Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-08-11
This and That
Bv Charles E. TraceWeH
ARLINGTON, Va.

'OedT OH.
.The bluebirds were raising their second
brood of the season and during the incuba-
ton period a wren decided to upset things.
I did not notice the wren until 1t had nm
isl,ed the Job and was leaving the nest
Upon investigating, there were five broken
bluebird eggs on The ground at the base OF
the tree.
Mrs. Bluebird was downhearted. but Mr.
B. cheered her up with piece OF straw IN
his beak.
THE next day they started a new family
in the abandoned titmouse nest. In less than
four weeks the new babies were Matched.
THE vixen tried it again before that time.
but Mr.. Bluebird was on guard.
1.-THE nest is several inches below the open
ing. So, how did the wren get the eggs up
and out?
also, will the wren bother newly Matched
babies? Sincerely yours, J. c. A.
This is good example Of the wren at
work.
Pert. happy. and mean-that is Jenny
Wren.
She is truly a vixen.
1t often has been said that for every cow
bird baby raised, four or five nestlings OF
other American native species must die.
This Is true also Of the house wren.
The female specializes in mistreating the
O
both male and female have left the nest for
time.
She raises the eggs by piercing them with
her long bill and getting them out before
they fail off.
She will not bother baby bluebirds. possess
ing enough mother instinct for that. and
also because usually the parents are around
There is nothing very fine about this side Of
the house wren character.
II
ARLINGTON.
Dear Sir:
ION this very hot day while riding on bus
through one of our well-known military forts,
I noticed one Of their white horses tied to his
post on the stone courtyard outside his stable
in the glaring and almost unbearable sun.
1.-THE horse was restless, tossing around,
almost prancing. On the opposite side. in the
shade, were tied six brown horses. They
stood there quiet and well assume contented.
II couldn't help thinking the poor white
horse must be suffering, forced to stand
there in the intense heat, and wondered, for
how long?
win you please tell us something in your
column about horses ability to Withstand hot
sun and temperatures. I feel ignorant on the
subject except that know from observation
when in the country that, left united, and IN
green pastures horse uses his well-known
morse sense anu always Scto Out Va tiiC INV
sun and into the shade.
"An always interested reader M. T. g."
~
A well-cared for. well-fed and watered
horse with sufficient salt ration, Is able to
stand high temperatures as long as he per-
spires.
So the white horse was not as pathetic an
object, in all probability. as he seemed.
- A farmer friend says that the horse fly IS
worse than the sun, and that normally horses
seek the shade not so much to get out OF the
sun as to get away from the flies, since the
latter like sunshine best.
He says that the straw hats sometimes
worn by horses in the heat are used rather
to ward of flies around the head that actu-
ally to protect the head from the heat. The
horse tail cannot reach as far as the head.
The first sign Of heat prostration in horse
Is shown by what country people call the
"thumps," swelling and pulsation in the
back OF the head.
The color of the horse probably has little
| to do with it. White reflects the light rays,
80 theoretically, at least. white horses ought
to be able to stand more sunshine than
| dark-colored horses.
In the old days, Washington had numerous
watering troughs, but most of these have
been allowed to disappear In recent years.
| There is one We believe. at 10th and l.
streets.