Graphic Laboratory Science the of Popular Mostly About Dogs
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Pqe Tell CLica;o S.••ftday Tr~" .••••e The Graphic Laboratory Mostly About Dogs By '----------B,. BOB BE£KER---------- of Popular Science Dr. Thomas M. Beck ••The quail are right there in front:' is the menage thill trim pointer is broadcasting by means of his beautiful point. The English pointer i. oile of the favorite gun dog. of American sportsmen and i. widely \lied on upland game. This dog's name i. Ace. lie wa. photographed in the quail country near Punta Gorda, Fla. (Becker photo.) The Skunk as a Life Saver Spotlight Is HE skunk's defense of hydrogen a gas, hydrogen people ()f its escape. Fortunate- Turned on against its enemies was sulphide, is formed. Every high ly, butyl mercaptan does not Tlong considered as useful school student who has taken have. to be extracted from its. for only the skunk. In recent chemistry remembers this gas animal source. All of the mer- Pointers years it has come to be a defense because 0 f it s overpowering captans can be prepared synthet- for man against dangerous and odor.of rotten eggs. ically by the reaction of caustic A LTHOUGH most true dog odorless gases. Some years ago When one of the hydrogen soda and hydrogen sulphide with .l"1fanciers always are In- there were a number of deaths atoms of hydrogen SUlphide is the chlorine derivatives' of petro- trigued by the sight of a resulting from the escape of a replaced by any of a number of leum hydrocarbons. (CblcasoAcdemy 01Sciencephoto.) good looking, well behaved dog, poisonous and nearly odorless groups of carbon and hydrogen The compounds are not with- At top: The New London. Tex.. irrespective of the breed, let the refrigerant from leaky refriger- atoms the resulting compounds out faults for this purpose. They aehool biast. In which hundreda sportsman see a pointer, English ators. More recent was the dis- are known as mercaptans. These react very slowly 'with metals, died because of odorl••• gas. The setter, Irish setter, Gordon set- aster in Texas where a school compounds are more or less vol- particularly iron, copper, and skunk's unplea.ant scent may pre- ter, or other pointing dog at this (Bec:ke1- photo.) building was blown up because atile liquids w h i c h resemble lead. Since most gas conduits vent .uClhtragedies. season of the year and you can When a handsome .etter poinbl with a quail in its mouth it alWCIp gi•.•• no one had noticed the mild each other in possessing remark- are made of these metals or be pretty sure that he is getting the sportsman an added thrill. This setter, PaL retrieved a bird and then smell of the natural gas that ably intense and frightful odors. their alloys, the result is that the warning agents against escap- that extra thrill that comes only pointed another quail on its way in with the retrieve. was filling the building. For some reason the skunk sma 11 amount of mercaptan .ing gases is a compound known to the man who likes to go hunt- The characteristic smell of the makes use of a particular mer- originally present is removed to as' acrolein. This vile substance ing. example, there are the Irish set- the spaniels; they can do their skunk is due to the presence of captan, but all of the others a considerable extent from the is prepared by chemically re- When crisp October days pre- ter; the German short- haired work, but they also can come a small amount of a SUlphur smell just as bad. gas by combination with the moving water from gycerin. It vail, when frost is on the ••pun- pointer, which seems to be win- into the home and make affec- compound known as butyl mer- The mixing of a mere trace of metal with which it comes in is the pungent, acrid, and eye- kins" and the foliage is ablaze ning more friends every season, tionate, loyal companions. But captan. Sulphur .itself is with- the vapor of one of the mercap- contact. irritating vapor whose presence with yellows and reds, the point- and the much-neglected Gordon at this season of the year they out odor. When an atom of sul- tans with a poisonous or inflam- The 0 n 1y competition that makes the odor of scorched fats ing dogs come into their own. setter. All have admirable work- would rather be afteld than at phur is combined with two atoms mable gas is sufficient to warn mercaptans have in this use as so unpleasant. In addition to these dogs kept ing qualities. We have seen the home. This 'is their big season. only for hunting there are many Gordon