Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 290, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 December 1916 — INTERESTING ITEMS FROM THE CITIES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

INTERESTING ITEMS FROM THE CITIES

Baltimore Has Rooster That Is Expert Mouser I BALTIMORE.— All the commission houses In the Pratt street vicinity find it necessary to keep a cat or two to keep down the mice which are brought up from the country in the produce shipments. Down at the Rappahannock

exchange, they have found a substitute in a big Plymouth Rock rooster, which the employees of the exchange are willing to pit against any cat in the city as a mouser. Dick, as the rooster is called, has the freedom of the exchange and holds a record of 19 mice killed in one hour. Not only does Dick kill the mice, but he swallows them head first. Dick’s mousing abilities were discovered accidentally. He came up from the Rappahannock river in a

shipment of chickens about a year ago and, as he seemed to have weathered the trip badly, was taken out of the coop and thrown into a corner to get well or die. A day or,two later one of the employees was surprised to see Dick hopping madly across the floor in the w r ake of a scudding mouse. Just before a pile of old crates and safety were reached, Dick caught up with Mr. Mouse, gave it several shakes in order to squeeze out all the life and then gulped it down. This was the beginning, and every time a mouse was cornered thereafter Dick was thrown on the trail. A year of petting has made Dick quite tame. When he came up from the country a year ago he weighed only three pounds. Now he tips the beam at nine. Not only does Dick eat all mice that are pointed out to him, but he stalks them just like any cat. He has been known to stand patiently for half an hour at a spot until a wary mouse poked out its head. ‘"Then there was a snap and one less mouse in the world. Not only does Dick eat mice, but he is a great lover of oysters. Each morning the men on the exchange open a dozen raw and serve them to him. That constitutes his breakfast He also has developed a fondness for cracked ice, and demands his share every time the iceman comes around. He is a favorite in the neighborhood and when he is in a good humor does not mind going through a variety of simple tricks, such as posing motionless in any position in which he is placed and playing dead and jumping through a hoop at command.