Evening star., 1944-02-29
This and That
By ChvleS E. Trdce1UeH.
II BETHESDA, Md,

oG 11EIOOA, N1us
Il supposeevery one has seen birds
drinking out of any pool OF water,
muddy or eherwise, that might be
available, butt saw new one-at least
to me-in Laayette Park today.
Half dom sparrows were bathing
themselves ina small puddle that was
not exactly Auddy, but just in the
moment or TO of passing I saw two
of them leaveso take a drink from the
public drinkig fountain a few feet
away.
They werevery dainty. leaving the
little depressio in which they had been
bathing, ightg on the top of the
curved spout sesigned to provide un-
contaminated thinking water for hui
mans, and diping their drinking needs,
in a thorously approvable sanitary
manner, out Q the flowing stream, and
not touching he spout.
DO you suppose even the sparrows
have discoveres something that sanitary
engineers havebeen trying to educate
the world abut? They could have
drunk from th not too unclear water
in their bathir pool, which apparently
Woo III CoOSA Wy Wy SllOW Ill n
depression.
Yours very fuly, F. R. B."
u +
Birds prefer lear water. and will use
1t every tlmt hey can, provided it Is
not too deep
In the hone yard they drink from
and bathe II tie same water because
they must.
Most livinl shings will take their
water as clea IS possible. If they can
find 1t in suci position that they can
utilize it.
Cats will drnl from the spigot Prob
ably most peBoss who have such a cat
think it is uriqe, but at least half of
all the house cal will so drink if given
a chance. The Nater, of course, must
be turned down % slow stream.
In nature abot the only chance for a
bird to get persctly clear water is in
a shallow poo, ,br from leaf during
rain.
Squirrels will reak off a piece of ice,
and eat it, ,sreported by a corre-
spondent here reently.
~ + =
Hogs will be Dan, if they have the
opportunity 10 QSSO.
Probably INST animals will, if they
are given the Aance.
Their ideas II cleanliness, of course,
are not mouldf either by knowledge or
opinion, the Fo factors which have
done so muchko make the life of man
better and wof at the same time.
The creatuf, including the birds,
know nothinsabout germ life. They
suffer from gtns, ETC., but they know
nothing abouthem.
This means hat they do not shrink
from a muddy thinking place.
We have seeI starlings taking a bath
IN a mud pudf scarcely large enough
to hold them. The fact that there was
very little watd and much dirt did not
deter these cleaH birds.
When they lne out, and the mud
dried and blewlvay, as talcum powder
would, they uANbtedly were cleaner
than before.
We will nevd fFget the sight of a
sailor on large SIP washing an article
in small PAM.
The water waAgray, but he kept on
with 1t, dipping Ind rubbing just the
same, and when e was through, after
final rinse IN tsh water, the article
was as clean as he continually had
used fresh WATER.
This is the elenttal wisdom of birds.
They love their~ lths, but are in no
sense finicky aPl them. It would do
them no good tt !, because they must
take things as tles find them. The in
teresting point that they will use
| clean water If tk can. as our CORE.
spondent points Il
Those who fdf the birds in their
yards should puInt a shallow pan Of
clear water in thhfternoon, preferably
In the sun in w3tr, and in the shade
| In the summer.