Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1903-12-01
RUN BY o j POWER.
a Thrifty s~rotchman's scheme For
Operating Ills Thread Mills.

opsitAuS uib luTenU Wits.
Thrift is generally acknowledged to
! be one OF tile lcadins characteristics OF
the native Of Flfesllils. and it never
was more forcibiy exeI.i,liiipd than III
the person of David Hutton i native
of Dunfermline, who actually proved
that even mice, those acknowledged
pests Of mankind, could be made no;
only TO earn their own living. but also
to yield a respectable income 70 their
owners
About the year 1920 this gentleman
actually erected a small Mill nj Dun.
fermline for. the manufacture or thread
IA mill worked entirely by mice. Ii
was while visiting Perth prison IN
1872 that Mr.. Hutton first conceived
this remarkable idea OF utilizing mouse
power. In an old pamphlet Of I'll,
time, "The Curiosity Coffee Room. liz
gave an recount Of the way in whici,
the idea dawned on him. ..In the SUN
mer Of the year 1872 he wrote. III
had occasion to be In Perth, and when
inspecting the toys and trlnkets that
were manufactured by the French pris.
oners IN the depot there my attention
was inyoluntarily attracted Nv a little
toy house, with a wheel lii the gable
OF II that was running rapidly round.
impelled by the Insignificant gravity of
a ommon house mouse. For shil
ling purchased house, mouse ana
wheel. Inclosing il in a handkerchief.
on my journey homeward | was com
PEELED TO contemplate its favorite
amusement. But how to apply half
ounce power, which is the weight Of II
mouse, to a useful purpose was iii.
difficulty. At length the manufactur,
Ing Of sewing thread seemed the most
practicable"
Mr.. Hutton had one mouse that ran
the amazing distance OF eighteen miles
a day. but he proved that an ordinary
mouse could run ten and a half miles
on an average. A halfpenny's worth
OF oatmeal was sufficient for its SUP.
port for t~hirty-fve days, during which
1t ran 136 half miles. He had actually
two mice constantly employed In the
making Of sewing thread for more than
a year. The mouse thread mill was
constructed that the common house
mouse was enabled to make atonement
70 society for past offenses by twist.
Ing. twining and Keeling from 100 10
10 threads a day, Sundays moi except |
10 perform this task the little
pedestrian had TO run ten and a half
miles. and this journey 1t performed
with ease every day. "A halfpenny's
Of oatmeal served one Of these
thread mill culprits for the long period
Of five weeks. In that time 1t made
$3.50 threads OF twenty-five inches, and
as 4 penny was paid to women for ey
cry hank made In the ordinary way
The mouse at that rate earned nine, /
pence every six weeks, Just one far.
hing q day, or Is. ID. a year.
Taking sixpence on for board ana
allowing shilling for machinery, there
vas a clear yearly profit from each
mouse OF 8 shillings. Mr.. Hutton firm
y intended to apply for the loan Of the
'mpty cathedral in Dunfermline, which
have held. he calculated, 10000
mouse mills. sufficient room being left
or keepers and some hundreds OF
'pectators. Death, however. overlook
he inventor before this marvellous
,roJect could be carried out.-Edin-
,urgh Scotsman.