White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1928-06-29
20 MICE BREED so
MILLION IN 80 YEARS
New Yorker Makes Specially
of Raising Them.

New York.-To the list of novel oc-
equations in New York add that Of
David Mayer, the worlds champion
breeder Of white mice.
In the 80 years he has been special
king in this line. he has bred more
than 100000 mice for research pur-
poses.
He supplies all the white mice used
for experimental work by the New
York City board Of health, the United
States public health service and gov.
eminent hospitals.
His mice are used In the labora.
tories of most of the schools and col
leges in the country. Only recently,
on an order from the Royal Society
of London, he shipped 80 pairs of
white mice to the government hospital
at British Guiana.
Most of the governmental expert.
ments with mosquito and yellow fever
serum are tried on his mice In the
Canal Zone.
His weekly output is between 5000
and 1900 mice during the months from
September to May.
Flew With Indy.
From May to September his ship.
ment of mice Is about half that num-
ber-due to the fact that colleges are
closed and many doctors 60 abroad In
the summer.
A pair of white mice few with Lind.
bergh when he carried pneumonia
serum to Quebec in an attempt to save
the life of Floyd Bennett the serum
was to have been tried out on the
mice.
Mayer casually regards his odd pro.
fession as simply study in gen.
etics" and says he "grew up with the
work.
Thirty years ago when he started an
experiment with 10 pairs of white mice
in his fathers animal shop, he was
hardly more than boy and little med
ical work was done with mice.
With the increase of scientific in
terest and economic value of mice, has
come the development of 100000
mice from the original 10 pairs and
the expansion of Mayer to the leader
Of mice-breeding.
There are only two other big mice
breeders in America, one in Philadel-
phia and another in Kansas, but their
work is not as extensive as Mayors
His firm is the largest shipper of anil
mails in the world.
Once in a great while, there will be
pure all-black mouse in litter. This,
Mayer says, is throw-back from per.
haps hundred generations.
Grandfather In Six Weeks.
Mice breed every three weeks-a
scientific research.
A mouse born today will be grand
father within six weeks, Mayer says.
Besides white mice, he specializes in
white rats, also for research work.
He has developed an interesting rat
with black eyes-considered rare
feat, since all white rats, like the rab-
| bit, belong to the albino group and
have pink eyes.
Mayer is the only man In America
showing the kangaroo rat-an interest
ing little brown and white animal with
long rear legs and short front ones. He
perches, like the kangaroo, on his hind
legs.
One of Mayors Jobs has been that
of professional rat-catcher," employed
by steamship companies.
His legs and arms have hundreds of
scars from rat bites.
In breeding rats and mice Mayer
could not take more trouble if he
were bringing up babies.
The rodents have special diets and
are fed on balanced rations. If the
mice eat stale white bread, water and
solid today, tomorrow their diet will
| be canned salmon. They need variety,
| the same as a human being, Mayer
says.
They are fed cod liver oil to give
a glossy sheen to their coats.
Mayer has tried out yitamine ex.
periments with his mice. With certain
foods they reduce, with others they
gain weight.
Some rats weigh as much as two
pOuTuS-Lley are CoioiueIeu SeIllIe
when they reach that weight.
The tremendous economic system of
mice-breeding works out so that ami
mails unfit for research work become
food for the snakes in the various ZOOS
throughout the country.
Michael Mayer, father of the cham
pion mice breeder, started his animal
business in New York so years ago.
He is still in the game and goes
to work every day. He is interested in
the commercial end and enjoys the rep.
utation of being the Oldest man In the
animal game in New York.