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ANNEX

CORNELL
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

CORNELLIANA

Cornell University

Library

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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924062763556

Cornelliank
C737

AUSTRALIAN GRASS PARRAKEET
(Melopsittacus undulatus) ©

RosE Cockatoo

‘Cacatua roseicapilla)

RosE-RINGED PARRAKEET,

(Paleornis docilis)

RED AND BLUE Macaw

(Ara macao)

YELLOW-HEADED AMAZON

(Amazona oratrix)
AFRICAN Gray PARROT

(Psittacus erithacus)

THE PET BOOK

Dn oe os ee
Anna Botsford Comstock

Assistant Professor Nature-Study, Cornell University
Author Handbook of Nature-Study, Bird Note
, Books, How to Keep Bees

ITHACA, NEW YORK (aa
THE COMSTOCK PUBLISHING COMPANY ,
1914 %

PRESS OF W. F. HUMPHREY
GENEVA, N. Y.

To
Mp Special Pet and Mamesake

Anna Bertha Herrick

PREFACE

HE keeping of pets should provide the child
with excellent training for making him respon-
sible. To attain this he should have the entire care of
the dependent creature. The chief advantage of
this peculiar training and responsibility lies in the
fact that the child loves the pet, and there is no
training in thoughtfulness for others so educating
as that attained through loving service.

If the child tires of a pet, it should be given to
someone else, or chloroformed. It is a cruel act
to make a pet dependent upon a careless or unloving
master, and it teaches a child cruelty and hardness
of heart to be obliged to give unloving care.

Pets are greatly needed in most homes these
days, for this very purpose of developing responsi-
bility in children, by giving them duties of real
importance. In our present civilization there seems
little enough to give a child the training that was
so valuable to us who were fortunate enough to
spend our childhood upon the farm, where a thousand
little duties were constantly calling to us, and which,
very early, impressed upon us the fact that this
world did not exist for our selfish pleasure, but rather
as an opportunity for us to exercise the helping hand;
and that our importance in it was measured by our
usefulness.

The keeping of pets should also be an education
to a child in the matter of interesting him in other
countries, through a study of his pets in their natural
surroundings. Thus he should be spurred on to
the study of natural history, and come to feel that

Til

The Pet Book Preface

his interests are world-wide. The parrot should
make him anxious to read of Africa and Australia
or Brazil. The Guinea-pig, of Peru; and the
love-birds of Madagascar.

In this book a brief outline is given, first, of the
creature, or its ancestors, in native surroundings,
and how life is carried on there. This is for the
purpose of making the child more intelligent in his
treatment of the pet.

It has not been within the scope of so small a
book to discuss extensively breeds and varieties.
If a child is to make a specialty of dogs, cats, guinea-
pigs, or canaries, or any other creatures, he should
have the books devoted to this one subject. A
carefully selected bibliography is added to each
subject, that gives the names of special books ,
dealing with these animals. Nor is it within the
scope of this book to deal, except in the most casual
way, with the diseases of animals. Plenty of sug-
gestions for hygiene are given in each case, and if the
pet falls sick, a physician or a veterinarian should be
consulted.

The mocking bird is not included because of the
recent law, which prohibits the use of this bird as a
caged pet. Undoubtedly there are many creatures
used as pets which are not mentioned, since only
the more common ones could be treated in so small a
volume.

The special value of this volume, in the opinion
of the author, is the help it gives in telling children
how to take care of the little wild creatures they
bring home as treasures captured during their
woodland walks and which usually die because of
ignorance of their needs on the part of their captors.
This was the most difficult part of the book to write

Preface The Pet Book

for there is nowhere on record rational treatment
for this kind of pets. Because of this, the author
called upon Dr. Hornaday for help and through
his kindness, she was able to interview the very
efficient and experienced curators of the different
departments of the New York Zoological Gardens
and take extended notes on food and care of these
most common animals.

There has been an insistent call for this kind of
information from teachers of Nature-Study and
Biology and also from the Boy Scouts who make
their camps more interesting by capturing various
wild creatures as they find them.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author owes grateful acknowledgments to
Dr. W. T. Hornaday, and his courteous assistants,
whose advice as to the care of birds and animals
has rendered this volume far more practical than
it could otherwise have been. She also wishes to
make acknowledgments for the efficient help of
Miss Katharine Straith and Miss Myrtle Boice
in bringing together material for this book; and to
Mrs. Austin Wadsworth for criticism of chapters on
dogs and horses.

The author also wishes to express her thanks to
Doubleday Page & Co. for their kindness in loaning
many photographs used in this book, and to Pro-
fessor Ida Reveley, to Miss Evelyn G. Mitchell,
to Messrs. Karl and Frank Schmidt for the use
of their stories, and to Miss Alice Willis and Mr.
Eugene Barker for the use of photographs.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE
INTRODUCTION fix sAise'ne ws pa ine a aE ew due wed eky Lhadyaced aaah .
FOREWORD TO CHILDREN... 2.00.0 c cece eect e cece eneeenseenees 3
MAMMALS
DDO soci da caehendocasd MRI F eaatlarn ds Sha RRR wi omnia ee eas aaltian vemiedirs 5
ROR sri saitt Sry doertneo saan a ere ofanen dxey Sr hut a een Sree na eo oct Ae 19
Cab aa caitsigig aS aera Mb rn eho eect 2 fe aes wile Is ged ei gee anaes eeees 21
PON y alusgeu igus ces ends RO SRR RES BAN esa Bie inden en ci Pantone 31
Olt. aaa pips Gok bee ae sad a eae > ensi, did Llavsces Sew Leanel bad a pnuial Qvale Beeld wae 36
Don eye aay hd weed ays 1 400d land ae adele 2.2 BaN Ew ayubale oO dramenace wanes 39
NE ase Sagan ad ere ik NGS sts eos ea cana tua BE DISS ase ea 42
WINE stidean oak tate 06 Shewa-tace gions Gos da eekas, yn aaa wliben ansealenn @ asargaha ae abath 45
Cosset Lambe er euteysaa cats veut ainees ueag aire als ite oe Sueur sen mye 48
Oil caves igs deh bb eae oan HET eRe ASOT 2a ae dee tes mn geS A 51
DAG? oesias wes ¥ High BA Re KONE Roos EIS bee Bela on asians oars Bae 55
Morikeys) ssa satis dietolen ard antua doh Gu yeep s Sagas au ddan Beka 58
Marmoset ............... Mh GM Bee tases Bilecraisigt a Se CMESO, Wl PN aces 63
Rabbitsiand Hares oa sing! cs an nethe «uldcan cb aah on iad eames ake aspen 65
Guinea. Pigior Cavin icc case cece ine she ceaeiuvenienenanns eta 72
CUETO S aac sieiaat sna ee ca egpaiiy erase teers oe ge gee ele eepe Glatgya ange ums lola 76
Chipmuntes.oc\ ae steed wei cles ss deiaceine ae ahaa VeeNT Ee ey 84
Squirrels,” Plying: we soy gun¥s haved Pay aw Re RS Awe EEE wes Bees 87
Woodchuck: sccass aecogwa ae a0 see BS Ae RAE TERE hte aoe ean BE < gI
Prairie OS ics sca sire seh aah ui ana wiede Giloa ian nau anid © maadsy ER SiAeerey Rtas 96
WICC P REE. os csc et ig dues o.sutritcen ni dwseasecg ed Sr ableiaiis ka winlgistc Atal Sige? aemrabaaay Ge 99
MiICé oa) suanal sudtiacanmh seam eoeeteed saan eces scammed % 102
PM TR ATIC. soceus cals feck ane bce ods obit aceeh cu waka BATE DAS tha NSE HER COIR 105
‘« Japanese Waltzing..... 0... cence 108
Oppossum,. ».22: vows tua eein des aes od WERE SO2e BEN OES ARO ee IS IlI
Brown Bat, The................2020005 Aud avec kat en ak wks 3 114
TRACCOOR i eae as se vay AOS Sis agek maaan ae talk wy OWE Baccodae a 119
POLCUP INS Por. sence Sees aug tien Rkeada Sa board Gamal Mie metabediaub mugre suek Wamdabiach 123
TRGEPELS) nae eh a BA ey Gee dA ae ee BME Bees CANIS UA RAS at 126
DRG Sense ee canhe eae Reneenyee ame Mes Sea eUT hey Bea 132
Birps
Care: fsa pie abn dost aisens ome oud Wiceleu sm iekipield SRG anes dala e es 137
Canary wecccsay treme tes San hed RED Ee SESE Ce COR EE ER RET SEE SOS 138
Parrots 4.4 cescacces ere eee Tarr erie Ceo ee reer re 150
COCKALOOS apc. s seca Sig ailecaud ate sathecdtesecanach Sued Neves ANd ete Base tae: Bane Saar BT 159
TeOVie Bird 5 sscana 8 esas ctpoysd goa daed 2 aeoyaasNitind sire tok Ne ata Am. aoaet ae 161
Crow, The.......... es dates alt Bh. Ci ted anal Bd Galstad Roe Metet'n ee MMR a 163
Bluejays “The ici se epee mckiwie eae deeb etch Yoseaet apace evans Go 167
Magpie Pheu oveecuicns suid eer ae nas wp ea one dane een 170
Owl, Dheseassteresceneeuigs cane Sede meses be Lee ee bee aes 172
PIGEONS o.5/53s caaicia Gee ALA eG Gee Peed tage a eee Sars See see Hes 176
GhiGkenst 2.215 fsa deentates soe uct chS Mee S maton Maes neta Mee ae 188
Bantarasy, gic ins ada he oatalaldeery wledsn Gene bork cue ee aperdchuize sel wees aeareh a ee 192
Pheasants: «dcp cscisactideatea aes eesad ace nn lait erwan kamen es 194
Quail—Bobwhite sce p cat gor gi chess see ee ene sac meas 200

