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UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1950
Psychologists Analyze "George" For His Homing Instincts Dog's Natural Radar Fails To Bring Him Home On Second Experiment After Succeeding First Time
Bv NANCY GROSS
Is man really smarter than his "best friend," the dog?
George, a dog who is believed to be half English bulldog and half pointer, led a group of psychology experimenters who were trying to trail him on a short but merry chase the past week.
The experimenters, Dr. F. R. Wake, assistant professor of psychology; W. D. Thompson, instructor of psychology; Murray Laman, Darrell Kellogg, David Hagar, College sophomores; Clifford Reusch, College and Medicine sophomore; and Archie Brown, Education junior; were trying to discover if, why, and how a dog is able to find his way home after being taken to a distant and unfamiliar place. (At least they thought it would be an unfamiliar place, but maybe George had been there some other time.)
Dr. Wake said they originally planned to put George in a box in the back seat of the car, but George just would not fit because he was too big. Consequently, they shoved him into the car trunk so he could not see where he was going.
They pressed adhesive tape strips around George's legs with a message on them to phone Dr. Wake if anyone found George in trouble.
George's home. George is owned by August Bieber, R.R.I. They drove George down a crooked route to Clinton, west of Lawrence, where they set him free in the middle of a field. The experimenters intended to follow him at an inconspicuous distance.
The group started out in cars from
Released from the trunk, George sought the nearest bush for refuge, and what should be hanging directly over the bush but a sign-plainly stating, "No trespassing." Soon George (noticing the sign, no doubt) moved from beneath his bush, down the hill about 200 yards, and the experimenters did not see him again.
But that is not the end of the story. The last 200 yards they saw George walk was in the direction of his home. Sure enough at 5 p.m.
Mr. Bieber called Dr. Wake to say, "George is home."
George answered the question as to "if" the feat could be accomplished, but the experimenters still knew how and why he was able to do it.
Laughing a little, Mr. Bieber said,
"Well, he is tired and needs affection.
We are giving him the affection and with rest he will be ready for another jaunt next Sunday."
That Sunday evening the group went back to the Bieber farm. Dr. Wake told his psychology classes the past Tuesday morning, "When we stepped out of the car at the farmer's house there were two other dogs by the gate. But when they spied us they tucked their tails and sneaked away. Mr. Brown said to
us, 'Unhuh, one dog just said to the other, Hey, those are the guys who took George away.' "
Students who wished to help with the experiment Sunday met with Dr. Wake Dec. 8, in the psychology office. They made plans for their game of "cops and robbers" Sunday.
"We want to take George east of Lawrence this time so that the town will be between George and his home. Besides, the country there is more level and it should be easier to follow him," said Dr. Wake.
At 8 a.m. this morning the dog had not returned home. Maybe Dr. Wake was right when he predicted, "Next time the dog will probably do what we expected him to do last Sunday—just sit down in the middle road and not go anywhere."
Twenty Members Of Music Group To Give Recitals
Recitals of contemporary music will be presented Wednesday by 20 members of the K.U. chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon, honorary music sorority. The recital, which will be open to the public, will start at 8 p.m. in Strong auditorium.
Three compositions by Miss Katharine Mulky, assistant professor of organ and theory, appear on the program. They are "Fugue for Bassoon and Clarinet" and choral settings from Psalms 69 and 123. Other contemporary composers represented will be Whitney, Walter Piston, Gian-Carlo Manotti, Amy Worth, Honegger, Revueltas and Ernest Bloch.
Miss Mulky has studied composition with Darius Milhaud and Bernard Wagenaar, the latter at Julliard school of music where she earned a master's degree. She has won awards in both the Mu Phi Epsilon musicological research contest and the original composition contest.
Vocal soloists will be Jeanne Aldridge, graduate student, soprano; and Betty Rae Thomas, graduate student, mezzo-soprano.
Others performing in duets and ensembles will be Martha Heek, Jacuelyn Stoops, and Delores Wunsch, all pianists; Clara James, and Mary Sommerville, violinists; Jeanne Peck, and Frances Douglas, trumpets; Marilyn Lind, French horn; Mary Van Houten, trombone; Jacque Cook, flute; Phyllis Glass, bassoon; Martha Zeigler, clarinet; and vocalists; Joyce Rohrer, Verla Steffey, Polly Owen, Barbara Glover, Betty Brown.
Easterners To Meet Thursday In Strong
University students whose homes are east of the Mississippi river will meet at 7:15 p.m. Thursday in Strong auditorium. The meeting, called an "Eastern Get-together," will be sponsored by the out-of-state committee of statewide activities.
"Besides having a chance to meet K.U. students from their home town or state, students attending the meeting may find a ride home for vacation," said Mary Lou Fischer, chairman of the committee.
Painters Have Work Displayed
What John Maxon, director of the Museum of Art terms as "one of the most distinguished showing of paintings that has ever been brought to Lawrence by the museum" is now on display and will be on show until Sunday, Dec. 31.
Works of Kahil Gibran I and II are on display. The elder Gibran is a Lebanese poet and mystic known for his most popular work, "The Prophet." The younger Gibran is probably the most distinguished picture frame-maker in America.
Dr. Maxon said that "the work shown illustrates the capabilities and scope of the elder Gibran's work."
A selection of 19 drawings made in connection with "The Prophet" has been loaned by a Lawrence collector.
Fourteen oil paintings of Gibran II are shown in the main exhibition at the gallery. The paintings were shown successfully at a recent New York dealer's show.
