The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-10-17
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HASKIN, Director,
Washington, D. O.
DOPE FOR WEATHER PROPHETS

are going to have hard winter this
year."
You hear & lot of amateur prophe
cies to this effect, and a few to the
contrary. Some base their predictions
on the way the squirrels are piling Up
nuts and some on the report that
muskrats have thick fur, and some on
the fact that ducks have come south
sooner than usual.
The government attaches no signifi-
canoe 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 a
true warning that winter will set in
sooner than usual. The government
biologist and meteorologist regard
these phenomena as interesting but no
more to be relied upon than the pretty
story of the ground hog and his
shadow.
1.-The fact is" says DIR. A. K. Fisher,
of the biological survey, I'VE have no
proof that animals are supplied in adj
vance with instructive warnings of
storms or cold weather. On the other
hand, there is a 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 Lap
land longspurs being beaten to the
ground in a driving storm in Mime
sofa. This incident occurred in the
spring when these birds were flying
north. They were caught in the gale.
After it was over, ornithologists meas
ured the area of the frozen lake where
the birds lay dead and then counted
the birds to a square yard. According
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 in the
air, not because they sense the storms
approach"
Early migration of birds is COM
monty accepted 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 disappear
ing.
When they migrate sooner than
usual in the fall it may mean that win
ter 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
in a locality and the food supply is
not lasting so late as usual.
What Makes Fur Grow.
By the same specious reasoning, it
is sometimes asserted that animals
are provided with thicker fur in pre-
parationS for a severe winter. The
facts, so far as science has studied
them, are that animals do have
thicker fur in cold winters. Animals
in very cold climates 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>fro warmer ATTITUDES.
The overlooked fact here is that the
warmer coat is furnished by nature
after the cold 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 re-
spect. It is believed that a Louisi-
ana muskrat, for example, might
freeze to death if taken to a cold
climate because his skin would pro-
baby 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 animals of the region. This
is problematical. But it is certain
that he would grow his thicker fur
instinctiyely before the cold weather
struck him.
Information is another misinter-
preted animal function. Early hiber-
nation is often pointed out as one of
the signs of approaching cold. AS a
matter of fact, animals do not hiber-
nate so much on account of cold as
because of their bodily condition
When a 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
hearty meal. So the bear curls up
in a protected place and sleeps.
With some animals this desire for
year Ground squirrels in the west
go into the ground in July and stay
there the balance of the summer
months.
An example of how Information is
connected in our minds with weather
is the ground hog slladow tradition,
The ground hog, or woodchuck, is sup
posed to regulate the coming of spring
The story goes that the ground hog
comes out of his hole on Candlemas
day, February 2 and looks around.
If he sees his shadow he returns to
his hole, thereby informing the world
that winter is not over. If the sky
is cloudy he ventures out to enjoy the
springs days that are coming.
Don't Trust the Ground Hog.
This tradition got its origin thru
the January thaw that sets in some
years. For a week or two the weather
is pleasant and melting. Farmers
know by experience that this fine
weather does not hold, and that it is
almost invariably followed by a set
back. Spring is apt to come sooner
if there is no January thaw, and the
temperature rises rather gradually &
little. later. The ground hog comes
into the story because he emerges
from his winter quarters about this
time. If he comes out and finds the
sun shining he is supposed to know
that the warmth is too unreasonable to
last.
The story would be more reasonable
If the fate of the winter rested on the
temperature of ground hog day rather
than the sun. A day of freezing tenn
perature may be bright and sunny. Yet
the sign would read that the ground
hog saw his shadow and winter was