VII

The Pet Book Contents

Brrps— Continued PAGE
Peacock; The svc pds oka bea Wea ida tee Race conainieea vod 203
GOOSE STG nee sia Ss fad oe a mn agrted le ranch ated udu dine haath seine eas 207
TUCKS): Ahi! sah erg wh hoo ma hts MADD Wihacn bind 4 tennicl Me seMnaeMa eet n-e 4 dolalen 213
Gal), GS sca S nicthance te heenca hoe te apauee dive eesti Gd wna Gea oes Rails ae ate MRO 218
AS WALIS aes cesits aatae sh Hilsovcaie eile dum oahu wor elevate SUR ARAS eneak. dem Raa ane a ee 219

FisH
AQUATIA: engorged yaa seen pee aeS gee R SE os BH OES riety eae eRe 224
Goldhsh -33. 0307 vs naga ee Sane ETE DA RNS TEESE eS 226
Paradise: Pishle.iic, sid Geta nonce fie tras dane kane fae Bante RE ada tesb oes 233
Chub; Sharir DACel 2 5 gpisisesstave-mnaiasiniten! hid p Snanilon Pena ee domes are hws 235
Stickleback, “WH. .4 amas cut aalig cd aA Ad RA AAR ee aR aS 237
Johny DarterSi.5.cdc.5ccncastnn bee aee ge Haas An deme aaa 239
Sunfish, “The: ecw waren sie eis Rane ech ie SRR Moe adel ap 241
Catfish or: Bullhead, “The ois ac ses qai ues teas Ser ek ea eee gale A ee 244

AMPHIBIANS ;
Toad; Theés ge vn0s eo dee gue eke teres see ee TAR Eee eR eE TRAE ESS 246
EOS, TMG ccs cugietatie ar vie tatiana are To UR DT, ee ORE Merete mae awe (251
SETS THOR, PNG ayee scrcigfeg canst tains deine a aun dingy ware oad een ai anes 253
Salamanders and Newts........... 0.000 scence eee een e eens 256

REPTILES
DUrtles 24 2vesccteerguehidiawketnaret ain weeger eed me eaedders 260
Pet: Snakesingi isin vate nas ta noe sas aw eadaten wd quasi any Maa e w RY 08 267
Alligators: yay iii Wace wide dees poem aad Bien yaa Guy Paes EB Skies 272
African Chameleons se. aes ¢isny ok see bee Cow Etea eb ets SRN kas OES 274
American Chameleotes.¢¢: e054 ¢4msisee ade ri eesscy awesea wes 276
Hormmed: Lazard. stu asad acuta d Bags BA Rea eR EG ETDS 278

INVERTEBRATES
Crayfish. THG:. wien sale eanahgueu.t ecb acdiend Qua anda Stuie Gadeavelerw gu Raeiealees 281
Lubbock Ant Nesti. 22 cchicn sages soled o a waa wind autem wh 286.
Observation Bee Hives vjcccpccecac sa cstes heee he Senden eed sates 292
STP reur earn: Lee ayaa f teases 8 ately naielan aca satin ae eh vcd te HR be ated ea 4 AN 295

