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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 8, 1956)
0 Ss That A whirling snowflake settles silently upon the long outer guard hairs of a cotton tail; a wild rose distills its fragrance upoJ the evening air; a king salmon, who will not taste food for four months, fights his way MP an age-old route to cast his milt at the very spot of his birth; a sleeping bear gives birth to an insignificant' tiny cub which she will nurse for two months without waking; a white- By EUGENE BURNS Ranger-Naturalist i sun slants in. There you will j not only find footprints to be identified but also a record of the night's romances and trag edies. While here you will find where an owl struck down a kangaroo mouse, there you will see where a flying squirrel pur sued an indifferent mate; while here you will see where a coy ate pulled down a starved deer, there you will find where a grouse slept warmly overnight in a hole in the snow; and where branches rest low on the snow, the winter wind will pen for you his autograph. (Copyright, 195S, by Eugene Burns) (Released by MeClure Newspaper Syndicate) throated sparrow sings a pure and simple tune from a tangle of cat-briars . . . and so, another January with Its abundance of life is upon us. Does this hold with the popu lar belief that January is a month of death-like inactivity? Not at all. To those who. know the out doors, life goes on with its my riad activities each month, in- eluding January, when wild ' roses may bloom in southern Arizona and black bears give birth to twin cubs under the snowbanks in British Columbia And more. In each square foot of earth they know that life goes on in January according to a time-tried cycle. "Within the earth, even, roots are very much alive; above, bare twigs are cov ered with buds and what a monstrous error to attribute the forming of buds to the corning spring. Already during the prev ious spring tiny cells were ear marked; last midsummer they developed; by August they were ready formed; now in January, here they are and making wonderful food for birds and mammals as well as giving prom ise of a year to come. Like wise, beneath the frozen water and buried in the frostless soil and mud there are frogs, turtles, 'and dragon-fly nymphs. Hidden under decaying logs are fertil ized bumblebee queens filling the January arc of their cycle. Can Find Wintering Birds Without stirring far from our own winter shelters, most of us can find some wintering birds. Among them, keeping up their incessant scolding, are the easily recognized chickadees. Besides, there are the junco, screech-owl, bluejay, ruffled grouse, bob white, prairie chicken, the nut hatch which always zig-zags up the trunk of trees, several spar rows including the singing white-throated, cardinal, tufted titmouse, and downy woodpeck er. Partly, life in January con sists of deep sleep with wakeful ness never far off. Turn a frag ment of rotting log and there you may find several tightly curled black .and red-brown wooly caterpillars. Pick one up, cup it in your hand, and blow upon it gently until it is warm. The temporary warmth will . awaken it and now in mid-January, months ahead of its ap pointed time, it will straighten out and crawl in your hand. Lay it down in the cold again and it will re-curl and fall into a profound sleep to be awak ened naturally by May's warmth. January offers many such op portunities for observation. Be cause of the bare shrubs and trees, cocoons may now be easily found, collected and studied. These may be kept in cages in doors until they "hatch" and to reassure yourself of the bot anizing ability of these insects, see how each type of cocoon is resting on a certain type of plant. Or with trees threadbare, it is easy to find and study bird nests some of which you will find pre-empted by wasps, bum blebees and even field mice. Should you find young mice, sisters will be more advanced than their litter brothers, and xeadPy to leave the nest and find mates a week earlier, thus avoid-ing-inbreeding. Study Camouflage Now that snow is king, do not neglect to study the marvel ous camouflage of animals in snow country. Note how the weasel has shed his summer dress of brown for a coat of pure white. All except the tip of his tail which remains black. (Should you ask a naturalist why that tip remains black, I am sure he will say: "That 80 one knows.") Yet in the deep south where little if any snow falls these same weasels do not change color, remaining brown all winter. ' And what better time to study the snow than January? As it falls, turning and drifting down in the hushed air, flake piling on flake, softening the sharp contours of rocks, mounding the top of each fence post, making trees appear ghostly, and sprink ling your dark coat sleeve, then take out a hand-lens and study the flakes. This I guarantee of the billions and billions to fall around you, no two will ever be exactly alike. e Then go out in the snow- floored woods as the morning Free: By special arrangement with the editors of the Encyclo pedia Americana, my panel of judges will award each week to the readers who send me the best true-life nature adventure, the best nature observation, or 