Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-01-20
UNCLE SANS MENAGERIE.
Maintained at Agricultural Depart
ment for ExperimentaI Purposes.

|
It is not generally known that the de-
! partment of agriculture has mena-
| gerie in connection with it, but such is
the case. The menagerie is not very
large one, nor does it contain any rare
or strange animals. Most of them are
of the domestic variety. 1t is part Of
the division Of animal industry, and
/ the animals are used to develop interest
| ing cases of disease and to illustrate the
effects of an epidemic of a particular
| kind, which the division may wish to
| experiment on with view to stamp
| ing it out and to test various kinds of
foods of which trial is Thought to be
efficacious
Comprised in this collection of ami
mails are rats and mice, guinea pigs, rab-
bits, different sorts of fowls, some cattle
and sheep, and few others. The larger
| of the animals are kept at the breeding
place of the department, On the Ben.
ming road, while others are domiciled in
the basement of the division of animal
| industry laboratory, near the bureau Of
engraving and printing. The division
breeds its own smaller animals, as in
this way, when it wishes to experiment,
it is assured of having them free from
any contamination.
Down in the basement, under the
laboratory, which was visited recently
! by Star reporter, were seen a number
Of coops and cages, in which were
grouped guinea pigs, rabbits and chick
ems. The animals seemed to be perfect
| ly at home and formed a seemingly
| happy family, as some guinea pigs were
in the cage with rabbits. One of the lit
tie white and black creatures was nib
bling at the whiskers of sleepy-look-
ing rabbit, which blinked contentedly,
as if it enjoyed the operation or was too
lazy to resist any trespass on the part Of
the guinea pig.
A dilapidated-looking chicken, which
had much the same appearance as has
a tramp who has been forced to saw
wood for a meal at friendly inn,"
rested on top of cage The guinea
pigs seemed to be the life Of the place,
and ran in and out with apparently lit
| tie or no concern whether "school kept
or not"
On some of the cages where the rab-
bits were confined, printed d large
black letters, was the word "Rabies."
| Upon the cards also were the warnings
to the attendants and others not to put
their hands in the cages. This meant
that the animals had been inoculatei
with hydrophobia virus, and it was
| therefore dangerous to handle the ami
mails. A further precaution taken in
such cases, it is said, is not to inoculats
animals carnivorous by nature, as they
become terribly ferocious, nor any ami
mails whose chief means of defense is
by biting. A cat or dog, for instance,
will strive to bite when afflicted with
| the disease, while a rabbit, which is
purely a vegetarian, will simply NOPE
and die without making any resistance.
! In spite of the fact that the sentence
of death, and an awful one at that, was
| affixed to their cages, the "a bbits did not
appear to be otherwise than cheerful
| their little quarters, and conducted
themselves in all respects after the man
ncr of their kind. All of the animals in
| spected the visitors carefully, as if they
| formed the most select and exclusive
community in the world, instead of one
which had been allotted to yield up
| life for the benefit of science.
1t was stated that one steer, which
had the 'blacl1leg," remained at one of
the experiment stations for about eight
years, and the persons there really be-
came attached to it. 1t is also a tradi-
| ton of the division of animal industry
that two goats were once used for the
purpose of scientific experiment. The
! trial was deemed to be most successful
in every particular, and wonderful re-
suits were expected, when. unfortun-
ately, the goats butted up against the
wall of death, and left yearning hopes
behind.-Washington Star.