The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-07-31
BY EDGAR ILIFF.

Inc fdlldOluM editorial OH our
common door-yard birds was fine. es-
pecially the suggestion that we see
that they have plentiful supply OF
water in pans on the lawn.
1t Is surprising how much water the
birds will use in your yard If they
learn that they can depend on you for
supply. What they drink is not much
but the quantity they use in bathing
will surprise you If the experiment is
made. They soon learn where they
can battle and will come in large num-
bers for early morning additions and
evening plunges.
The robin is the greatest bather of
all our door-yard birds. So ardent a
bather is he that l supposed that he
came from England where the tub is
the household god. He is the favorite
door-yard bird of the peasant, very
much loved because he hangs about
the barn and house all winter and
hops on the window stills and begs for
food He is the bird Of German folk
lore and fairy tales and the children
are taught in their schools and cate
chisms to feed and protect them.
Robins Breed Twice.
The robin is homogeneous, and at
tachment Of pairs extend beyond the
than in most birds. Two broods of
young are produced each year. The
father is most devoted to his mate and
helps her in every way in his power.
The greatest enemy to robins is not
the bad boy with an air rifle, but the
common cat who prowls and lies in
wait for the poor, silly and stupid
young ones who have been pushed
from the nest and told to go out in
the world and be a man like pa.
So few young robins seem to escape
this proving feline scourge that it is
wonder the species survives For
this reason l am against cats. They
can't sing. What good are they?
They are the very essence of selfish.
ness. They love nothing but them
selves and self-love is not love at all
The cat has only one virtue. You
can't make slave of him like dog
or horse. For this reason the
Romans used him as an emblem OF
liberty. He was sacred to the Egypt
ian religious cult and during the Jew
ish captivity under Pharaoh the great
idle cat demanded a nice juicy Hebrew
every morning for breakfast.
Stories About Robins.
Robins are said to have red breasts
OcCduoC licy dltClllplSu " plum LilC
thorns from Christs brow and were
splattered with the sacred blood
Some robins carried dew to the suffer.
ing in hell and were burnt on the
breast by the fires of that place
Robins flourish in Asia and Africa
and are considered fine singers and
warblers. Judging from the few feeble
MARBLES they get off here we may
nd fric C, CT;
cal taste must be very low. What
few notes we do hear from the robin
are sad and melancholy.
Black birds are not much given tc
bathing, in my observation. l have
seen but one battle in the past ter
years, although large drinkers if they
gent, however. l have seen them car
ry hard crusts of bread to pan Of
water and soak them so that they
could eat them.
Do birds and animals reason? Now
reasoning is but a process from the
known thing to a conclusion or by
another known thing. Prof. Henry
Smith Williams in his History of Sci
ence," says that the animal who car
not make accurate, scientific observa
lions Of its surroundings and deduct
accurate scientific conclusions from
them will soon pay the penalty Of its
lack of logic. No animal within the
range of its intelligence is less logi
cal, less scientific in the application
of that knowledge, than man. The
deer does possess scientific knowledge
differing in degree only, not in kind
from the knowledge of Sir Isaac New
ton.
The old Cartesian theory. now ex
ploded by Huxley and Darwin, wa
that animals are mere automatols
and are no more conscious than a gar
den rake or pumpkin. No dog, it is still
maintained by some writer's, knows
that he is a dog. That's nothing, poll
ticians seldom know that they ART
jackasses. We do not contend that {
donkey can edit newspaper (but h
can try or cat cook a meal of victu
ais, or dog Tray fill the constable's of
fee. but look at Washington City ane
Congrest.
How do we know that animals d.
not reason? Has any man, with all hi