is That So?
" Amonf birds, assuredly, the '
all-time contenders for laziness
arc the American cowbird and
the Old-World cuckoo, no rela
tion. .Their marital ties are free
and easy; they don't build nests;
the . tedium of hatching eggs is
ntver theirs; and other birds
feed their gluttonous young.
: -Yet their indolent, parasitic
Uvea are among the most fas
cinating in wild life.
To assure their offspring the
distinct benefits conferred by
strength and size (while saving
their own skins) the cowbird and
cuckoo usually lay their eggs
in the nests -of much smaller
birds. To assist them in carry
ing out their deception, their
eggs are proportionately small.
However some birds recognize
the cowbird's deceit. One, the
yellow warbler, may dispose of
the intruded egg by building
a second floor atop its old nest.
In fact, three stories may be built
before the warbler will resign
itself to hatching a false egg.
The European cuckoo, how
5 ever, is less often discovered in
ita deception: its eggs are small
- and some of the cuckoos seem
to practice egg-mimicry. Two
Indian species fqr example
which lay quite different color
ed eggs, tend to deposit their
respective eggs in nests of hosts
which are remarkably like theirs
in color, markings, and to some
CAbCUb All we.
Removes Host's Egg
(Before laying her egg in the
nest, the cuckoo usually removes
one of the host's eggs . in her
open beak thus fostering the
popular conception that the
cuckoo lays its egg on the ground
and then flies with it to the
foster bird's nest.)
Even so, some put-upon hosts
discover the deceit. Hence, to
- assure - adequate offspring to
maintain the species, these two
parasitic birds lay more eggs.
Where the non-parasitic rela
tives of the cuckoo, say, lay from
two to six eggs, the parasitic
cuckoo may lay up to 18!
To aid further the parasitic
offspring, they hatch in an extra
ordinarily short time. Where the
sparrow's eggs take from 12-13
days, , the cow-bird s take only
10 days. And, first come, first
served thus the early bird gets
most of the food from the foster
parents.
Legitimate Young Destroyed
Besides, for even greater as
surance of survival, both the
cowbird s : and cuckoo s young
ruthlessly destroy their foster
parent's eggs and legitimate
young. To facilitate the dastard
ly deed, the cuckoo, which is
hnm naked and blind, has evolv
ed a mechanical aid a hollow
back. Being a heavy youngster;
it wiggles to the bottom of the
nest, hunches the eggs or mess
mates on its back, and then by
raising itself, hoists them over
the side.
Left alone in the nest, these
changelings prove gargantuan
eaters, keeping their little par
ents in a constant frenzy to sup
ply food.
When he has outgrown the
tiny nest, the over-grown usurper
opens his long wings and flies
fy Eugene Burns
Ranger-Naturalist
from perch to perch with his
foster parents in tow. Usually,
he sits in a fairly prominent po
sition and utters a curious, high
pitched note. This plaint has a
tremendous effect upon other
parents. Mothers on their way
to their own brood will stop
and give up their beakfuls of
insects and worms to the over
grown cuckoo. And then comes
back to the changeling with
another large 'mouthful, mean
while neglecting their own for
the time being. As many as five
different kinds of birds have
been seen assisting a pair of
tiny foster parent hedge-sparrows.
Adopts New Diet
Comes the time when the fos
ter parents give up feeding their
giant youngster by now, per
haps, twice their size. Left alone,
unable to find insects, the young
cuckoo adapts an entirely new
diet and becomes a total vegfr;
tarian until such a time as he
can find his own insects. Then
he goes back to his meat diet. .
When the days grow shorter,
in company with other young
cuckoos, these European birds
pack up and head south, eventu
ally reaching Africa where they
spend the winter. .
(Copyright, 1954,
by Eugene Burns)
(Released by
McClure Newspaper Syndicate)
Free: By special arrangement
with the editors of the Encyclo
pedia Americana, my panel of
judges will award each week
to the reader who sends me
the best question on nature and
wildlife a complete 30-volume
set of this world-famous refer
ence work in a handsome Seal-
craft binding. Each week, new
questions will be considered.
Sorry, I simply can t answer
your many friendly letters.
Please address your questions to:
IS THAT SO! co Medford Mail
Tribune, Box 575, Sausalito,
Calif.
4-H Club
COUNCIL SESSION
Jackson county 4-H council of
older- club members will meet
at 8 -p.m. Monday at Bigham
hall at the county fairgrounds.
Business will include making
plans for a countywide talent
show to be presented in Feb
ruary.
TURN ABOUT
Hartford, Conn. U.R) A cry
of pain come from a woman ele
vator passenger, Bobby Frish
horn, six, explained to his moth
er: "well, she stepped on my
toes first." .
LISTEN Thus Morning and Every
SUNDAY at 10:15 a.m. to an
ACTUAL EXPERIENCE of
HOW CHRISTIAN SCIENCE HEALS
Tun in Radio Station KWIN, Ashland, 1400 kilo.
New City Officials
For Rogue River
Take Over Duties
Rogue River New city offi
cers at Rogue River were sworn
in at this week's council meet
ing, according to Recorder Orva
Jean Cruise.
