Evening star., 1949-08-15
This and That
Bv CharIes e, Trace,velI


Just about the time we thought all our
birds had been killed by indiscriminate DDT
spraying, here they all came back, never 80
many songsters at the feeding station.
This will answer the question Of corre-
spondents as to what has become Of their
own birds.
Perhaps those interested in bird life be-
come too possessive. The wildbirds, the wild
animals, are all free. and should remain
free
They owe nothing to us, not even thanks
for the food we supply them. In the first
place, they scarcely know we give it to
them. In the second they have no real way
of thanking u.s.
If they give thanks with pretty song and
beauty Of feathers and grace Of action, these
are all the gratitude we have right to
expect.
What pleases us particularly about the
return of the birds Is the common sparrow.
He is back, with 81 of his cousins and
aunts.
All 40 of them, and how fat and bright
they are!
No one has ever seen common sparrow
CASUALLY called English sparrow until he
has fed it freely for months.
of the downtown streets and becomes plump.
And how its feathers shine!
Nor Is that all. From pale colored It
turns into dark bird.
Such common sparrows are far cry.
pictorially, from those Of the dusty city
streets.
There can be little question that some Of
the ugly lack Of color OF the city bird
is due simply to dirt The same holds good
of many typical alley cats. We saw one
near Pennsylvania avenue the other day.
Just what its real color was could not be
told. On its head, evidently, 1t had four
bars, two Of them black and two yellow, but
that was as far as one could 60. City dust
and dirt coated the creature. Any one fond
of cats would have liked to give it bath,
if for no other reason than to see just what
its real colors were.
X
The dirt no doubt hid multitude Of fleas,
satoo.
The annual flea situation at this time
of year may become problem in homes
where one or more cats or dogs live.
It is becoming more evident every year
that bathing is not good for either dog
or cat.
We know one owner Of fine Irish setter
who never washes his dog. He simply
brushes it, and finds that the animal is in
much better condition than during the free
bathing days.
The same is true of the cat This house
hold animal, 50 kind and ahectionate, should
never be bathed, except in dire necessity.
Such times may arise. But as general
proposition, combing with fine-toothed
comb is sufficient.
This gets out both loose fur, which cause
fur balls in the stomach, and the heas. No
powder containing DOT should ever be
used on q cat under any circumstances.
If this cat-combing is done persistently.
with the use of the vacuum cleaner on the
rugs and floor, there need be few loose f1eas
at large.
Vacuum cleaning also should be applied
to all fiat surfaces such as window sills and
chair seats, where the cat sleeps.
This is necessary because Of the flea
eggs which constantly fall.
These eggs are not black, as many think.
although in certain lights they may seem
so. The typical flea egg Is q perfect pearl,
rather pretty under strong magnif1cation.
Restrictive measures which do not take
| into consideration the flea egg will fail to
| get frst-class results. Failure to get the
| eggs is the reason for the home suddenly
| infested with heas while the family is
away on vacation. Returning home, the
| house Is discovered full Of heas. In such
| an event, it may be necessary to spray
with strong chemicals and vacate the home
for several days, all a nuisance.
The easier way is to wage relentless
war with flne-toothed comb and vacuum
| cleaner, day after day.
Birds In the garden do not suffer from
fieas. The lice they have offer no harm to
humans. The feas Of animals, however, are
dangerous to humans, and 50 are their eggs
Daily battle against them is the best, and
In the long run. the easiest way to keep
them under control.