The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-07-09

| or not fed at all, more often, but allow
ed to pick de his own living Is there Their !,
| of any real value to his owner? He
| may be considered as personal property.
and should be taxed as SUCH Dogs
| should be enumerated in the assessors
| returns and valued at a certain rate.
| Is there one dog in all the city that
| the owners could not better get along
without? Or do the dogs own the peo-
| pie instead of the people owning the
dogs?
when we see the dogs come and
tramp and troop across our garden and
scratch up our beautifully finished flow
| er beds, we are apt to think the dogs
| own the whole city and that we failed
in some way to consult them and make
the beds and the garden to suit their
artistic and esthetic tastes.
Dogs are the deadly enemy Of flow
ers. We who keep no dogs and owe
them no allegiance, if we have any
rights that an uneducated dog is bound
to respect, must be allowed to protest
against having the dogs of our neighbor.
who has no more real use for dog
than we have, enter our garden unbid-
den, and treat our cherished flowers and
beautiful plants with the most disas-
trOuS contempt and cOntumely. No
plant will survive the visits of an I'M
licensed and unbridled dog. Dogs,
more than climate, have killed every
Irish juniper, arbor vitae, and red cedar
tree ever planted in this city. A few
red cedars, very few, have survived
their attacks. The fact that red cedars
grow freely at Washburn college and
other places where there are no dogs is
proof that they are perfectly adapted to
the climate.
IF 1 try to find the owner of a dog
that has just disfigured my garden, I
am apt to find that he has no owner
and no one is willing to settle for the
damage he has done. If I try him in
Judge Lynch'S court and Summarily ex-
ecute the judges decree and the dog at
the same time, 1 quickly find the dog
had half a dozen owners, any one of
whom is willing to settle out of court
for the value of an animal of some
WORTH say a hog or a COW or a horse.
And so it goes. We must submit to
having our cherished plans for beauti-
flying the city swept Off as by storm.
just because of a sickly sentiment in
favor of keeping dogs, the most useless
and annoying and damaging of all ami
mails, because given the most liberty
and the greatest protection.
Are we as a people to become rude
and ill-mannered and quarrelsome be-
cause of the constant silent influence
upon ourselves and our children by the
illbred dogs? Where is the philanthropy
ist, or better to say the philcanist, dog
lover, who will establish a school for
dogs and teach them to always keep
quietly in the walks and streets and
never cut across the corner of parks
and flower gardens or bark at strang
ers whether on foot, on horseback, or
sons to teach the dogs when they shall
have learned these.
eff the dogs living in the city are in
capable of civic improvement, then let
no place for dogs or uncultured people.
Away with all dogs. unless properly
taxed.
CATS.
eff we desire to keep fruit. shade or
ornamental trees, and keep them
healthy, we must reduce the number of
our pet cats. Cats kill trees.
"Directly-Item number one: You
have a choice and beautiful great flow
cred hibiscus, rhOdodendron, azalea, n.y.
drangea, lemon, fig, or even an olean-
der in large box or tub. In winter
time you must bring it into the house.
You also have a pet cat. Pussys weap-
ons. her claws. in order to be service
able for the capture of mice and birds,
must be kept sharp. During the winter
she, too. is confined largely to the
house. Because of community of envi-
ronment q onesided attachment soon
little tree. Pussy's admiration for the
tree is from an entirely practical stand
point. 1t is a splendid place whereon
to sharpen her claws.
1.-The oleander takes care of itself. 1t
emits, when touched. an odor that is
intensely offensive to cats. So does the
rubber tree. in a less degree. Not SO
the azalea or hibiscus. The odor of
81
and If pussy, in a thoughtless moment
or from real necessity, ever scratches
the tree once it will not be her last
time. Pussy is the epitome of cum
ming. She knows you cherish the little
tree and might not like to have her
touch it. But while you sleep pussy is
wideawake. When you are awake pussy
is as demure and innocent as you would
wish. Possibly after awhile she gets
careless, or may imagine you know ali
about it and do not care. Then you
discover her You may think nothing
of it. If you realize the harm she is
slight prolongation. Pussy Immediate
ly takes the hint and vanishes. You
may forget it. Not so with pussy. She
knows thing or two.
1.-The tree dies. You cannot imagine
why; but think it died of old age or
something that could not be guarded
against.
And indirectly-item number two:
We are dependent upon the birds to
keep insects in check. Without a check
of any kind insects would destroy not
only all of our apple, cherry and other
fruit trees but shade trees as we'll
"Borers and carpenter moths are, as
we know, very destructive to injured
trees. We need the birds to destroy
the mature flying insects, as these are
the only ones that lay eggs to repro
duce their kind. But some birds, as
woodpeckers, live upon the larvae and
are adept at extracting the grubbs from
| the trees.
"Cicadas, commonly called locusts or
harvest flies, which are very destructive
to live trees, have been quite plentiful
in the city for good many years. Last
year and the year before have seen
the English sparrows attack the full
grown cicadas; though they seemed to
prefer to take them when they had
| just emerged from their old skins. 1t
| takes a pretty brave bird to tackle and
| carry off male locust when it is emit
| ting that terrifying screech; but 1 have
seen an old English sparrow do so.
have also seen a bird with a locust in
| its beak fly with it to a horizontal
| branch and, holding the locust under
| one toe. peck it until it had stopped it's
noise. Tally one for the English spar
row.
Lately I have not seen any cicadas
| at all and have heard very few. 1t is
| too soon yet to say whether the birds
| are thinning them out. The weather has
| been SO cool and wet that 1t is possible
| the insects have been restrained from
emerging from the ground: though the