Phil B. Engle became mayor,
succeeding Fred Dengler. The
latter was presented a television
lamp as a parting gift from the
city.
Others sworn in were Coun
cilmen Leslie Weigart, Harold
Sander and Shade Combs. Coun
cilman-Elect Robert DeArmond
could not attend the meeting.
Employees reappointed in
cluded Police Chief William
Peters, City Judge Raymond
Greenhill and Holand Stiehl,
maintenance man.
Chairman Named
Engle's council committee ap
pointments mcluded, chairmen,
Mrs. Agnes Magerle, finance
committee, and Combs, street
committee. Others will be named
later.
" A fire committee and chief
will also be named later. Citi
zens voted last year to have
their own department. The city
is now awaiting delivery on a
new fire truck before, organi
zation is made. The Rogue River
Rural Fire department is now
furnishing protection to the city,
The $15,000 in fire bonds to
finance the new department
were received and signed. .They
will be forwarded to June S
Jcnes company, Portland, . the
purchaser. :
Evening Classes
Slated at School
Start of four evening classes
in accounting, shorthand, typing
and public speaking have been
scheduled by the Robertson
School of Business, 40-42 North
Riverside ave., it was announced
yesterday. ..
The classes will be conducted
on Monday and Thursday eve
nings from 7 to 10 p.m. :
The school, also announced
plans for an eight-week course
in beginning typing to be of
fered on Saturday mornings. The
course will be open to all per
sons over 12 years of age.
: Stewart Hopper, commercial
instructor at Eagle Point high
school, will teach the evening
beginning shorthand classes. The
evening beginning typing classes
will be under the instruction of
Mrs. Mary McLoughlin, Ash
land. .Clyde Gwaltney, who for
merly taught in the Draughons
School of Business, '. Oklahoma
City, Okla., will teach the ac
counting classes. Instructor for
the public speaking course, will
be J. N. Tobin, who taught for
28 years in the Emily Griffith
Opportunity school, Denver. .
u
V
WEARING expression of cat
that swallowed canary, Premier
Mendes - France leaves French
National Assembly after victory
on German rearmament plan
by 287-260 vote. "(International)
ine Dealers
Hit Trade Stamps
Roseburg The Oregon Gaso
line Dealers association, in con
vention here last week, adopted
a resolution deploring the col
lection of premium trading
stamps by government em
ployees on gasoline purchased
for federal use on credit cards.
The resolution also said the
use of such stamps at all involved
the giving away of "unreason
able proportion of . prof its." ;
Among officers elected by the
association was Vic Milnes, Med
ford, as third vice-president.
" The group took no action re
garding a proposed two cent in
crease in the state gasoline tax,
and outgoing president .Ernest
M. Barker Jr., Roseburg, said
the organization went on record
against the proposal three
months ago. .'.
Some 80 members attended.
Next meeting will be in Eugene
on. April 12 and 13. :
Local Business Names
Changed in Listings
Changes in status for three
business, names were listed yes
terday in records at the office
of the Jackson county clerk. "
Gordon E. Young and Regina
Young have retired from the as
sumed business name Medford
Plate Glass and Mirror Com
pany, which has been assumed
by T. R. Flury and Blossom
Flurey, J. W. Mildred, and Rob
ert M. Wickman.
John P. Jones and Henry J.
Davis have retired from the
assumed business name J. and
J. Trucking Company, which has
been reassumed by Davis alone.
Jones and Davis have, retired
from the assumed business name
Three Pines Lumber Company,
which has been reassumed by
Jones. . , . -
Getting U
sedto
College Vork Worst
Worry
The Calendar Years
: By J. HUGH PRUETT
Astronomer. Extension Division
Oregon Higher Education System
A reader yof this column (a
minister) asks, "What is the dif
ference between the Julian and
Gregorian calendars?"
In ancient times many nations
tried to run their calendars ac
cording to the phases of the
moon. If we call the time from
one full moon to the next a
month, it is impossible to have
an even number of months in a
year. Extra days were some
times added but confusion, us
ually resulted so that when the
calendar said it was summer;
snow might be falling.
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SAVINGS
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Como In Today Investigate Discover how you will
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START YOUR SAVINGS PLAN NOW
If f ww wts W
I SO
FIRST FEDERAL
Savings & Loan Assn. of Medford
27 North Holly Telephone 2-9147
1
We usually say that a year is
the time it takes for the earth
toynake one complete revolution
around me sun. -xms is tne siae
real year and from a mechanical
viewnoirit is the true vear. But
the historical year is the tropical
year, tne interval irom one
"spring begins" to the next
"spring begins." This is about 20
minutes shorter than the sidereal
year. Space forbids a full expla
nation here.
Julius Caesar and his as
tronomer Sosigenes in 45 B. C.
decided to put an end to the cal
endar confusion by establishing
a tropical year which was very
accurate'. It seemed that a year
was very close to : 365 V4 days.
To end a year part way through
a day wasn't practical. Four
years would be 1461 days. Said
Sosigenes, "Let's have three suc
cessive years of 365 days each,
then have a fourth (leap year) of
366 days." The . vernal equinox
("spring " begins") " came March
25 in 45 B. C.