Meat Worms
How to grow as food for pets... 0.0... cece eect ees 301

VUI

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
PathOts: fiji eto as ue teeth. onag hatte 9 auluncinn neath dialavany Oana Frontispiece
Intimate friends, a collieand his master.............. eee eee eee ee 4
Speak for it!.............00,. seve a ghd rata eaeecevb ete he Aeon eB 5
Puppies seeing the world.................. Uae etal Sncbit a st SNIRE oh ecntires Alte 8
Not yet PASTS! sik care AVE we eink otha a. oeaia enable Ss aie eee tig Wiggs aes 9
The prize dog and his master. .......0.... 000 cee e cece nett eee 9
‘Training the puppy.’ és ois iid pace bho iaphaedaws oe meeee de) eae eae cee II
A little roto Tider. sus ere acaioite an iten seme boanes suand apes soe Weta Seeibgets aves 15
Giving the collie pup a ride... 6.2... eee 18
MOURNE? FLORES aco ci pecod.slasdoyie shee uanicarn taecitn hm ant eRe OAL SUR DARN AE RINE 19
Be POt COV OLE sa) sav eden aus vious tac augadte a Ries Mena dom Teceeerdaataee cme mee lh 20
Keartty likes mile. es os ets wae nackte lane ae Bek hae ated ra tant ea nmeCa ents 21
Ready for the kitten re ean Made res pln elie pi dew ah anaes net Gk Mie ce iale ace 28
Tr amnischiet oes ak soo tomencs joe es ka Cane eae wee OOS OB RES PERSE AEE a 29
Anruntisual stepmothers... i. asd ak eee einie pened ae dine tle Giees aah SE 29
Sunshine, kittens and contentment ...7........ 000 cece eee eee eee 30
PSHE PO HOPSE’.2 tics .cu- ances oo 4 Gna a aes eee a UAT WAGON WE ARLNG AE NNS E e 31
Loading a pony with peat in the Shetland Islands.................. 32
Collie dog herding ponies in Shetland Islands...................... 33
The pet colt................. sg acticin Sie ees aaa beavers late tarp! Mba gre ety 38
The donkey as milk CAITEls oc side dees des ee eRS Seas He eee E EEL SSE 39
A perfect. understanding’. ).5 0.6; casscieei sect a one cedee a boas ears aed 42
Heed nig thecal oie c cus og Gavin tsngs Sodi as debusy PE Goon ted Dees gr Bane ON es 43
WDC. aaste titan sala sheets a Rela ns Nias aN hae NS Shek tains ia elas 44
A TAN OW ACER: cep acsngurccgnic ch eens Cea Ae eae EG ced eR eg a 45
APNOOMIE AY TESE. ve aia sac, ceoliueg & Ging ayaa wae al nae ok ans epee aee Aneta 48
Feeding the lamb from a bottle......... 0.0... c cece eee tenes 49
Drink, pretty creature, drink... 604624 be cise ear e ean eed eee een ween 50
Taking a Gnivess scan % ngs eed meet VES Eye RES BON RE REHM RAED A 51
A:SPAN OF ANGOTAS oe eyo Seer Hens ode: Week oe sai die eK S Rae nae: 154
AAP py. FAG ois ayes c hesesch ye a awe b a pact le wane hae aval ed tne Obs Raga A aN w SE 55
Bottle f6d Piggies so csc k daar ace Me Rae Ses a bo PRS AG Reno 57

Look pleasant, please. Susy, a chimpanzee in the New York Zoo-
logical Garden, noted for her intelligence and beloved by children. 58
A bunny familyn: 01.5 ves keen we ieee aitvades Aum ten cnt aau Reyes 3 64

A wild rabbit “‘Whar’s Bre’r Rabbit”. ......0. 0... cc eee eee eee 65
White Peruvian Guinea pig t es
Abysianian Guinea-pig © f° oor ores oo rhe read aaneaeeanecete 7
Feeding the gray squirrel.......0. 0... eee cee eee 76
Have a: DEAN 4. cas aacinGas tale sd ete nas ade Zameen Ghee Ae 82
Daring Fate! A red squirrel at the bird’s drifking dish............. 83
A Pet chipmunk filling his cheek pouches with hickory nuts.......... 84
Chipsy. A pet Sierra chipmunk giving his favorite performance on a
tutibler acceso sees shad esas ones aauslens pee enEMe eae ee 85
Acflying squirrel). 333i anestscostaiay ce ear teas aaah Bas Ree aes ease BAYS somes 86
A tamed flying squirrel coming to its food basket at night............ 87
A woodchuck mother and little one... 0... eee eee 90
A pet woodchuck sitting for its picture .................0.00000008 gI

The Pet Book Illustrations

PAGE
Prairie dog at the door of his burrow. ....... 0.6.0 c cece eee eens 96
A burrowing owl at the entrance of prairie dog’s tunnel.............. 97
A. pet prairie d0es 2. see srsues eseGes v4 Ses Fede sEe dee ete ewe Peg a8 98
White mice t
Baby mice, pink, bare and blind f-°c1ccctocttctttrettee 99
A white-footed mouse at her own doorway...........-..e eee e eee eee 110
Take care! A mother opposum defending her young............... III
Playing pOssititiue ». ies kagaat ate nm rand mere wae a kd Pinon eee gee 112
The little brown bat t it
Ababasleep ¥ Y42aPdes Seven aiieee rie even etree neem 4
Just afteranap. Araccooninatree.............. 0. cece eee 118
Feeding a baby coon from a bottle... 2.0... 0... c cee eee 119
POG) SRA eS 8 apc Secs ey totunana gates aoe. saiapar a ioiabaneiaccoys eoptcane aes mate Rae a Ae 136
TLamlingra young PODI0 00.2: aie vse dante dn aoanees eee dled iRG wos ke Gath eee 137
Making friends with a young oriole............ 000 e eee eee eee eee 138
Freedom not appreciated. A canary out of its cage................ 139
A parrot learning a bugle call... 050 osc eee eee ee saws 150
A good natured pollyie iiss uuecnawiaeeng Rie a pwG Ree hee Ge Tee es I51
Whistling to the cockatoo. ...... 0... cece eee een nee naes . 159
Chums. A boy andhispetcrow......... 00. cece eee eee eee 166
A blue jay family. Hungry youngsters and a discouraged parent..... 167
Magpies and, their nest. cocci seta sine prec mutcns ood a pene ie Pela e Biden dw er 170
Taming a young chickadee........... 0... cece eee eee ete eee 171
A sleepy young screech owl... 0... 0c eee eens 172
A screech owl and its breakfast... 0.6... 00. ccc nee eee 173
Pet PISeONS sisile. ce is Fiera os Siae sca whe we Tn wie i See aI ia Hee aa ipa dene 176
Pet pigeons, a Fan Tail anda Homer............. 000.0. c eee eee 177
It’s a queer world we have been hatched into!...................., 188
A friendly biddy and her master....... 0.000... cece eee eee 189
Playing horse ..5 95.200 ete suc gee deed eee pees SY bet eel ee eee ES 190
IA DEl TOOSLET 5. si tenasts: wiacaay arse erates techies whee Hi sass eeoner a aod Ss Mee 19I
Finding a pheasant’s nest... 0.0... ec eee eee 194
Pheasant: CHiGk Sy cee ta ee sili Vacs 4 Gineldce ened oa Rash agohiMe Sens: dauelyS aundten 195
English pheasants: 2. cicancucae whavorvwnydaaannehaaeaeaaws et 6K 196
Silver pheasants’: coos Hh geod we See een bok A Gade g a eee eS 197
A flock of tame quail....... Pa. shendjn siieibtal Res seek nn: ans ye dente ete 200
A, Guiail: CHICKS jac hatin d hate ers at Beale Mg acter aloud alle e's ected dst aah 201
A peacock'in all his glory: «ijaeses gece caeensis te aa eee APL Oe Os OH 202
A white peacock: si vas acgch uses ehedhs oh eee a aeees eit bo me tes et 203
Canadian or wild geese... 0... eee ete nae 206
A little goose girl and her flock of Chinese geese.................... 207
Ac pair-of mallard a eks's i cose s.doa ca brome ee ede Ame oie 4 Lae on AN aE 212
Feeding the ducklings... 0... eee teens 213
GS See ssatistne esa ers Ree Aes ocd ine Te IE IS eee ARO rae 218
A pair of swans and their cygnets......... 0.0... c eee ee eee ees 219
A swan turning her eggs. Scene in aswannery..................0. 222
Getting material for his aquarium. .... 00.0... 2. eee 224
Goldfish ope antlas Soe cies areca dl ead Saad ae a ae eh es San Pe 232
Aquaria and a paradise fish........ 0.00... 233
A stickleback guarding his nest........ 2.0... cece teen eens 238
AR SUITS jesse Coens ot. wie aioe areeeaint UGS MAINES uo aa Re ote Rema 242

