OCR Text |
Show Waltzing Mice Help in Work of Mine Rescues The rescue squads of the mining districts dis-tricts are often compelled to enter mines where the air is likely to be charged with gas that would make It Impossible for human life, but the presence of this gas Is not apparent to the nose. In order to protect themselves them-selves it has been the custom for these men to carry a canary bird along with surgical supplies, foods, tools and oxygen apparatus, because the bird Is quickly affected by even a small nmount of gas and invariably warned the rescue workers of the fatal and invisible in-visible fumes. In the future, however, Japanese waltzing mice will replace the little yellow songsters, because experiments have shown that the curiously behaving behav-ing rodents from the Orient are much more sensitive to deadly gas than canaries cana-ries are. In addition to this the mice are hardier and are not often fatally stricken by their experience, whereas the birds are usually sacrificed. They do not recover from the effect of the gas. |