The Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1927-1930, 1930-01-30
PIED PIPER MAKES
PETS OF ODD RATS
Recommends Some Of Them
for Children.

Washington.-Like Hamelin Of leg
endary fame. washington has It's PIED
Piper" whose interest In rodents goes
far beyond merely piping them out OF
town.
Rats may be but mere rats to cats
and queens, but to DIR. Vernon Bailey,
chief field naturalist, bureau OF bio
logical survey, Department OF Agrtcul-
ture, there are as many different KINDS
OF rats and mice as there are dlTerent
types of men. with a variety Of habits
and interests as diversified as those
found among the human species.
Doctor Bailey has just returned
from extensive field service In the
deserts and plains Of Arizona and New
Mexico. where he has been studying
variety of animals in their habitats.
With particular pride Doctor Bailey
tells of his capture Of a rare species Of
horned toad which he picked up on
the Kaibab plateau. north Of the Grand
Canyon.
Good Pet for Children.
The queer little creature. which ID
not q toad, but q lizard and closely
related to the snake family, now is
resting In the sands Of an artificial
home provided for ii in the National
museum.
This species OF horned toad" Doc
tor Bailey said, would make a lovely
pet for children. 1t is gentle and per-
fectly harmless and has great value In
the fact that 1t destroys and lives on
insects"
In his home Doctor Bailey has pro-
vided a room for the use and study OF
small animals. those Of the rodent
family In particular. II have had kan
garoo rats, pocket mice. grasshoDper
mice, deer mice and meadow MICE
the doctor stated In answer to query
as to what kind Of mice he thought
made the best pets. II have no use FOR
white mice or white rats" he con-
tinued. 'sThey are merely the alblno
members of the ordinary wharf rat
and house mouse family, which are
contemplate. filthy and destructive
animals"
Doctor Bailey explains that the house
or wharf rat and Its cousin, the mouse,
are az different from the little pets
kept by him in his home a. are the
criminals Of the human race from their
intellectual and constructive brethren.
1.-THE house mouse and the wharf
rat are not indigenous to this eoun-
try in the first place." said the doctor.
'srhey have been brought to America
from the old country. The American
species which have mentioned
usually are wood animals. with clean
habits and of value as insect exter-
minatOrs.
Make Nice Pets.
IF one knows how to handle them
they make nice pets. as they are clean
and gentle. Take the grasshopper
mouse, for instance. He lives mainly
on insects and other mice. II you pat
one In your basement he will kNpe
house free Of eockroaehes. bugs, spl-
ders and house mice. The grasshopper
mouse will not climb into your food.
stuffs, nor destroy things as the com'
mon house mouse. He also is very
useful In fields, where he destroys tn
sects but will not harm the crops"
Although Doctor Bailey has kept the
little white footed deer mice as pets
in the QUILTED cages which he keeps
for his animals. he does not recon-
mend them as pets. as they are very
tlmid and shy and do not become do
mesticated as quickly as DO some Of
the other varieties.
The kangaroo rat. sO-ealled because
OF Its long hind legs and Its ability
to jump. makes a particularly pleas
ing pet, as 1t Is a gentle little animal
with clean habits. peculiarly OF
the Kangaroo rat is that It never drinks
any water Il comes from a part Of
the desert country where there may
not be rainfall for as long as three
years. The animal gets its moisture
from nlapta huihs md rOOta