The work of Gibran II as a painter is influenced by his interest of the art of the past and Oriental Europe. He is a second cousin of the poet.
'You Can't Take It With You' Will Be Given From Dec.13-16
Life is much too serious. That seems to be the moral of "You Can't Take It With You," to be given Wednesday through Saturday in Fraser theater.
"We feel that this light comedy, which almost borders on slapstick comedy at times, is appropriate at a time when there is so much seriousness in the world and on the campus," said Harold Harvey, director of the play and instructor in speech.
The Kaufman and Hart play is the story of an uninhibited clan that manufactures fireworks in the basement, distributes the maxims of Trotsky in home-made candy, practices ballet lessons in the living room, operates printing presses and xylophones, and writes war plays.
To stage this play Mr. Harvey said the largest set ever built on the Fraser stage will be used.
More than 700 property items will be used in the presentation.
Wilmer, a three-foot black snake,
has what Harvey called stage fright,
because he curls up in the bottom
of his solarium whenever the curtain
is raised and refuses to hold
his head up high enough in the
glass-enclosed case to let the audience know he is there.
Among the properties are a snake named Wilmer and a kitten named Elmer.
But, Harvey said, "Elmer is a real scene stealer, except that he lacks stage presence. During a rehearsal he tipped his bowl of milk into Phyllis Clegg's (Mrs. Vanderhoff) lap in the middle of the first act."
Photo by Harold Benjamin.
GEORGE YOUNG, taxidermist at the Museum of Natural History, stands before one of the displays he made. The whistling swan pictured is part of a natural scene at Boicourt lake in Linn county.
Bird Display Nearly Finished Arranged In Natural Habitat
By MARION KLIEWER
A display of birds which are commonly found around Lawrence in the fall and which are arranged in their natural habitat is nearing completion in the Museum of Natural History.
This is the second in a series of four displays on birds found in the Lawrence region which the museum staff is producing. A summer display is finished and the winter exhibit has been started.
These exhibits are so life-like that one wonders if a real scene hasn't been brought directly to the third floor of the museum for display.
"Much of the attractiveness of these exhibits is the work of a quiet, hard-working man who performs an unusual and unique job on Mt. Oread," Rollin H. Baker, acting director of the museum, said.
"We copy after nature and try to be as letter perfect as we can. We put everything into the display just in this natural habitat, Mr. Young said.
George Young, museum taxidermist, mounts the birds and mammals for the exhibits, produces foliage for the displays, builds the exhibition cases, and occasionally helps th staff artist. Sam Dickinson.
The museum taxidermist who is usually seen smoking his pipe is very accommodating in explaining his taxidermic work done in the museum shop. He was employed in 1947.
The first step in making an exhibit is to locate the scene to be portrayed and obtain the desired birds and other plants and animals in this natural habitat, Mr. oung said.
Mr. Young assists in training students in the art of taxidermy and habitat group construction in a course in museum techniques.
"We may spend a day or two getting colored pictures and sketches of the habitat. A careful study of kinds of plants and their relative abundance in the area is also made."
A miniature about a fifth the size of the proposed display is produced so that "the museum staff may study it until they are satisfied that all faults have been removed and that the exhibit is properly arranged in natural fashion," Mr. Young said.
Birds and mammals are skinned and stuffed with cotton and excelsior with wire placed in the feet and tail to help hold the natural shape of the specimens. A dusting with arsenic powder prevents damage by insect pests and makes the mount almost indestructible.
Getting the birds in life-like positions is one of the biggest jobs in preparing an exhibit, Mr. Young said.
Football Squad Will Be Honored At Banquet
The Varsity and freshman football teams and coaching staff will be honored tonight at the annual Downtown Quarterback club football banquet to be held at 6:30 in the Community building.
The guest speaker will be Ariel Ward, sports editor of the Chicago Tribune, who is known internationally as a humorist and sports promoter.
He is the originator of such nationally prominent events as the annual college all-star professional championship football game, the annual major league all-star baseball game, and the Golden Gloves. He is also vice president of the Chicago Tribune Charities, Inc., which has raised more than 4 million dollars for charities through sports.
Other guests will include Gov. Frank L. Hagaman and members from the Greater Kansas City Alumni association.
Mr. Pearson was pinned beneath the dashboard of his car. He was removed from the scene of the accident by ambulance. The others involved were taken to a hospital by a passing motorist.
Mr. Pearson's car apparently overran a slower-moving one driven by Al Wilson, Easton, and occupied by Glen Linnaweaver, Lansing. Mr. Pearson's 1950 Buick sedan was badly damaged. Weaver's 133 Chevrolet overtured and was hurried 240 feet into a ditch. The Pearson had 345 feet and came to rest against the embankment alongside the highway. undersheriff Herb Nye of Leavenworth county reported.
The condition of Charles G. Pearson, instructor in journalism, was described as good today after he suffered a fractured right thigh in an automobile accident one mile south of Lansing Saturday morning.
KU Instructor In Car Wreck
Mr. Wilson and Mr. Linaeweaver were treated at a hospital in Leavenworth and released. Mr. Pearson suffered a fractured right arm in addition to the leg injury. He is in Cushing hospital in Leavenworth His condition was described as good hospital officials said today.
Mr. Pearson is currently on leave of absence to gather material for a case book in reporting.
Upstream Will Be Sold Tuesday, Wednesday.
Upstream, University literary publication featuring Communism, college life, the world situation, music, and books will be sold on the campus Tuesday and Wednesday.