Illustrations The Pet Book

PAGE
BS aC aL oe Ais oo i a he eae ah tie aes seen Rapala am era isotye Behe ake 244
Fishing ‘for minnows wo. janaicoc noses hea inva verses Bee wea ead wa eacee 245
Sitting for their pictures... 0.0... eete eee nees 246
Toads do not make warts ....... 0... cece cee tect eee etnias 247
A, toad Singing. ..<5msees pas PEK ew AERO EG CAGES TOS ELEMR AEE Sew eR 250
A frog swimming Le ASRS DSL Re LEER ER est Es Bek tes EARN bE a ee 250
WUNICE) LLOR BIE se. cos aay arse vie uiesbd pele ad ver Wa wAR EY haot Glas Base tesecae eS 251
Prog BE OMIS goes 8 515 jase ick sien dsc dte a eecacgei a br sislacnss ai saleonbonnd Beawat aatiedanae 252
“Froggie’s hand is different from his foot” .............0002 ecu eee 253
A tree frog Sha ah ce ano cess seals PERE weds ip oSLLaN'S ce Sore HOU iaescte cabibnTa Ge ising SUM Oo Neo Con ee 254
NGwtsiSwithining j:225 ct Ga dard ade aise ea aedaeweungeguae nee Mes ae aes 256
A red-spotted newt stalking plant lice..................0.0 0.00005 256
‘The: baby turtles. 55+ daic 24 aased sees se elt aad ek be Rast EEN ES EES 260
A mother turtle digging a nest for her eggs................020 0000s 261
Turtle eggs and young just hatched.......... 0... cece cece eee 261
Daniel, a painted pet terrapin. Putting Daniel back in his home
SUT CANA oo. sicsce dics cartes cd acim wciie aia) casi iafti bate phates cs aged Naeem arm tees BO 264
Feeding a pet land tortoise in California................0 000 eee ee 265
William: and:bis pets: y sass soi ses gulgen sual ess nee ues melee ours gets 266
A snake in the hand is worth two spotted adders on the ground....... 267
A pair Of garters) odio avacey scans cu hae ad ¥ genaies Mame aapebec CERES 268
PENS SMAI CO ics Sees cpsens Ele 4 sere eis aida a Gand Wie ALAS cia tus wh URURpANUA Fe outrage BOS 268
This little child loves living playthings............. 0... c cece eee 269
An alligator taking anap......... 02. ec eee eee eee een eenee 272
The green lizard, or American chameleon...............-.20000e eee 276
The horned toad ALG ORC id erectile no aos asl cov eittee ae ee Se aisha ae IE eae 278
A Lubbock ant’s nest with one-half the cover lifted................. 286
“Pretty caterpillar’ pics wcgvcd Had os nate eee teas ae dane See Td 287
An observation bee-hive....... 0... ccc cece cece teen tee enee 294
Many interesting happenings in the school terrarium ............... 295
Hull Measure ay. cada view, doa vawaw usa ne bo aceb teas eine Sate ede bnace «Ova 302

FOREWORD TO CHILDREN

NE of the greatest pleasures in keeping pets

comes from giving them personal care. There
is hardly any creature so dull that it does not learn
to recognize the one who feeds and cares for it,
and therefore comes to love this giver of all its
comforts and necessities.

You must realize that, in a way, you stand in the
same relation to your pets as do your parents or
guardians to you; and you can, perhaps, imagine
how you would feel if your mother were too busy
some morning to give you any breakfast, or your
father too absorbed in his own affairs to furnish
you with clothing or care.

Your pets are helpless little creatures, absolutely
dependent upon you; and any boy or girl who is
a traitor to this trust, should receive like treatment
from those upon whom he is dependent, so that he
may learn how it feels to be neglected. If you
forget to feed your caged pet some day, then you
too should go without eating for a day, and dis-
cover what the experience is like. Feeding your
pets should be just as much a part of your morning’s
routine as eating your own breakfast.

You must remember that only a few pets like to
be handled. The cat, dog, and some other domestic
animals are accustomed to it; but to most creatures
this experience seems dangerous, and they instinc-
tively shrink from it. Thus, consideration for your
pet will keep you from trying to handle it until
it has gained so much confidence in you that it
invites your caresses.

The Pet Book Foreword to Children

Another important thing for you to bear in mind
is that our common wild animals and birds, caught
when young and reared in a cage, are quite unfitted
to care for themselves when they are liberated.
It is therefore far better to let the little creatures
have their liberty as soon as they are old enough to
move about freely, and keep their companionship
by feeding them daily.

Gentleness and kindness are the two means at
your command for gaining the love and confidence
of your pets; and there is no happiness quite so
heart-satisfying, as that which comes from feeling
that some little dependent creature looks up to
you with faith that you are the most beneficent
being in the whole world.

One delightful entertainment in connection with’
pets is the keeping of a note-book in which is recorded.
accounts of their cunning actions and clever tricks.
Such a note-book will ever afterwards be a source
of pleasure and interest, and many of the observa-
tions recounted in it may prove of real importance
scientifically. Such a book may be illustrated also
if you are clever with your pencil or brush. On
page 80 is given extracts from one of my own note-
books devoted to a baby-squirrel. This will suggest
some idea as to methods of recording animal be-
havior.

Study your pets as individuals, for you will find
that the lower animals differ one from another as
much as do people. Find by experiment what
your individual pet likes best, and gratify its tastes.
If possible, give a variety of food by changing the
dietary somewhat from day to day; keep the cages
clean and wholesome, and always provide plenty
of fresh water. Do by your pets as you yourself
would be done by, for the Golden Rule works quite
as well with the lower creatures as with people.

Photo oy Verne Morton

ENDS

FRI

INTIMATE

A Collie and his master

Photo by Verne Morton

SPEAK FOR IT

Mammals

THE DOG

NBO REALLY understand our dog we
should know some of the reasons for his
habits and peculiar powers. The only
way to learn these’ is to study the ways
w of his nearest wild relatives, which are
the wolves, for we are certain that our dogs had wolf-
like ancestors. Even now there are packs of wild
dogs in Australia and India that have wolf-like
habits. There is perhaps no more delightful way to
become acquainted with wolf habits than to read the
First Jungle Book and become familiar with the ways
of Mowgli’s brothers. Although the Jungle Stories
are in part fanciful, the habits and ways of wolves
are well portrayed in them. We should also read
Thompson-Seton’s ‘‘Lobo”’ in Wild Animals I Have
Known, and ‘‘Tito’”’ in Lives of the Hunted.

Let us consider for a moment what we find in
our dog that he has inherited from his wild ancestors:
The ancestral dog ran down his prey, and did not
lie in ambush, as did the ancestral cat. To run
down such creatures as deer, sheep, goats, and the
like, the dog needed to have long and strong legs,
and feet well-padded, so they should not be torn
by rocks; the toe-nails had to be large and stout,
and not to be pulled back, like the cat’s, for the dog
needs his claws to help keep his footing, especially
when turning quickly. The dog’s body is naturally
long, lean and muscular, just the kind of a body

Mammals The Dog

that a runner needs; and it is covered with coarse
protective hair, instead of fine fur, which would
be too warm a coat for so active an animal.

