The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-06-30

material to 60 around. Then does
temptation enter into the life of a pen
gum. His soul Is filled with a great
desire and he longs to supply his wife
with more and better stones for the
construction OF their little love nest.
but there are none to be had, with
honor.
Soon he covets those within his
neighbours stone pile, and, having thus
broken one commandment, he skids
farther along the downward path and
before long is engaged In taking what
he can while the neighbor isn't look.
ing.
Constant vigilance Is the price that
must be paid for keeping stone bunga-
low under ones feathers In a city of
penguins.
After the newlyweds have become
proficient enough at the gentle art of
purloining stones to be able to MAIN
tain nest, two eggs are laid and the
process Of incubation commences. This
lasts about a month, with both birds
participating, for they have a strong
parental instinct and sit patiently for
long hours at time to protect their
eggs from the harsh Antarctic blasts.
While sitting on the nests, hen birds
amuse themselves by attempting to
reach out with their beaks and lift
stone from the pile next door. II de-
tected, and they frequently are, this
Is a signal for squabble, and, with
out leaving their nests, the two ladies'
try to bite out each others tongues.
Happily, they seldom succeed.
Chicks Are Always Hungry.
When Matched, the chicks are little
balls of sooty down, and they wear
their ''baby clothes" for some weeks
before exchanging them for suits Of
feathers. They start getting hungry
soon after they are Matched, and con-
tinue In state of unappeased appe-
title as long as there is the smallest
empty space within their elastic young
bodies.
Adelies live largely on a small, red,
shrimplike crustacean which occurs In
amazing numbers in the Antarctic seas.
There Is little or nothing for them to
eat on the land, and therefore, until
the chicks are fully developed and able
to take care of themselves in the wa
ter, they must be fed This their ell
ders accomplish by means of regurgita-
ton.
The bogy man for baby penguins
takes the form Of skua gull. This
unpleasant bird conceives its mission
In life to be the prevention of over
population among the Adelies, and woe
be unto the unwary chick which wan
ders away from it's comrades. A
marauding skua will drop down be-
side it and with a few savage blows
Of its strong beak end the chicks
earthly career and feast upon the re-
mains.
Adelies have never been successfully
transplanted from snowy wastes. How
ever, some Of their cousins have sur
vived the milder temperatures Of Eu-
rope and America and are to be found
in certain of the larger geological gar
dens.
One may visit pair at the National
Geological park at Washington, D. c.,
and find them well disposed. AS you
enter the Enclosure both Of them come
forward with grave and dignified de-
meanor and emit "quaarks" of greet
Ing. Coming closer, they give you
careful inspection, out of first one
eve and then the other, and then sit
down with an air of resignation and
an expression of utter boredom. Your
feelings are a bit ruffled until the
keeper assures you that their be-
havior Is due to the keen disappoirt-
ment they experienced on finding that
you were not a fish.
When the new wing of the birdhouse
at the Washington zoo is built, one
end of it is to hold large glassed in
closure. Within this, ice machines are
to create an Antarctic atmosphere, In
which it is hoped that colony of PEN
gums will live and flourish. Perhaps
science will yet devise means where
by those Of US who cannot well travel
to the South pole may nevertheless en-
Joy the captivating drollery Of the
Adele penguin. most interesting resi-
dents Of Antartica.