The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1912-08-02
irds are slowly reappearing.

The natural balance of life in an,
field cannot long be disturbed
Though nature at times seem.
to permit excuses, yet she sooner OF
later corrects them and restores the
balance. The life of the globe could
never have attained it's present deve.
lopment on any other plan. A Ger.
tain peace and harmony have come
out of the perpetual struggle and war
fare of opposing tendencies and for
ces The waters of the globe all
tend to seek the same level. but this
equilibrium is constantly broken by
the solar forces, so that the currents
flow perpetually. When one force
pulls down, another builds up. The
weasel is the most fierce and blood
thirsty of all our smaller mammals;
mice and squirrels and rabbits and
birds, vanish before him, yet he does
overrun our fields and woods; he is
quite a rare beast; some unknown
enemy or condition keeps him in
check. The defenseless rabbit upon
which SO many creatures prey easily
holds it's own because it is so very
prolific. 1t also has another advan-
tage, it can and does sleep with its
eyes open. The flying Squirrel would
seem to have great advantage over
the chipmunk. yet it is far less num-
erous in our woods; it pays for it's
wings in some way; it is probably less
hardy and resourceful. Few animals
will modest the skunk, yet the world
is not filled with skunks; where they
are found side by side, the woodchuck
which has many more natural enc
mics, is far more abundant, not be-
cause it is more prolific, which does
not seem to be the case, but because,
among other things, it's food supply
is simpler and more universal. The
limitation of animal life everywhere
is, of course, the great factor in the
limitation of the natural food supply
If our spring is late and cold the rob-
ms nest later and have smaller broods
than during warm, early spring.
The gray squirrel is far less numerous
than the red, because, as l think, he
is far less resourceful. He is not
the same miscellaneous feeder, and
hence is much more restricted in his
range. The red squirrel, when hard
put, will come to your very door and
chip up green apples and pears for
the meager supply of seed in them.
In May and June, when other SUD-
plies fail, he helps himself out with
birds eggs and with young birds, |
md in the colder seasons he raids
he granaries of the wild mice and
he dens of the chipmunk. He is a
hustler and freebooter at all times. +
lis natural enemies are black snakes.
Veasles, hawks, Owls, and cats and
lis tribe seems to be increasing.
Man the Disturber
Man, of course, disturbs the bal
nee of nature wherever he goes.
ome forms of life disappear before
i'm, while others thrive and increase
n his footsteps. He adds greatly
the food supply of some species,
nile he cuts off that of others.
lost of the field animals partake of
is bounty, but the forest animals
anish before him. That any spe-
les has actually become extinct ,,
trough his fundamentally, unless it !
e that of the passenger pigeon, may I
ell be doubted. though he undoubt-
dly fastened the extinction of the g
reat aux, and, maybe, the Labra-
or duck. The buffalo would have
ecame extinct under his ruthless
aughter, had he not stayed his hand {
time. Whole tribes and races of {
nimals, some of them fearfully and
made, became extinct in
eologic time, long before man could
ave played any part in fastening
leir doom. A change in their en-
ronment through slow crystal move
ents of the earth, or through change
climate that affected their supply
food, probably rendered them Gun
ITO survive.-Colliers Weekly
G. V. Fisher and family are back
ON trip to the western mart of thu