The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-07-25

small animals for themselves, and never deserts them until she herself has given them thorough education in the jungle world. There are no founding institutions or prep schools in the animal kingdom.
 In the reptile domain nothing is wasted in the jungle World of Yesterday. The python is the larg- est of snakes, running to @ length sometimes of nearly 30 feet. They can easily overpower and kill by constriction g fair-sized antelope, sheep, or pig, to say nothing of mere man. And they have the vast and unchanged advantage of swallowing their food in one lump and digesting it afterWards-without the aid of bicarbonate of soda or mans other other more complicated digestive medicines.
 Here are afew more instances of the perennial worlds fair which IS forever going on in the jungle with no admission charge. The raffalii squirrel of Malaya is 8 creature to make women sigh with envy over his colorful fur coat of white, black and red. When tired, he merely jumps into basket fern-which grows everywhere on the notches of trees in the jungle-and has Q home.
 Nor is the dreaded crocodile of the rivers of the Far East behind us in invention. The lowly croco- dile developed an efficient incuba- tor for babies long before man achieved 1t. The female crocodile lays her eggs-from twenty to ninety in a scooped- -out hole in the hand. Then with her tail she sweeps to- gether green leaves and fresh brush- wood until the eggs are completely covered. The heat of the sun caus- es fermentation in the fresh leaves, the fermentation causes additional heat and the healthy little crocs ahe matched out without even mammals assistance.
 Even the birds of the ancient jungle in their world of yesterday seem to be 8 bit ahead of us. Take the hornbill. He's a big bird, and in matrimonial problems, smarter than man. He wants no troubles and no rivals for his wife. So he puts his wife fin 8 large hole in a convenient tree trunk and im- mediately seals up the front door with mud from the nearest stream. The mud, in the hot jungle sun hardens to the consistency of cem- ment, which discourages potential lovers. He does, however, leave 8 hole in the concrete door large enough for her to extend her beak without getting other ideas, and through the hole he feeds her de- licious frogs and toads and little snakes until he and his growing family are secure.
 Nor does an animal called the pangolin demand fine jewels and restaurants. He is completely happy in eating a diet consisting only of ants. For the pangolin, found gen. orally throughout Asia, is known as the "scaly ant-eater". In his world of yesterday, all he has to do is find an ant hill or an army of march, ing ants through the jungle. lie down, open the fish-like scales of which his body has hundreds and which he can open and close at will (just as an animal may bristle its hair), allow the ants to crawl under, close his scales, then wade into the nearest water-hole or stream, open his scales, let the ants float to the surface, and then lap up a clean, delicious water washed meal with his sticky tongue, Wonderful, isn't 1t?
 And now to get back to my point, Walter. wonder if these animals of the jungle aren't living in world of tomorrow as well as yesterday? When Grover Whalen's trylon is again a part of Flushing mud, when your Broadway has faded into the next thousand years of progress, I suspect my animals-tapirs, tigers pythons, squirrels, crocodiles, pango- fins, elephants, monkeys and the rest will still be living on this earth of ours and perhaps laugh ing bit at their queer brother animal called man.
 At any rate, Walter, when your vacation is over, drop in at my Jungleland at the World of Tomor- row. I'd like to introduce you to all the animals who are still living in the World of Yesterday.
 Your friend,
 FRANK BUCK.