Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury [Connecticut]) 1903-1917, 1903-08-19
MICE MADE TO WORK.
Colony of Tiny Creatures Compelled
by Thrifty. Scot to Earn
Their Living.

Thrift is generally acknowledged to
be one of the leading characteristics of
the natives of Fifeshire, and it never was
more fDrcibly exemplified than in the
person of David Hutton, a 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, says
the Edinburgh Statesman.
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 remark
able idea of utilizing mouse power. In
an old pamphlet of the time. The Curl
osity Coffee-Room, he gave an account
Of the way in which the idea dawned on
him.
I'm the summer of the year 1872 he
wrote: SCI had occasion to be in Perth,
! and when inspecting the toys and trim
kets that were manufactured by the
French prisoners in the depot there my
attention was involuntarfly attracted
by little TOULOUSE with a wheel in the
gable of it that was running rapidly
round, impelled by the insignificant
gravity of a common house mouse. For
one Shilling | purchased house, mouse
and wheel Inclosing It in a handker-
chief on my journey homeward, was
compelled to contemplate its favorite
/ amusement. But how to apply half
ounce power (Which is the weight of a
mouse) to useful purpose was the diff
| f1culty At length the manufacturing
! of sewing thread seemed the most prac-
/; ticable"
Mr.. Hutton had one mouse that ran
the amazing distance of 18 miles day,
but he proved that an ordinary mouse
could run 1919 miles on an average. A
'halfpenny's worth of oatmeal was suf-
i ficient for its support for 35 days, during
which it ran 736 half-miles. He had &C
| tuaI1y two mice constantly employed In
| the making of sewing thread for more
| than year. The mouse threadmill was
so constructed that the common house
mouse was enabled to make Ste1cnnent
| to society for past offenses BIZ twisting,
| twining and Keeling from 100 to 100
threads day, Sundays not, excepted.
To perform this task the little pedes-
trian had to run 1015 miles, and this
! Journey it performed with ease every
day. A halfpenny's worth Of oatmeal
served one Of these threadmill culprits
for the long period of five weeks. In
that time 1t made 1880 threads of Is
inches, and as penny was paid to wom-
en- for every hank made in the ordinary
way the mouse, at that rate, earned nine
pence every six weeks, just one farthing
a day, or seven shillings six pence year.
i Taking sixpence off for board and allow
ing one shilling for machinery, there
was clear yearly profit from each
| mouse of six shillings.
Mr. Hutton firmly intended to apply
for the loan of the empty cathedral in
Dunferm1ine, which would have held,
he calculated, 10000 mouse mills, suf-
ficfent rooms being left for keepers and
some hundreds of spectators. Death,
! however, overlook the inventor before
this marvellous project could be carried
out.