The dog has a keen eye, but cannot see in the dark
as well as does the cat. Yet the wild ancestors of
‘the dog hunted mostly at night, their wonderful
powers of smell rendering the keener sight unneces-
sary. Our dog is so much superior to us in the
ability to smell, that we cannot easily imagine how
the world seems to him; his world is as full of scents
as ours is full of objects which we see. The damp,
soft skin that covers his nose is moist, and is in the
best possible condition to carry the scent to the
wide nostrils. The nostrils are situated in the
most forward part of the face, and thus may be
turned in any direction to receive the impressions
which every breath of air brings to them. Hounds
often follow the track of a fox several hours after
it was made. The dog knows all his friends and
enemies by their odor more surely than by their -
appearance.

The dog’s hearing is also very acute, and his ear-
flaps are arranged so that they may be lifted in
any direction, to guide the sound to the inner ear.
His weapons for battle are his teeth, especially the
great tushes, or canines; his molars are especially
fitted for cutting meat, but not for chewing; these
teeth cut the food into pieces small enough so that
he can gulp them down, and the stomach does the
rest.

Most dogs bay when following their prey, which
at first thought might seem bad policy, since the
sound tells the victim where the enemy is; but we
must remember that wolves hunt in packs, and the
baying keeps the pack together. Dogs often howl

The Dog Mammals

at night; this is an ancestral habit to call the pack
together; it is interesting to note that the dog when
howling lifts his nose in the air so as to send the
sound far and wide. The reason that occasionally
a dog howls when he hears music, is because it
probably reminds him in some way of the howling
of the pack, and he at once joins the chorus.

Although we know that our dog descended from
a wild animal, we do not know just which ones of
the wolf tribe were his ancestors, for the dog was
man’s domesticated companion long before there
were any picture records of man’s history. It is
believed that the savages of different lands developed
their dogs from the native wild species of wolves or
dogs in order to use them to help in hunting. The
scientists who study the specimens of animals
preserved in the rocks, tell us that the dog’s brain
has increased in quality and size through his asso-
ciation with man.

More than two hundred breeds of dogs have been
developed by man, and each one has its own peculi-
arities, and therefore should have special treatment.
All that we can do in this little book is to give
general directions which are equally good for all
dogs.

DIFFERENT BREEDS OF DOGS

Although different species of wild dogs or wolves.
may have been responsible for some breeds of dogs,
like those used by the Eskimo, and although Egyp-
tian pictures made more than five thousand years.
ago show that even then various breeds had been.
developed, yet most of our common breeds have been
developed in Europe and England within a few

Mammals The Dog

centuries. It is interesting to note that pictures
painted by great artists showing dogs in hunting
scenes, have helped much in revealing the history
of different varieties.

Since dogs were tamed first to become the compan-
ions and protectors of man, so the different breeds
have been developed to meet the needs or fancies
of man. For instance, the bulldog was originally
a large dog used for general purposes, but the need
for a dog by butchers and others to subdue wild and
fierce bulls developed a dog with strong jaw and
grit to match. At first the bull was led by the ear,
and naturally a large rather tall dog was needed
for that; later, the bull was led by the nose anda
smaller, short-legged dog was needed for that, and
thus the bulldog as we know him was evolved.

In ancient times there were many robbers that
preyed upon people who lived in isolated houses,
and strong, fierce watch dogs were almost a neces-
sity; these were called ‘“‘bandogs’’, and from them
was developed the mastiff. The great Dane came
from a race of dogs prized by the Greeks and Romans
in hunting fierce wild game, like the wild boar.
The greyhound gained his slender body and long
legs because man needed a swift dog to help him
catch, for food, swift animals like rabbits and deer.
Later the foxhound was developed to hunt foxes
for sport; and the long-bodied short-legged dachs-
hund was evolved to go into the burrows of badgers
and rabbits and thus capture these creatures. The
great St. Bernard came into being by aiding the
monks of Switzerland in keeping to the safe roads
in deep snows, thus enabling travelers to reach the
hospices in safety. The Newfoundland probably
developed itself as a water dog since in that country

oe ae

Phow vy W. Reid

PUPPIES SEEING THE WORLD

ana
Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.

NOT YET FRIENDS

of Doubleday, Page & Co.
A PRIZE DOG AND HIS MASTER

Courlesy

The Dog Mammals

it had to eat fish or starve and therefore learned to
catch fish for itself. It thus gained its webbed feet.

The spaniel was first used to start game birds for
falcons both on land and water, as records five hun-
dred years ago show; and the setter was also early
developed as a dog that would sit down as soon as it
located game, but pointers were probably developed
independently. The spaniel, as its name indicates
came originally from Spain. It was first used to
spring feathered game for the hawk; while the sitting
spaniel or ‘‘setter’’ was used to start birds to be
caught in a net; and the pointer was used to point
game which the hunter shot with the cross-bow,—all
before gunpowder was invented.

From ancient times almost every country had its
sheep dogs, for one of the earliest needs for a dog
was to aid nomadic man in guarding his flocks of
cattle, sheep and goats. In the British Isles there
have been developed three kinds of sheep dogs,
the smooth coated, the bobtailed, and the collie.
The collie was developed in the Highlands of Scot-
land, but from what ancestors we do not know;
he is famed for his loyalty and sagacity in caring
for sheep, but he was scarcely known outside of
Scotland before 1860. Now he is a favorite in
every civilized country, and is highly appreciated
for his intelligence and beauty. Every one inter-
ested in collies should read ‘‘Bob, Son of Battle,”
for this book gives a true picture of the skill of these
wonderful dogs in their native Highlands.

The terriers seem to have originated in England
and are of hound origin,—probably a mixture of fox-
hound or wolfhound and deerhound. They were
probably mongrels of small size in that they were
used to hunt badgers, foxes and rabbits in their bur-

Mammals The Dog

rows. They thus won their name, terrier, from the
Latin terra, meaning earth. Although such dogs may
have existed in England for several centuries, the
many breeds of terriers known today have been
developed mostly within the last century.

The toy dogs were especially developed as pets, and
have no use whatever. The Pomeranian or spitz
is descended from a large dog, and was developed in
Southern Europe. The poodle has a spaniel origin,
and the fashion of clipping his hair is at least three
hundred years old, as is shown by pictures. The
Maltese toy dog is descended from poodles. The
pug is from China, and of very ancient lineage. The
Pekinese and Japanese spaniels are also of a very
ancient breed, and probably have common ancestors.

HOUSE

Our friend, the dog, is so sensitive to treatment that
he needs to be considered as one of the family, if we
wish him to be comfortable, happy and healthy; and
when he has the run of the premises with his bed in
the stable he is usually very comfortable. However,
it is often necessary that he sleep in a kennel, and
this should always be attractive, light, well-venti-
~ lated, not too cold, well-drained, clean, and entirely
free from dampness and draughts. The best kennel
is one which can be cleaned and aired when not in
use. It may be a wooden box, or a barrel, turned
upside down, placed on a platform raised a little
above the earth; or it may be an especially built
house; but of whatever form, it needs to be roomy,
protected from the cold winter winds and shaded
from the summer’s sun. It is highly desirable that
there should be two little windows at the top of the

The Dog Mammals

kennel, on opposite sides. These may be of glass, or
simply holes with wooden shutters; in either case,
they should be arranged so that they may be opened
or closed, depending upon the weather or the direc-
tion of the wind.

