Popular Science Monthly 



383 



Loaned Mothers and Borrowed Off- 

 spring in the Animal World 



IF the wolf that mothered Romulus and 

 Remus had reaHzed that the two little 

 waifs belonged to the tribe of her enemy, 

 man, and would doubtless grow up to kill 

 thousands of wolves and probably her- 

 self, would she have nourished them 

 and cared for them so faithfully? 



Likewise the hen in the 

 picture. She has taken 

 under her wings a litter of 

 pups and is as happy 

 brooding over them as if 

 they were a hatching of 

 blue ribbon chicks. Yet 

 those same puppies will 

 in an inconceivably 

 short time forget the 

 warmth of the sheltering 

 wings and tease and tor- 

 ment the hen to the limit 

 of her endurance, kill her 

 legitimate chicks and make 

 life in general miserable for 

 her unless a kind providence 

 in the person of the farmer 

 with a stick teaches them to 

 do otherwise than they would 

 if left to instinct. 



The question which inevitably arises is 

 "Does the mothering instinct put reason 

 to flight?" In this case the answer might 

 be that no one ever accused the hen of 

 having reasoning powers. -In Virginia, 

 where this photograph was taken, instances 

 are numerous of animosities between differ- 

 ent branches of the animal 

 family being buried for a time 

 in order that much-needed pro- 

 tection might be given to 

 helpless young. TuKaym!^r\ 



Perhaps the most "'""'"^" ^ 

 unusual instance, 

 though, of loaned ma- 

 ternal affection and nur- 

 ture is that of a snake 

 which came regularly to 

 a certain pasture where 

 a friendly cow looked 

 eagerly for it and will- 

 ingly gave of her milk, 

 completely mystifying 

 the farmer who was on 

 the look-out for the milk 

 thief. When the snake 

 was found and killed the 

 cow seemed to grieve as 

 though for her calf. 



The motherless pups and the 

 chickenless hen are equally 

 satisfied for the time being 

 by the temporary adoption 



The Russian Cow Protects Her Eyes 

 with Spectacles 



THE latest news from the animal king- 

 dom is that ten thousand cows on 

 the Steppes of Russia have been 

 provided with dark glasses to 

 protect their eyes from the glare 

 of the sun on the snow. The 

 only food obtainable in winter is 

 meager supply of grass 

 which crops above the snow 

 in places where the ground 

 is less deeply covered. 

 I The sun shining on the 

 snow issufficiently daz- 

 zling to cause snow- 

 blindness and great suf- 

 fering among the ani- 

 mals. An enterprising 

 and sympathetic man 

 designed smoked glasses 

 which could be worn with 

 com fort and safety. These 

 are ver>' similar in design to 

 those worn by the mules in 

 mines where sulphurous gases 

 abound. The cows, however, 

 have a curious grandmotherly 

 appearance in their spectacles. 



The comedian will dance to any 

 perforated record you play whether 

 it be a waltz, a minuet or a fox-trot 



Try This on Your Piano. It's a New 

 Idea, But Not in Music 



THE mechanical dancing comedian is 

 familiar to everyone. You wind him 

 up and he does his little best to amuse you 

 by jigging around for a specified time. 

 But the dancer in the illustration below 

 is not limited in any such way. He 

 stands on a platform on top of the player- 

 piano and dances just as long as the music 

 keeps up. He will dance anything for 

 which you have a per- 

 forated record, keeping 

 excellent time and step. 

 The secret of the perfect 

 rhythm which he keeps 

 with the mjusic is his con- 

 nection with the bellows 

 (if the piano. The rod 

 which supports him is 

 attached to a spring 

 which is in turn fasten- 

 ed to one arm of the bel- 

 lows. When the piano 

 is "pumped" thebellows 

 move up and down. 

 This causes the come- 

 dian to dance in time 

 with the music. 



