The Washington times., 1918-11-17

Both In the KalahaFi Desert and IN
somaliIand, as wen - IN other traets,
there are seasons of the year In vhich
giraffe, oryI. aisnd, hsFtebeest and , -
zeIle apparently szist without wster tor
periods that seem Incredible. Many small
CT desert mammals, such 20 jerboas, %
rot drink at ell IN other words. where
there Il water some of the species drink
itI where there r. no water. they go with
out It. HoY this g possible, especially
for such huge, fat beasts IS Glands, in q
climate Of such intolershls dryness and
heat, We cannot imagine. No problem u
better worth the study ef competent field
nstuFalIsts."
While Dr. Heller touaa tie larger man,
mails which could 90 without water fat
and good eating, the smaller enteiopes Of
varied names were quits the reverse,
thsS assh being tough and Hnpaiatsbis.
He said:
sThs KiipspFingsE, . lively little ante
lops found on the rocky hills throughout
ssstefn Africa, seemingly goes for long
periods without drinking. The northern,
or desert form, certainly does not drink At
al, but lives without water. The Oribt, Q
small antelope. at Mali ~ Chumyi and IN
the coast desert, live without water there
whatever they do elsewhere. The 9ere-
nuk, Q quseF, Iong,Isgged. longshseksd an
teIope. called By the swahhilis little
camel was common IN the dry scrub Gov
cred eouAtFy along Northern 0uaso Nyiro.
II was ~ wiid and wary as the gaselle OF
the neighborhood was tame. II vas found
siagIy aud In parties In the driest regions
where II did not d'ink at all The long
shouted Dikdiks, very small sntelopos, OF
the desert Of the same region. never drank
and could not get water II they wanted It.
We found them IN thlcksts, far away from
water, which they apparently never left
IoF were We able 10 get any water In this
desert"
The demand Of men OF science for In
tensive physiological investigations Of
these mammals, may or may not reveal
results IN an explanation Of the problem
Of existence without water. The Heller
expedition made autopsies OF every
species Of mammal collected, 70 ascertain
the contents OF their stomachs and settle
the matter Of what foods they ate. they
found no organs differing IN function than
those common TO all other mammals, In
Guiding man himself.
On the basis OF their data alone, We
can only turn 10 specialization for an
answer TO the difficult problem. We can
Outy hhbuiub ~ pTesbuL Lueb baceC nneta-
mails have specialized going without water
through generations extending back
through 900 years. Africa is On aged.
Archaic continent. It lies out OF the path
Of such rain and snow storms as entirely
envelope the North American continent.
It's loWlands may be described as all tropi'
cal and densely moist. and much OF tts
higher attitudes a. largely desert and dry
regions, All Of the non-water using nam
mails eatalogued are herbiVores, which
gradually, during the ages, retreated high
or up into dFier and drier regions to es'
cape determination by lions, hyenas, chee-
tabs and various eaFniyoFes, No known
eaTniyoFe can exist without an ample sup
ply Of drinking water. All earnivofes I'm
ger about tords where heFbivores come
down periodically to drink, then to pick
out the particular mammal that pleasss
their fancy, seize 1t and devouf 1t at
leisure.
Copyright. 1918. by Star Company