The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1892-01-12
HOW TO TRAIN MICE.
SOME SECRETS OF THE METHOD
EMPLOYED BY AN EXPERT.

Inexhaustible Patience Is Required First
of A~II-Judicious Feeding Must BE OBJ
seryed-Then One Must Worry the Lit
tie Creatures.
Ferdinand Sem knows more about
raising white mice probably than any
other man in this country, and Thomas
Moody knows more about training them.
Before an explanation of how they are
trained. Mr.. Sem took a cunning little
mouse, white as snow, from his cOs.t
pocket and put it on his shoulder. The
mouse looked around for a moment,
then ran across Mr.. Senn's back and sat
down ~contentedly on the other shoulder.
Before setting it at liberty he held the
mouse loosely in his left hand and
stroked it's head and back with his right.
do they never bite your
Mr.. Moody answered for him, for Mr..
Moody does the training: Never. if
they are properly handled. When a boy
picks up a white mouse he is very likely
to squeeze him tight to keep him safe:
then the mouse turns around and bites.
But take them up so-gently-without
squeezing them at all, and they do not
think of biting. See here"
He took the mouse from Mr.. Senn's
hand, held it's tail between his forefinger
and thumb and held it above his head.
They do not mind that at all" he
went on. They are what we call pre-
hensile-they can support their weight
by the tail. When this fellow runs down
a smooth stick you will see him coil his
tail around it for a brake. But if |
should squeeze his tail a little too hard,
or accidentally press my sharp nails
against it, he would twist around and
bite me-"
HUNGER AM WORRY.
What do you feed them on-cheese?"
Hardly" he replied. mo food is so
good for them as oats-just dry oats.
Some breeders bring them up on bread
and milk, but that is not as good as oats.
On oats they keep cleaner and do better.
The dry oats, Of course, makes them
thirsty, and then you can give them a
little bread and milk, squeezed out
pretty dry. But it is well to have them
thirsty sometimes, when you are train
ing them-and hungry, too, for that
matter"
do you mean to say that you starve
them into tricks or drive them to it by
I thirst"
Not SO bad as that" he answered.
But if a mouse is hungry and he is to
walk owe a string bridge and he sees
some oats on the other side he will go
quicker. There are two great secrets
about making them do as you wish. The
first is patience. A boy can soon learn
to train a white mouse nearly as well as
| IA if he has the patience. But the
boy generally tires Of it in ten minutes
where | keep it up for two hOurs-or
half a day, if necessary. | worry them
into it,"
"That's the other secret" he went IN.
Worry EN-! Suppose you want a mouse
to climb a stick, pick up a little flag that
you have put there and bring it down.
You take the mouse when he's hungry
to begin with; you tie a grain or two of
oats to the flagstaff and You put the
house at the foot of the stick. He won't
go up, Of course. Well, when ne turns
around to run away you set him back
again with his nose to the stick. If he
runs away fifty times set him back fifty
one times. That worries him. Boost
him up a little; give him a start. You
may even have a little twig and switch
him, but gently. He soon sees what you
wan and up he goes. When he finds
the oats he is satisfied and comes down
to eat them. Next time he will do it
without half the trouble, and after a
while he will run up and get the flag
whenever o put him at the foo of the
stick.
KEEP AT IT.
Teach the mouse a principle, you IN
darStanH. not mernlY q trick The nrin-