Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-10-18
IXT ASH1NGTON, D. c.. Oct. 1--we are
w going to have a hard winter this
Vear0


You hear lot Of amateur prophesies to
| this effect, and few to the contrary. Some
! base their predictions on the way the squir-
rels are piling up nuts and some on the re-
port that muskrats have thick fur, and some
on the fact that ducks have come South
sooner than usual.
The Government attaches no significance
to special industry on the part of squirrels,
or to any Of these other things. Nor does
| it consider reports OF early flight OF birds to
the South true warning that winter will
set in sooner than usual. The Government
biologist and meteorologist regard these phe-
nomena as interesting but no more to be re-
lied upon than the pretty story of the ground
hog and his shadow.
''The fact isl says DR.. A. K. Fisher, Of the
Biological Survey, 1--WE have no proof that
animals are supplied In advance with in
stinctive warnings of storms or cold weather.
On the other hand, there is good deal of
proof that they do not know in advance about
| weather conditions. If they did, there would
be fewer catastrophes in the animal world
weather changes often overtake birds,
| for instance, with tragic results. If birds
could sense storms far ahead we would not
hear of 100000 Lapland longspurs being
beaten to the ground in driving storm in
Minnesota. This incident occurred in the
spring when these birds were flying north.
They were caught in the gale After it was
| over, ornithologists measured the area of the
]
| then counted the birds to a square yard. Ac-
cording to careful estimate, 100000 were
wiped out that day. When birds do seek
shelter in a storm it is generally because
they can no longer keep up in the air, not
because they sense the storms approach"
Early migration of birds is commonly &C
cepted as an infallible sign that winter may
be expected at once. Birds really migrate,
DR.. Fisher says, not because they anticipate
cold, but because the food supply is disap-
pearing.
| When they migrate sooner than usual in
the fall it may mean that winter is setting
| in and destroying their chances OF getting
! food, or it may mean that less Of the food
needed by those particular birds is available.
| Or, as a third supposition, there may be I'M
usually large flocks of the birds in local
| ity and the food supply is not lasting so late
as usual.
What Makes Fur Grow
BY the same specious reasoning, it is some
| times asserted that animals are provided with
thicker fur in preparation for a severe win
ter. The facts, SO far as science has studied
them, are that animals do have thicker fur
in cold winters. Animals in very cold eli
mates have thicker coats than similar species
farther south. This is well-recognized fact
in the fur trade, where furs from the far
north bring much higher prices than pelts
from warmer ATTITUDES.
The overlooked fact here is that the warm
sets in, not before. Roughly speaking, the
cold stimulates the skin to produce thicker
fur. Yet reports Of thicker fur on animals
in the early fall are widely regarded as a
sure sign of heavy weather ahead.
Government scientists have never made any
experiments Of changing animals from one
climate to another to test their adaptability
in this respect. 1t is believed that Louisi-
ana muskrat, for example, might freeze to
death if taken to cold climate because his
skin would probably not react quickly enough
to clothe him properly the first winter. If he
survived that year the next year he would
probably adapt himself like the other ami
mails of the region This Is problematical.
But it is certain that he would not grow his
thicker fur instinctively before the cold
weather struck him.
Hibernation is another misinterpreted ami
NAL function. Early Information is often
pointed out as one of the signs of approaching
cold AS a matter Of fact, animals do not
hibernate so much on account of cold as be-
cause of their bodily condition. When bear
has an inch of fat on his body, or whatever
he needs for the winter, he feels, we may
imagine, much like a person who has eaten
a hearty meal So the bear curls UP in
protected place and sleeps.
With some animals this desire for aleap