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 submissions will be considered. Sorry, I simply can't answer your ' many friendly ' letters. Please address your letter to: IS THAT SO! care Medford Mail Tribune, Box 575, Sausalito, Calif. Taxable Properly Rules Are Issued , Rules to help personal prop erty taxpayers take advantage of a new "monthly-average" method of reporting taxable property has been issued by the state tax commission. .. Under the new law, personal property taxpayers have a choice of making returns either on the monthly-average basis, or on the Jan. 1 date as in prior years. The option will give relief to those who carry a large inven tory of goods, livestock or mer chandise on Jan. 1, but a smaller amount during the balance of the year. The Jan. 1 reporting date is still in effect, with March 2 the deadline. Copies of rules and regulations are available through the county assessor's office, court house, or Commissioner Samuel B. Stewart of the valua tion division of the state tax commission, Salem. Orange Grange Council and County Conference Meeting The combined Grange council and county conference meeting for Jackson county will be held at Central Point Grange hall on Saturday, Jan. 14, starting at 1:30 p.m. The afternoon session will be devoted, to group meetings of all masters, overseers, lecturers, secretaries and the charmen of the following committees on agricultural, home economics, legistlation, and insurance agents. Following the afternoon session-will be a pot luck dinner at 6 p.m. Hot rolls and coffee will be furnished. The evening session will open at 8 p.m. All Grangers are invited to at tend in the evening, especially all Grange officers in Jackson county. There will be contest prizes for officers attendance. This will be the only meeting of its kind, held this year. Demonstrations of Grange work and questions and answers will also be given to aid Grange officers. I. GETS HIS FAMILY BACK A 15-year-void is filled aboard the President Wilson as the liner arrives in San Francisco from the Orient and reunites Nicholas Romanoff, mer chant seaman, with his wife (lower right) and daughter, Irene, 15. Romanoff hadn't seen his daughter since she was six months old. Mother and daughter were visiting Mrs. Romanoffs parents in Manchuria and were caught by the war. Both the Russians and then the Chinese Reds refused them permit to leave Manchuria until recently. Two Bicycle-Aufo Accidents In City Wilbur R. Brogan, 14, of 503 South Holly st., suffered, a frac tured left leg cind cuts Friday night when the bicycle he was riding and a car driven by Dav id L. Colby, 311 Howard ave., collided, city police reported. - Officers reported the car struck the bicycle while both were traveling on Stewart ave., during heavy rain. Brogan was taken to Sacred Heart hospital. A second bake-car .collision was reported by police Friday at Fourth and Front sts., where a sedan driven by Wanda Mae Johnson, Beal lane, collided with a bike operated by Gordon Roy Lilly, 8, of 4 East Clark st. No injuries occurred, po lice said. A coupe driven by Frederick W. Combs, 508 Edwards St., sus tained damage to the left front fender and front end Friday when struck by a Southern Pa cific engine at the Main st., crossing. , Rh Blood Factor Discussed At Meet The problem of erythroblast osis, an illnes resulting from Rh blood type differences,, was dis cussed last week at a meeting of the obstetrical staff of Sacred Heart and Rogue Valley Memor ial hospitals. In a paper prepared by Dr. Donald McGeary, Phoenix, he said the role of the Rh factor in expectant mothers has . been known since 1937, and that pro blems with a newborn baby may arise when the mother's Rh blood type differs from that of the father. In recent times, medical re search and understanding have led to techniques in which the entire blood supply of the baby can be replaced." The technique may now be carried on in Med- Harrisburg Girl Killed In Crash Harrisburg U.R) Delora Lydia Neuschwander, 19, daugh ter of Mr. and Mrs. Emory Neus chwander of Harrisbunrg, was killed four miles north of here Friday night when the car in which she was riding collided headon with a California ve hicle. Five other persons were hos pitalized in Eugene after the col- lisioin involving cars driven by Lyle N. Neuschwander, nephew of the dead girl, and Rival Hurl- burt of Weott, Calif. Hospitalized at Eugene were Neuschwander, Hurlburt, and Hurlburt's wife, daughter and mother. Hedrick Students Hold Pep Assembly Friday Hedrick junior, high school students Friday afternoon held their first assembly preceding the Grants Pass-Hedrick basket ball game. President Tony Mon roe opened the assembly. Taking part in the program were the Stingers pep group, who went through marching for mations; yell leaders; a ninth grade skit "The $64,000 Ques tion;" and majorettes. ford hospitals and has and will continue to save lives which a short time ago would have been .lost, he said. The North Atlantic has re corded 261 known hurricanes in the last 68 years. CABINETS & Kitchen Buill-lns Built To Order PRICES RIGHT! GRAHAM'S . CABINET SHOP 824 Vi No. Riverside, Medford PHONE 2-4969 If you're saving for a home . . . Sunday. 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