For the dog’s bed, a layer of clean straw is best,
and this should be changed every week. Sawdust,
carpets and mattings are not desirable as bedding,
since they harbor fleas. When the kennel is scrubbed,
disinfectants should be used, and it should be per-
fectly dry before new straw for the bed is put in
place. The walls of the kennels should be white-
washed, or painted with creolin to keep them sweet
and clean. There should be sand in front of the
kennel, and if the dog is chained, a long chain from
six to nine feet should be used, and there should be
always a plentiful supply of fresh, clean water within
reach. It is best to have but one dog in a small
kennel.

If the dog sleeps in a warm corner of shed or
stable, or if allowed to sleep in the house, he should
always have a corner of his own; in such a situation
a piece of carpet may be used for bedding, which
should be often cleaned, or changed. Delicate dogs
need a bed almost as soft as our own; but a dog should
not be allowed to sleep on the bed of his master, for
hygienic reasons.

FOOD

To keep a dog happy, healthy and active, we must
be careful to feed him regularly and moderately; we
must study our dog, and see how much he naturally
eats and never urge him to eat more. Most dogs are
fed too often, although there is a difference in food
requireménts of different breeds. Large, and very

Mammals The Dog

active dogs will consume more then those which are
smaller or more quiet in their habits. Two meals per
day, a light breakfast and a supper which he can
digest, are all that a dog needs. The best diet is
varied. Meat should not be given except in small
quantities; it should be cooked, and even then,
should be given sparingly. The food does not need
to be warm, and must never be hot or sloppy.
Scraps from the table may be fed, if they contain a
sufficient amount of meat; if not, cheap meat should
be bought and boiled, and it, or its liquor mixed with
bread or vegetables. The best diet is made of meat
thus cooked, chopped and mixed with rice or oatmeal,
or occasionally with corn meal for a variety; but the
latter is too heating for summer diet. Rice cooked
with codfish is an excellent food for winter. Cooked
vegetables should be fed at least twice a week; if the
dog seems hungry after eating porridge or vegetables,
he may be given a dog biscuit. For breakfast give
porridge with milk, taking care to not have it sloppy,
and a dog biscuit three or four times a week if
necessary. For the evening meal, give a mixture of
vegetables and cooked meat, in the proportion of
one-fourth or less of meat to three-fourths of bread or
vegetables. A large dog, weighing eighty pounds,
may be given at each meal three-fourths of a pound of
cooked rice with one-fourth pound of cooked meat
chopped, and mixed so thoroughly that the meat
cannot be separated from the rice. We have known
of hounds kept in perfect condition in winter when
fed steadily on corn meal in the form of johnny-cake
or mush mixed with stewed scraps of waste meat.
The johnny-cake was made with lard or cottolene.
In summer, less meat and much skimmed milk were
given.

The Dog Mammals

Do not pay attention when your dog begs for food,
since to yield would most likely ruin his health. He
should not be fed at the table, nor out of regular
hours. The dishes from which he eats should be
cleaned every day. They should be of earthen or
agate ware, and not old rusty tins. The dishes should
never be washed with the dishes from our table; this
is a practice dangerous to our health. The dog is
fond of gnawing bones; this assists in keeping his
teeth clean. The bone should be of medium hard-
ness, but the bones of chicken or game should never
be given, as they are likely to splinter and choke the
animal.

Our skin is filled with pores through which we per-
spire, but the dog can only perspire through his tongue.
If he cannot get water on a hot day his suffering is
intense; and to keep a dog well, he must always have
access to plenty of fresh, clean water. A drinking
dish for his use should always be kept in a certain
place; there should be one inside the house, and one
in the yard, and both should be cleaned and filled
every day.

CARE

An over-fed, inactive dog is a loafer, and not to be
desired. The best dog is one that takes plenty of
exercise. If possible, he should be allowed to run
daily in the fields; but if this is not practicable, he
should be taken out daily for long walks.

The dog’s skin is very sensitive, and he should not
be washed except when necessary. In summer he
may be bathed often, but in winter only when
decency demands it. He should be bathed in water
of tepid temperature. The head should be wet first,
but the water should be kept out of the ears, since

Mammals The Dog

it causes canker. After coming from the bath he
should be placed where there are no drafts, and where
he will dry rapidly and thoroughly. Kneading him,
and rubbing with a coarse, rough towel, will assist in
this process. After the bath he should be taken for a
brisk run.

A desirable collar for a dog is of flat leather; but a
round leather collar is cooler for summer.

If it is necessary to chain the dog, fasten a wire rope
between two trees or posts, about seven feet from the
ground, place a ring on the rope to which attach his
chain, this will give him some freedom for exercise.

The dog always recognizes a friend. He is very
sensitive, and harsh treatment will never teach him
obedience. He is intelligent, and with patience may
be controlled by the tone of voice. When he does
wrong, he should be corrected at the time, but he
should never be struck over the ears, mouth or ab-
domen. An obedient dog is far happier than one
that disobeys. Develop his intelligence, and teach
him to do useful things, as well as to play.

If it is desirable that the dog should look his best,
he may be brushed with a leather brush once a week;
the brush and comb should be disinfected and cleaned
after use each time. Ordinarily combing and brush-
ing is reserved for show dogs. The disinfectant used
for kennels and cages in the New York Zoological
Gardens is ‘‘White pine,’’ diluted according to direc-
tions, and sprinkled or spread over the walls and
floors. Jeyes fluid, sanitas and izal, in hot solutions
may be used. Creolin is also excellent. The kennel
must be sprayed while it is empty, and the disin-
fectant must be washed off before the animal is
returned to it. If this is done often, the dog will be
kept free from fleas and other parasites.

Photo by Verne Morton

TRAINING THE PUPPY

Photo by Verne Morton

A LITTLE ROUGH-RIDER

The Dog Mammals

If the dog is in poor condition, and becomes thin
and weak with distended stomach, and has a large
appetite, he is probably afflicted with worms, and
should be given a good vermifuge when his stomach is
empty. ‘“‘Sure-shot’’ is very highly recommended as
a vermifuge, and should be used according to direc-
tions; however, there are many good medicines of
this sort on the market, and usually after a vermifuge
is given it should be followed with a dose of castor oil,
a teaspoonful for a small dog, or a tablespoonful for a
large dog. The rubbing of the hind parts along the
ground is a sign that a dog is troubled with worms.

For constipation, olive oil may be given, or small
doses of castor oil. <A little cod liver oil should be
given occasionally to keep the dog in good condition.
This may be procured in form of biscuit.

Food manufacturers like Spratt’s Co. have a large
variety of foods which have corrective and tonic
effects upon the dog’s system, and may be substituted
for medicine.

For wounds and sores apply flowers of sulphur and
crude petroleum mixed to a thick cream.

