The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1903-10-24
MADE USE OF MICE
BRILLIANT IDEA or THRIFTY
E%z# SCOTCHMAN.
Dumfernline' Man Had Scheme by
Which Household Pets Could Be
Made to Furnish Motive Power to
Run His Thread Mill.

Thrift is generally acknowledged to
be one OF the leading characteristics
of the native of Fifeshire, and it never
was more forcibly eXemplified than in
the person of David Hutton, 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 respectable income to their
owners.
About the year 1920 this gentleman
actually erected small mill at Dunn
fermline for the manufacture of thread
"a mill worked entirely by mice. 1t
was while visiting Perth prison in
1872 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. lin
the summer of the year 1872" he
wrote, II had occasion to be in Perth,
and when inspecti1 g the toys and
trinkets that we're manufactured by
the French prisoners in the depot
there my attention was involuntarily
attracted by 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 one shilling I pur-
chased house, mouse and wheel. In
closing it in a handkerchief, on my
journey homeward was compelled to
contemplate it's favoriate amusement.
But how to apply half-ounce power
(Which is the weight of a mousse to
useful purpose was the difficulty At
length the manufacturing of sewing
thread seemed the most practicable"
Mi. 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 one-half
miles on an average. A halfpenny's
worth of oatmeal was sufficient for its
support for thirty-dve days, during
which it ran 736 miles He had &C.
tually two mice, constantly employed
in the making of sewing thread for
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mill was so constructed that the COM
mon house mouse was enabled to-
make atonement to society for past
offenses by twisting, twining and reel
ing from 100 to- 120 threads day,
Sundays not excepted. 70 perform this
task, the little pedestrian had to run
ten and one-half miles and this jour
ney it performed with ease every day.
A halfpenny'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 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 day, or seven shill-
ings and sixpence year.
Taking sixpece off for board, and al
lowing one shilling for machinery,
there was clear yearly profit from
each mouse of six shillings. / Mr. Hut
ton firmly intended to apply for the
loan Of the empty cathedral in Tun-
fermline, which would have held, he
calculated, 10000 mouse mills, sufi-
cient room being left for keepers and
some hundreds of spectators. Death,
however, ovel took the inventor before,
this marvellous project could be car
ried Edinburgh Scotsman.