Evening star., 1947-01-16
This and That
Bu Charles e. TracepeH.

The cult of the gray Squ1rrei NUMBERS
among its devotees prominent radio
commentator, the managing editor OF
one of our great papers, an industrlal1st,
several big Government officials and
thousands of just plain folks.
It is a cult as old as the city's parks.
squares, circles and the like, including
the White House grounds. Admission
is easy-all you have to do is be In
terested in the animal.
No requirement of liking, even, is
necessary. Some Of the creatures ad-
mirers began by disliking him very much
It is impossible, however, to watch
the gray squirrel without working up
a certain admiration, even though be-
grudgingly, for his intelligence.
His persistence, general good humor,
marvellous acrobatic ability-these are
part of him, but are second to his brain
power.
In an era in which intelligence has
been exalted, at times to the general
disadvantage of the soul of man, any
animal which displays it must be given
a place in the general esteem.
Even a fighting fish is credited with
brains.
When it comes to the rodent family,
man for centuries has been forced to
admire its use of it's little gray cells.
This great family, the largest by far
among the mammals, is smart enough
to circumvent all the traps and poisons
that have been brought against its
members.
Experimenters tell of the marvellous
intelligence displayed by common brown
and gray rats in regard to working their
ways out of mazes, and especially in
avoiding the dangers of traps while at
the same time getting the bait.
The squirrel is rodent with a
specialized tail, plain enough for all
to see, but that is not all.
He uses his head.
Any one who feeds the bird in his
winter garden knows this, but maybe
others ought to be told.
The Victory gardener learned this,
often to his chagrin, as he saw some
bushy tailed fellow leisurely devouring
the corn and tomatoes he had raised.
But it is in regard to bird feeding
that the gray squirrel displays his real
intelligence, his persistence and his
ability to look before he leaps.
He sizes up new setup just as a
human being would, and then goes on
to solve the problems presented.
If he fails, he comes back again and
again.
That is why innumerable schemes for
keeping him out of feeding stations de-
signed for songbirds have come to
nothing.
Greasing the pole, putting metal
guards beneath feeding stations, con-
structing stations with design to keep
him out, even installing electrical shock
treatments
All of these fail, because the gray
squirrel uses his head.
He waits till the rain and dust cut
down on the slipperyness of the creased
pole. He jumps over the metal guards
or lets himself down from above. He
may simply rush at the guard, hitting
it so hard that the shock jostles seed
down to the ground. He finds he cannot
get into station bodily, SO he lies down,
on his side and thrusts in that re-
markably handlike paw. He discovers
that quick bounce on electrical plates
enables him to get over with. no more
than slight shock. 1t is true that now
and then a companion gets his claws
caught, and that is just too bad.
On the whole, the gray squirrel pos
sesses qualities which mankind has
come to admire, and which man must
use even more in the days to come if
he is to get out of the fix he has gotten
himself into in recent years. The mind
of man, not God, has done it. and the
mind of man must get him out. There
seems to be nothing insoluble in the
situation, after all. Every thinking
person is convinced that man has
enough intelligence to get himself out
Of a trap into which his Stiffness has
taken him. The squirrels could get
out, one Is convinced. Why can't we7