CARE OF PUPPIES

The mother dog should have all the freedom possi-
ble before giving birth to her puppies. She should
also have an extra amount of food. Itis far better
to let her have freedom and choose her own place to
cradle her young; or if this is impossible, a comforta-
ble, well-drained kennel, quiet, retired from people
and dogs should be provided for her. The puppies
are carried by the mother nine weeks, and are born
blind. Their eyes open in eight to ten days. The
mother should be left alone in their- earliest care.

Mammals The Dog

While she is nursing her litter she should be given
plenty of easily digested food, which should be salted,
and have in it plenty of oily matter. She should not
be allowed to bring up too large a litter, never more
than eight, and fewer according to her size. If the
puppies are thin, one or more should be taken away.

As soon as the puppies are old enough to take food
from us, they should be fed four times a day, and
milk should be a large part of the food. If vegetables
or mush are given with it, there should be twice as
much of milk. As it is desirable that puppies should
eat all that is possible, they may be fed more than
they can eat, but the remains must be cleaned up each
time. A dry dog biscuit should be given the puppy
to gnaw when he is about eight weeks old, so that the
teeth may be strengthened and kept clean, but he
should never be given a hard bone. Phosphated
lime or bone-dust should be scattered over the
puppy’s food from time to time to help in forming his
bones. Puppies should never be lifted by the neck
as we lift a kitten, but should be lifted by placing
both hands beneath the body.

If puppies are afflicted with fleas they should be
washed carefully and dried in a warm atmosphere,
and their kennels disinfected. Many recommend
Deoter’s cream of parasites, which may be used with
safety with excellent results in freeing dogs from
fleas; or they may be washed with Spratt’s or Jeyes’
soaps, and izal used afterwards.

Puppies are likely to be troubled with lice which
do not affect the old dog. Ifa mixture of lard and
flowers of sulphur be rubbed over the puppy, espec-
ially at the roots of the tail, and around the backs of
the ears, this pest may be conquered. When apply-
ing the paste rub against the hair. The paste may

The Dog Mammals

be applied twice, leaving one day between. The day
after the last application the little victim should be
washed with soap and water and dried carefully, in
a place free from cold and drafts. This remedy
rarely needs to be used a second time.

Puppies are likely to be troubled with worms after
weaning. The signs are, inflated abdomen, weakness
as shown by sitting or lying instead of running about,
and becoming so thin that the ribs show. A vermi-
fuge once or twice repeated isimportant. Geta good
vermifuge, like ‘‘Sure-shot,’’ or Spratt’s worm
capsules for puppies, and follow directions.

Each puppy individually must be taught cleanly
habits, beginning as soon as it is old enough to run
about freely. At this time the puppy requires con-
stant care, and only by unwearying attention can it
be properly trained. It should be put out of doors
every half hour for the first three days after it has
been brought into the house. Each time, as it comes
back, it should be patted and praised. If it urinates
on the floor, rub its nose in the puddle and put it
out of doors, but do not whip it, since a nervous dog
will thus be cowed and be all the harder to train.
After the three days, watch carefully and if it begins
to seem uneasy and to sniff around the floor, take it
up and put it out immediately. If the puppy is to

.live entirely in the house, a sand tray should be pro-
vided, which should be placed ina closed box, and the
puppy should be put into this box instead of out of
doors. The sand in the tray needs to be changed every
day. Two weeks of careful training usually serves to
teach most dogs cleanly habits. Care must be taken
never to keep the dog waiting if it seems uneasy,
and it should be borne in mind that an ill-trained
dog owes his failings to the fault of the trainer.

Mammals The Dog

DOG MAXIMS

Never give a dog hot food.

Never allow a dog to eat out of a dish used by
people for eating or washing; the dog has parasites
dangerous to us.

Never let a dog lick your face.

Do not force a dog into water for sticks if he does
not wish to go, for it may injure him.

If the dog leaves part of his food untouched, he is
being fed too much.

If a dog bites you, disinfect the wound with a
strong solution of carbolic acid and consult a doctor.

If you do not wish your dog to be ‘‘smelly’”’, wash
him as often as needful, and wet him to the skin.

If you have to punish your dog, do it when he is
caught in the offense, for dogs cannot remember long.

Never strike a dog over the head, ears, or abdomen.

The dog should always have access to fresh, clean
water. :

REFERENCES

AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

Tue Doc Book, Watson.

OvuTpooR Work, M. R. Miller.

“Chink,” and “Bad Lands Billy,” Lives or tHe Huntep;
“Snap,” and ‘The Winipeg Wolf,” in ANIMAL HERoEs; ‘‘Tito,”
in Lives oF THE HuNTED, and ‘‘Lobo,’”? Witp Antmats I Have
Known, Thompson-Seton. .

“Mowgli Stories,’ and “Red Dog,” in JuncLe Storizs,
Kipling.

Bos, Son oF Batt e, Olliphant.

Ras AND His Frienps, John Brown.

STorIES OF Brave Does, retold from St. Nicholas.

TuHE Doc oF FLANDERS, Ouida.

_ “The Passing of the Black Whelps,’’ THE WATCHERS OF THE
“Traits, C. G. D. Roberts.

Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.

GIVING THE PUP A RIDE

Photo by Verne Morton

YOUNG FOXES

THE FOX

ARING and rascally is the fox as a pet,
and on account of its rascality it
needs especial attention and care.
Many a country boy who kept his

spet fox carefully chained to a ken-
if nel wondered how it managed to
capture a chicken so often. But,
E after he had studied the wiles of
his pet, he wondered nolonger; for hesawit apparently
deliberately bait the chickens with the remnants of
its meal, meanwhile pretending to be fast asleep, until
some reckless biddy came within the radius of its
chain.

The fox lives in a den or burrow, often selecting
a woodchuck burrow, or making one for itself. I once
saw a fox home that was in a rather deep cave beneath
the roots of astump. The mother fox usually selects
some open place for a den for her litter; often an
open field or side hill is chosen for this. The den is
carpeted with grass, and is a very comfortable place
for the fox cubs. The den of the father fox is usually
near by.

The fox is an industrious hunter of meadow mice,
rabbits, woodchucks, frogs, snakes, grasshoppers and
birds and their eggs. It has a bad reputation with
the farmer because of its attacks on poultry. It not
only raids hen-roosts, but catches many fowls that
are wandering through the fields after food. It
carries a heavy bird, like a goose, in an interesting
manner, by slinging it over its shoulder, and holding
the head in its mouth to steady the burden.

SY)

“19

Mammals The Fox

Young foxes are born in the spring. They are
black at first and are exceedingly playful and active.
Their parents give them most devoted care.

HOUSE

Since the fox is closely related to the dog, it should
be treated much like a small dog. The pet fox should
be chained to a comfortable kennel, or its kennel may
be kept in a yard enclosed by a wire fence, which
needs to be about six feet high, and should be turned
imwards at the top for about a foot, otherwise the
captive will climb out. The kennel needs to have
fresh bedding put in at least every week, for the fox
has a strong and disagreeable odor, and its home soon
becomes a most offensive place. If kept in the yard
the ground must be kept clean.