setter do a dandy job on The stubblefields, cornfields, others given long months of pheasants. But you see mighty hedgerows, and 0 the r cover training for the fteld trials, few of these handsome dogs In which have birds are calling Sweetening w~~ o which are tests of the animals' the field. these bird dogs. They easily and bird- finding and bird -handling The origin of the pointer is rightfully step into the spotlight ability, stamina, and general all- not clear. The theory that" it to go on point and thrill the around bird sense. originally came from Spain has sportsman. Pointers, those workmanlike been shattered in recent years. e e e dogs which are used extensively Now it is generally conceded In many parts of the quail and that pointers came into use in DOG NOTES pheasant country, are liked by the British Isles and on the con- The number of mongrel dogs thousands of sportsmen. In tinent of Europe about the same which city dwellers abandon in Florida and Georgia we hunt al- time. However, to the English the country sometimes causes most exclusively behind pofnt- goes the credit for developing considerable trouble to suburbs ers. Last season we had as high the English pointer. As for the near large cities. as seven of them in the fteld at pointer's lineage, the r e isn't Evidently dog owners in cities one time. On the last day of the much doubt that several breeds have trouble with their pets, let Florida quail season Joe, our have helped make the English them.out of their cars near out- hunting guide, turned out all of pointer as we have him today. lying communities, hoping that some one will ftnd them. This rarely happens, however, and the result is that the abandoned dogs live in any way they can. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sun Valley. Idaho. revi•• s old wagon train days, when drying wooden wheels plagued the pioneers. (Acme photo.) Although man has erected memorials and written epitaphs UGAR is a hard, crystaline makes use of this property. The to practically every animal from solid, but when we get it shrinking and swelling of wood the cow to the caterpillar, un- S 0 on u r hands it makes is due to its loss and absorption doubtedly the dog has been them sticky. This is not the reo of water with the varying hu- more honored than any other sult of arty property of pure midity of the air. By permeat- animal in the world. sugar, but of the sugar solution ing the wood with a sugar solu- While many authors and which readily forms when the tion these undesirable changes poets have favorite dogs that sugar comes in contact with can be greatly reduced. they celebrated in their writ- traces of moisture. This solu- The penetration of the sugar ings, no one appeared more tion is a concentrated one and is accomplished by applying it convinced of the value of his resists evaporation with a tenac- in a dilute solution and then dog than Lord Byron. The ftnal ity shown by few other llqutds. subjecting the wood to a partial lines in Byron's farewell to hts Recent investigators at the vacuum in order to draw the air dog Boatswain, whose monu- Forest Products laboratory at out of the wood. The sugars (Acme photo.) ment is at Newstead abbey, Madison, Wis., have suggested tried were both cane and invert Firat step in refining sugar. which England, are: an application of sugar that (a noncrystalizing type). now haa a new u••• To mark a friend's remains these stones arise; I never knew but one-and (Trib.- photo.) here he lies. The Irish •• tter is another popular member of the setter family. It has lobi Putting a Stop Watch on the Earth of style and a real personaUty. This dog is Champion San of Inneairee. There are few things quite as appealing as a real companion. ~ERE Is a lot of guessing late the exact time that has them at one time just for the fun Certainly the foxhound was used ship between a child and a dog. .1 ~~volVedin most estimates elapsed since it contained only of seeing how they would back in cross-breeding. And students This is more attractive when the of the age of rocks or of uranium. Calculations of this each other on a point. On one of dog history are pretty sure child learns how to command the earth. There is one method, type give quite close results on ftnd six of the seven dogs gath- that both the bloodhound and obedience from the dog and han. TCHING SKIN disorders are I however, by which the age of a the order of one and a half bil- ered around the one that located the greyhound had a share in dIe it expertly.