Evening star., 1939-05-28

experiment station-Patuxent Re-
search Refuge, a 3,0O0-acre tract
OF Maryland farm and wood land
within an hours motor drive of
the Capital-will be dedicated for
mally next Saturday afternoon.
Ceremonies are to begin at 3
o'clock at Snowden Hall, restored
and enlarged Colonial home refuge
headquarters, just off the Bowie
Laurel road, IA miles from
Bowie, Md.
Secretary of Agriculture Wallace
heads the list of dedication speak
ers, which includes Ebert K. BerleW,
Assistant Secretary of the Interior;
Senator Pittman of Nevada, chair
man of the Senate Wildlife Com
mittee; Representative Robertson of
Virginia, chairman of the House
Wildlife Committee: DR.. Ira Ga
brielson, chief of the Bureau of
Biological Survey. and Harry B.
HaWes, member of the Board of
Directors, and Carl Shoemaker. Sec
retary of the National Wildlife
Federation, which will sponsor the
exercises.
Embraces Assorted Land.
On this verdant reservation the
Biological Survey already has begun
studies of the interrelation OF wild
life to agriculture and to forestry.
Here are high and low lands, inclos-
ing on the northeast Az miles of
the Patuxent River. Here are for
ests, grounds suitable for cultivation
and grounds unsuitable for almost
every purpose of man Here is an
artificial lake covering 60 acres. Here
is moderate climate where animals
and plants of a major part of the
Nation can flourish or battle for sur
vival under watchful eyes.
Left to their own devices will be
many species of animals that once
thrived in the locale-wild turkey,
cottontail rabbit, oppossum, racoon,
squirrel, quail, woodcock, deer and
beaver. Some are now in the refuge.
Others will be imported.
A farm Of approximately 600 acres,
with crops typical to the Middle
Atlantic and other States, will be
maintained.
The primary research objective
will be to find the mutually -advan-
tageous balance, the condition under
which man and plant and beast can
live in near-perfect harmony. Even
if the ideal does not exist, it is
pointed out, helpful discoveries may
be made in the search, which natu-
rally must be a long-term affair.
Diseases to Be Studied.
Meanwhile, more restricted expert
mentS are being conducted. Little Is
known alb It many of the diseases
to which t. eatures of the wild are
subject, how they are transmitted,
how they may be eradicated, reduced
or cured.
In Gagged outdoor pens at the
refuge are varieties of fox, mink,
quail, oppossum and ferret. Some
have known Affections. Others suf-
fer from undiagnosed maladies,
about which more must be learned.
Visitors to the ferret section see
this writing on tag attached to the
wire of one pen Ferret with sniff1es
put in with normal ferret on 4/26i i39
to induce infection by contact" Both
ferrets appear to be doing all right
so far, except for occasional violent
outbursts of sneezing. Nearby, fer
rets brought in from Ohio, sufferers
from a mysterious ailment, are ex-
ceedingly thin.
Not far away are mink, vicious
little fellows that made the care
takers careful with their fingers. In
recent years thousands have died of
canine distemper, thus raising an
already high sales price for their
coveted furs. This is one of num-
Der OF mink diseases the refuge ex-
poets to investigate.
Experiment With Foxes.
Gray and red foxes stink around
in larger Enclosures nearby. For
exercise they dart from side to side
or leap on the inner wiring with
monkey-like agility. From expert,
ments with them, survey workers
hope to obtain information Of bene-
fit to wild fox and fox hunters here
abouts.
In another area, the growth and
egg production of quail is being
studied. Fifty pairs are kept under
different types of diet to ascertain
the influence of various foods. Arti-
f1cial brooding and incubation are
receiving experimental attention,
also.
Duck, winging their way north and
south by way of the refuge, would
be pleased to know that those "a
ponds, 20x50 feet and varying in
depth have been designed especially
to determine the best aquatic vege-
tation conditions for water fowl.
Sixteen similar ponds are to be
added later.
Red-head, black and wood duck