Evening star., 1948-04-21
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Trace1Uell

"A correspondent on MacArLnur. DOuleVarQ
wants to know what to do about dogs and
evergreens. ------ - ~
He has tried all the popular "antidog" ma
terials, without success, he says
The answer, If any. Is nicotine sulphate.
This is wel-known garden spray, in proper
dilution for plant lice. etc. ..s g
1t also may serve against dogs. Use the
the evergreens carefully all over especially
down low.
Dogs. with their sensitive noses do not Hike
the smell.
They may stay away from It. Rain, Of
course, will necessitate q renewed spraying.
So much depends upon the dogs, thought!
Some of our canine friends do not seem to
mind anything used to discourage their visits.
II this is the case, extra effort will have to
be put out against them. This means that
the householder must be ready at all times,
to sally forth and shoe them away.
Now, this is not easy. being always ready.
Many visits will be missed But If a par
had better move on, in time he may learn
to keep going.
Not always, Of course. Some dogs are as stub
born as mules, and need a little extra per-
suasion. But, in the main, the dogs get the
idea and the bushes or evergreens at least
have some chance to survive.
This personal care may be = nuisance, but
~ VAtCA SCtS Su pIloluB TCoultS, dIlu gives Ouc
good acquaintance with the four-legged
fellows
The latter is desirable. After all, the dogs
are purely natural creatures They have no
innate desire to do anything against the wishes
Of man. In fact. mostly dogs operate on the
opposite theory. to do what they think man
kind wants them to do. That Is their great
drag" Cats, on the other paw, have no desire,
particularly, to please human beings
Our dogs are active fellows, ever on the 60.
They work up routes Of travel through a COM
munity. They go on these jaunts every morn
ing, long before most of the human occupants
of the houses are awake. Sometimes the
pooches 60 in groups, three or four, but often
alone. 1t is amusing to look out a window and
watch one OF these canine patrols on the job.
They come solemnly along, stopping here and
there at fence posts trees and shrubs, in order
to keep on the trail.
Often this campaign leads in and out Of drive
ways, to favorite garbage cans, across yards,
ever along the same old path staked out by
many such expeditions. The dogs have been
there before and they know it; they will come
again. and each time they will get a canine
satisfaction out OF the proceeding. There is
no stopping them and they know that, too;
they are not doing anything wrong, and they
must feel their right to indulge in this patrol.
Their inspection of garbage cans is always
solemn. Dogs are not "fussy," in the human
sense, They know nothing of sanitation. Their
alimentary canal is short and this enables them
to eat putrd food, much as a hog does. 1t is
not strange, then, that their habits often strike
fastidious humans as bad. but from the animal
viewpoint such stand is just q mistake.
A correspondent from Sandy Spring, Nd,
wants to know If it wouldn't be kinder not to
let birds build nests in places where they came
to grief last year?
We don't know. Our personal feeling Is that
it Is best not to interfere with them in this
way. If they do not seem to select safe sites
for their nests, that is their affair." They have
been doing 1t for centuries, and their success,
in the main, Is outstanding. It Is easy for an
individual human being. becoming interested
in birds, to believe that he might improve
their ways, but he should realize that, by and
large, they do what is right for them. II
they fail, now and then. 1t is no more than
human beings do in their own affairs, despite
their education, etc.
The birds may be helped but it is mostly
with food and water, and such protection as
may be given them on the spur of the mo-
ment, such as driving an animal away, or
rescuing q baby that has fallen from the nest.
Interest in birds often leads q kind-hearted
person to rescue one that has been entangled
in . vine, or prevents him from putting out
string and wool in such long lengths that
the birds may hang themselves. There are
many ways to help them, but We do not be-
lieve that 1t Is helpful to try to prevent them
from nesting where they please.