The Red Cloud chief., 1903-10-23
MADE USE OF MICE
BRILLIANT IDEA OF THRIFTY
sCOTCHMAN.
Dumfermline Man Had Scheme by
Which Household Peto Could Be
Made to Fur,.i,h Motive Power to
Run His Thread Mill.

Thrift Is generally acknowledged to
be one of the leading characteristics
OF the native of Fffeshire, and it never
was more forcibly exemplifed than in
the person of David Hutton, q native
OF Dumfermline, who actually proved
that even mice, those acknowledged
pests Of mankind, could be made not
only to earn their own living, but also
to yield a respectable income to their
owners
About the year 1920 this gentleman
actually erected a small mill at DUN.
fermline for the manufacture of thread
"a mill worked entirely by mice. Ii
was while visiting Perth prison in
1912 that Mr.. Hutton first conceived
this remarkable idea of utilizing
mouse power. In an old pamphlet of
the time, "The Curiosity Coffee Room"
he gave an account Of the way in
which the idea dawned on him. "In
the summer of the year 1872" he
wrote, II had occasion to be in Perth.
n when inspectit & the toys and
trinkets that were manufactured by
the French prisoners in the depot
there my attention was ~involuntarily
attracted by a little toy house, with a
wheel in the gable of it that was run
ming rapidly round impelled by the
insignificant gravity of a common
house mouse. For n shilling | pur-
chased house, mousse and wheel. In
closing 1t in a handkerchief, on my
journey homeward l was compelled to
contemplate its favoriate amusement.
But how to apply half-ounce power
(Which Is the weight of q mouse) to a
useful purpose was the difficulty. At
length the manufacturing Of sewing
thread seemed the most practicable"
Mr.. Hutton had M mouse that ran
The amazing distance of eighteen miles
a day, but he proved that an ordinary
mouse could run ten and one-half
miles on an average. A halfpenny's
worth of oatmeal sas sufficient for it's
support FOR thirty-ive days, during
which 1t ran 736 miles. He had &C.
tually two mice constantly employed
In the making of sewing thread for
o than a year. The mouse thread
mill was so constructed that the COM
HUI uouse NOUS was enabled TO
make atonement to society for past
ofenses by twisting, twining and reel
Ing from 100 to 120 threads q day.
Sundays not excepted. To perform this
task, the little pedestrian had to run
ten and 'one-half miles and this Jour.
ney 1t performed with ease every day.
A h~alfpenny's worth of oatmeal served
one OF these thread mill culprits for
the long period Of five weeks. In that
time It made $3.50 threads of twenty.
five inches, and as a penny was paid
to women for every hank made in the
ordinary way, the mouse. at that rate.
earned ninepence every six weeks.
Just one farthing a day, or seven shill.
ings and sixpence a year.
Taking sixpece off for board, and al
lowing n shilling for machinery,
there was a clear yearly profit from
each mouse Of six shillings. Mr.. Hut
ton firmly intended to apply for the
loan of the empty cathedral in Dun
feminine, which would have held, he
calculated, 10000 mouse mills, sufi.
cient room being left for keepers and
some hundreds of spectators. Death,
however, overlook the inventor before
this marvellous project could be car.
ried out.-Edinburgh Scotsman.