The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-03-04
MANY WHITE MICE
WANTED BY ARMY
WILL BE USED IN THE
MANUFACTURES OF
SERUM.

10 play most important part Ill |
the world war. He is the white |
mouse.
Major w. A. Shields, chief medi- .
cal officer at the central department
supply depot here, says that these
mice are needed in large numbers
now and that if these be those who
are in quandary as to how best
they may serve their country, it
would be we'll for them to look into
the white mice industry.
White mice, Major Shields said,
are among the most important
needs of the army hospitals. Upon
securing of a sufficient number of
the tiny rodents may depend the
lives of many hundreds American
soldiers and sailors
Pneumonia is the specter with
which the tiny mice are called upon
to do battle, and, according to the
medical supply officer, if the mice
can be had in sufficient numbers,
they can crush this grim plague Of
the cantonments and trenches.
They can alleviate the suffering
caused by pneumonia by the sacri-
fee of their lives for the manufac-
ture of serum.
Through elaborate experiments
it has been discovered, according to
Major Shields, that pneumonia is of
several kinds, each being distinct
from the other and requiring a dif-
ferent serum. There is, however
but one way in which to determine
which form of the disease has at
tackled the patient That is through
the use of white mice.
Cheap Before the War.
The question that faces the mcdi-
cal supply officers is to get the little
rodents which play such an impor-
tant part in army hospital service.
Before the war said Major Shields,
mice were so plentiful that 10 cents
each would purchase all one might
desire.
Then came the war and the sud
den demand for large quantities of
the rodents. Immediately the price
leaped upward. Today Major
Shields said, white mice are quoted
at SLIP each, with the prospects
that the price has not yet reached
the top.
This is a sample of the patriot
ism of some of the people Of this
country" Major Shields said at
is a sad commentary upon such per
sons that they will let their greed
outstrip their duty to America. A
white mice breeder recently wrote
asking my quotation on mice. Wher
! told him-givin ghim figure that
six months ago would have beer
considered eXtravagant-he replied
that he could get 10 cents apiece
more elsewhere, and he refused tC
let us have any"
Not all persons, however, are like
this, the officer added. A woman
in California who sends on an av
erage OF so mice a month to the
Chicago depot has requested tina
the check in payment for the 70
dents be turned over to the Ameri
can Red Cross. While the depart
ment could not do this, it was non,
the less exceedingly gratihed tc
note this spirit.
Bred in Mouseries.
White mice are bred III "mouser
les" the major said in explain;n!
how the aniamls are reared, The,
breed rapidly and the expense 70
caring for them is practically moth
ing. All that is required is plac
to keep them, which need not b
expensive, and slight eNpenditur
fod food. The mice are fed lettuce
oats and greens and are very hardy
They are shipped to the Chicago dc
pot from the Pacific coast wit
practically no loss and are kept a
the central department depot unit
called for by the various hospital!
Major Shields explained, however
that the supply is 50 limited that th
depot is unable to keep any on han
and has been obliged to use ever
facility at its disposal in order t
find enough to supply present need
of the hospitals.
Pneumonia is generally recos
nized as one of the most deadly dis
eases to which soldiers are subjec
The average death rate is S.3 pc
cent. In consequence of this fac
it presents itself as a deadly menac
to the men at cantonments bot
here and abroad, but if suiicier
supply of white mice can be oil
tanned the death rate can be apprt
ciatbly lowered.
In the diagnosis of pneumoni
with white mice, secretions frol
the nose or throat of the patient al
injected into the animal and the
by a series of experiments whic
are executed quickly, the exact II;
ture of the disease is ascertaine
and the proper treatment can be az
ministered. No other animal ca
be used for this work, the majC
said.
Major Shields said that he is no
securing white mice from sever
mouseries in the United States an
a small supply from Canada.