This Julian calendar- (named
for Julius Caesar) made the year
actually 11 minutes 14 seconds
too long and gave an error of a
whole day in . 126 years.- It is
now known, that the -length of
the tropical year is 365 da. 5 hr,
48 minv 46 sec. By the time of
the church Council of Nicea in
AJ.' 325, the vernal, equinox
had fallen back to March 21.
By A.D. 1582 the equinox
came March 11. Pope Gregory
and his astronomer Clavius that
provement. First of all they ad
year made a great calendar im
vanced the date by ten days so
as to bring the equinox back to
March 21, the time it: occurred
in A. D. 325 As for leap years,
they were to come every our
years as previously, ' excepting
that a century year must be
divisible by both four and 400
te be a leap year. Thus 1600
and 2000 are leap yeare ' but
not 1 1700, 1800 and 1900. This
plan makes the year only 26
seconds too long. Thus an error
of only one day will result after
3323 years. . . : t - : . .
The Eastern calendar adopted
by some European countries in
1923 gives a year that is off by
only three seconds, or an error
of a day in about 30,000 years.
This differs from the Gregorian
in that century years are leap
years only when a division by
nine leaves a remainder of either
two or six. It will not differ
from the Gregorian until -A.D.
2800. -
Ashland Getting used to col
lege work is the major concern
of freshmen, Southern Oregon
college Director : of Guidance
Harold A. Cloer reports. -
Cloer, in discussing responses
of freshman to a "problem check
list," said "not knowing .how to
study," was the primary prob
lem facing the new students.
Other problems, in descending
order, were "not spending
enough time in study," "need for
a part-time job," "getting low
grades," "having poor back
ground in. some subjects," "eas
ily distracted from work," and
many more. A few complained
of worry about examinations,
the ' study facilities in dormi
tories, military service, and prep
aration to do college work.
The purpose of the survey was
to determine the troublesome
problems ; of - freshmen and to
give individual students and op
portunity to work with staff
members in solving specific
problems, Cloer said. On the
basis of the survey a student-faculty
committee' has organized
a "How to Study" seminar. .
Typical of summary state
ments by the students was one
by a boy in the liberal arts cur
riculum. "I can't get as much
studying done as I would like to,
mainly because of friends com
ing in to dorm room and talking,
and because of trouble concen
trating. My troubles are two:
studying and money." A teacher
education woman student said,
"I worry most about my mother
and the sacrifices she is making,
and secondly about my studies
because I don't think I'm getting
as much out of college as I
should." . -
APPEAL TROUBLE
New Haven, Conn. U.fi)
Mrs. Mary ' Scilia objected to a
$10 fine on a charge of breach
of the. peace. 'She appealed and
a higher court sustained 'the fine
and sent her to jail for 30 days. I
Sunday, January 9, 19SS
MEDFORD. (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE FIVE
Both Banks Here
Deposit and loan figures as of
Dec. 31, 1954, were released
here yesterday by the managers
of the Medford branches of the
First National Bank of Portland,
and the United States National
bank. '.. ' . ,
Year-end statement of condi
tion figures for the Medford
branch of First National show
that on Dec. 31, deposits at the
branch were $26,578,476, and
loans were $9,805,366, accord
ing to Manager C. E. Hedberg.
At the same time one year
ago, the branch reported de
posits of $24,456,320, .and loans
of $10,331,896.
"', Statewide, First National re
ported new all-time deposit and
loan records. Since the Dec. 31,
1953 statement of condition, the
First National organization has
increased by 20 banking. off ices.
The year-end summary for the
Increases in '54 Deposit Totals
Eagle Point Grange
: Eagle Point Grange met in
regular session at - the Grange
hall on Jan. 4.
Meeting was called to order
at 8 p.m. by the Worthy Master,
Mabel Wertz.
It was announced that first
aid classes will be held in the
Grange hall on Wednesday night,
beginning at 7:30. All persons
living in the community who
are interested in taking the
course are. invited.
All officers of the Grange
are reminded of the drill prac
tice for officers on Tuesday, Jan.
11, at 8:30 p.m. '.
It was announced that Grange
council will be held in the Gold
Hill Grange hall next Saturday
night. ...
.The charter was draped in
memory of Norman Dunford. A
contribution to the "Crippled
Children's Fund" was made in
lieu of flowers, for the funeral.
The literary program, pre
pared by the new lecturer,, was
greatly enjoyed by the members.
Medford branch of United States
National, prepared by Manager
Allan F.- Perry, showed branch
deposits at $20,125,869. This
compared wth about $17,877,
000, at the end of 1953, and some
$20,075,000 on Dec. 31, 1952.
Loans Down " i. v .
The Medford branch of Uni
ted States National reported
loans and discounts totaling $7,
228,697 as of Dec. 31, 1954,
down from 1953.
On a statewide basis, United
States National marked up a
record gain in deposits during
1954. Part of this growth re
sulted from the merger of the
Commercial Bank of : Oregon
group, and the Bank of Albany,
with U.S. National last Novem
ber. In addition, U.S. National
acquired branches at Dufur and
Brookings parlipr in the vmr '
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