I was clearing out a lot of old books from my mother's house today and came
across a 1945 National Geographic - there was an ad in it that had the
heading "It's a jungle 'Weasel' too!"  Part of the ad went on to say ..
"Studebaker's amazing new Weasel personnel and cargo carrier is now in
action in the Pacific islands ....[snip]...... The Weasel glides forward
swiftly and stealthily in mud and swamp, as well as on sand and snow [snip]"
 
The other book I came across was the War Economy Issue of the "Pears
Cyclopaedia" and they had a section on Domestic Pets which included the
Ferret (hear ye California, this was a 194? issue)!!  I'll just copy a bit
of the section for interest :-
"Description: The ferret is a domestic form of the continental polecat and
was probably introduced to England 600 years ago.........[snip]
 
Food: In our option it is best to give each ferret daily, as much bread and
milk as will be eaten up promptly and completely by the animal.
Alternatively, a mush made from wholewheat flour & water can be given.
Most people think that salt is bad for ferrets, but there is no harm in
having under 1% in the diet.  Besides bread & milk or mush, about 4oz of
meat could be given 2-3 times a week.  Liver is very good - overfeeding
must be avoided...........[snip]
 
Housing: Ferrets are very clean and do well in cages 1' high x 2' long x
1-1/2'.  Hay, or better, wood shavings for litter - replace this every 2
days and clean out the whole cage weekly.....[snip]
 
Handling: Ferrets should not be difficult to tame.  If they are not yet tame
they should be handled as follows.  Attract the ferret's attention with the
left hand, and with the right grasp it quickly by the tail when its back is
turned.  It can be then quickly lifted and the 1st & 2nd fingers of the left
hand should immediately grasp the neck just behind the ears.  The thumb and
other fingers are then able to restrain the forelegs while the right hand
can then let go of the tail and grasp the hindquarters and legs.  If bitten
by a ferret when handling, let go of it and the ferret will let go of you."
 
I love that last statement ... I wonder how they came to think that would
happen!!  They also had paragraphs on breeding and diseases, saying in the
latter part that distemper was the worst disease a ferret could catch.
There was no mention of aplastic anemia but did they know about such things
50+ years ago??
 
Anyway, thought you might find the information amusing / interesting /
whatever!
 
I am way behind in my reading of the FML but would like to offer condolences
to all who have recently lost their family members and hope those whose
babies are missing will find them quickly.
 
A big hug to all of your ferts from their West Aussie friends!
 
Nona Langley
[Posted in FML issue 2226]