walking
lesson.