FOOD

A young cub may be brought up on a bottle, giving
it warmed cow’s milk. As soon as old enough to eat,
it may be fed on dog biscuits soaked in milk, and
chopped raw meat. The full-grown fox will eat
soaked dog biscuit, scraps from the table, and is
particularly fond of fowls’ heads; and in fact will
take almost any kind of raw meat. Fruit or carrots
should be offered. These may not be eaten, but the
fox should have some vegetable food, and sometimes
seems to have a liking for it. Plenty of cold water
should be kept where the pet can have access to it at
all times.

REFERENCES

AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.
Rep Fox, C. G. D. Roberts.
SILVER Fox, Thompson-Seton.

Photo by Professor Fred S. Charies
“KATRINA WOLFCHEN,

”

A PET COYOTE

From Handboor of Nature-Study
RED FOX

Photo by Alice Willis

KITTY LIKES MILK

THE CAT

ooo NLY the student of history
can fully appreciate the im-
| portance of cats. If we could
| know really the history of the civ-
ilizations of the world, we should
undoubtedly find that cats have
played an important part in it.
Wherever pioneers have planted
their crops, there have followed
rats and mice in plenty to reap their harvest; there-
fore, no part of their household belongings was prized
more by our forefathers than the domestic cat.
Indeed, the cat is still a great factor in keeping in
check rats and mice. Our government appropriates
money every year to support cats in the postoffices
and other public buildings; and now in Pittsburg our
national government is attempting to develop a strain
of cats that can endure life in cold storage ware-
houses. Thus we can see that the story of Dick
Whittington reveals to us, better than most written
histories, the value of a cat in a country overrun with
vermin. In Dick Whittington’s time a cat was
indeed worth its weight in gold.

There are in general, two kinds of cats,—the long-
haired or Persians and the short-haired which includes
our common household puss.

Formerly the Angoras were supposed to be distinct
from the Persians, but now they are regarded as
indistinguishable. The Persian varieties are deter-
mined by color. They are the Blacks, the Blues,

Mammals The Cat

the Brown Tabbies, the Oranges and Creams, the
Silvers, the Tortoise-shells, and the Whites.

The short-haired cats show many varieties in the
matter of color, and some in form. They are the
Blacks, the Russian Blues, which are not tinged with
slate, but areintensely blue, the Creams, and Oranges, .
the Dutch-marked, being white with black or blue or
cream or orange, the Tabbies, the Tortoise-shells and
the Whites. The Siamese is pure cream or fawn with
seal-brown face, ears, legs and tail, and has bright blue
eyes. Manx and Japanese cats have no tails.

In an ancient Egyptian picture, a cat with a black
stripe on the heels is represented as catching birds for
its master. At Sakkara and Benihassan in Egypt
are cemeteries of cat mummies, which show how
much these creatures were prized thousands of
years before the Christian Era.

_ Thus puss has been made the companion of man
for so many centuries that we do not know what she
was like in her original wild condition. Possibly she,
like the dog, has several species, in different countries,
as ancestors. However, there are plenty of wild cats
still living in many parts of the world, and we can
judge by studying them what the wild habits of our
domestic pets naturally were.

The cat can run rapidly for a short distance, but
she is not a natural runner like the dog; instead, she
is fitted with strong hind legs which enable her to
leap far. She does not get her prey by chasing it;
she lies in ambush behind some object, or stretched
along a limb, not too high from the ground, and there
waits for some unsuspecting creature to pass; then
she gathers herself tensely and leaps upon her victim
stunning it with the blow, and seizes it in her sharp
curved claws, and her sharp tushes.

The Cat Mammals

The long, strong, supple body of a cat, covered
with soft, sleek fur, is graceful and sinuous in its
motions; her step is stealthy, for her claws are re-
tracted above her toe-pads, and make no noise; when
hunting she assumes a slinking gait; her eyes are
fitted for seeing in daylight or in semi-darkness;
the pupils are contracted to mere vertical slits during
the day, but at night they expand over almost the
entire eye. At the back of the eye is a reflecting
surface which catches such dim light as there is, and
by reflecting it, enables the cat to use it twice. The
cat’s nose is moist, and her sense of smell is excellent,
but not so keen as that of the dog. However, she
has a very keen sense of hearing. Her whiskers are
of great use to her; these long hairs about the face
are connected at their roots with sensory nerves, so
that when moving in the dark, if one of them touches
an object, pussy at once receives warning. .

Puss has a wide range of expression in her voice
and gestures. She can mew questioningly, cozily,
affectionately or entreatingly; she can squall when
hurt, and emit heart-rending mews when she is
lonely, and growl when you interfere with her food.
She can purr, which is a very soothing noise indeed;
but when she sings for the entertainment of her lover,
or howls defiance at her enemy, she wails in a manner
that sends chills down the spine of the listener. She
can also ‘“‘spit,’’ a performance most: expressive of
defiance or contempt. When angry, she switches
her tail threateningly; when feeling pleasant and
companionable she carries her tail upright; and when
frightened, the hairs of the tail stand out, making it
three times its natural size.

The cat is a night-prowler by nature, for it is then
she most easily finds her prey. She is especially a

Mammals The Cat

hunter of mice and rats, which are alsonight-prowlers;
although these creatures form a natural part of her
food, yet she gets so many internal parasites from
them, that sometimes her health is thus greatly
injured. ‘‘Mice make a cat poor,’’ say the farmer
people, a true observation because of the many
worms which have their early stages in mice, and their
later stages in the intestines of the cat.

Cats should, when young, be taught to leave birds
alone. A little attention in training the kitten will
later save the life of many a bird. As soon as the
kitten is old enough to begin to notice birds, it should
be switched every time it even looks at one. A few
days of this kind of treatment is usually sufficient to
teach the lesson, for the kitten is no fool. If she
persists in catching birds, take the bird from her that
she has just killed, put some red pepper upon it, and
let her have it again. If this is done once, it will
usually make her afraid to touch any bird thereafter.

Leaving cats at summer cottages during the winter
ought to be considered a criminal offense. The poor
cats suffer from the unaccustomed rigors of winter,
and by starvation they are forced to climb trees in
search of birds. Many thousands of our beneficial
song birds are thus‘ sacrificed every year because of
the wicked thoughtlessness of people who desert
their cats and thus render them wild in their habits.

An intelligent cat may be taught many things, and
each of us who loves our puss may have an interesting
story to tell of the achievements of our especial pet.
When I was a baby of five months, I was adopted by
a cat, a handsome black and white creature called
‘“Jenny.’’ <A cruel woods-cat had come to the barn
and killed Jenny’s first litter of kittens, and she was a
lonely and disconsolate little mother, mourning for

The Cat Mammals

her children. She seemed to comprehend that I,
although larger than she, was an infant. She tried
to give me milk from her own breasts, and later
brought me half-killed mice and placed them entic-
ingly near my hands in my cradle when I was put to
sleep on the piazza. Whenever I cried she came to
me and tried to comfort me, during the first nine
years of my life, which was as long as she lived.
Even now I can remember how great a comfort she
was to me when naughtiness was the cause of my
weeping, and when therefore I felt that the whole
world except Jenny was against me. Jenny opened
all of the doors in the old farm house from the thumb-
piece side. She leaped up and thrust one front leg
through the handle, thus supporting her weight while
she pressed down on the thumb-piece with the other
front foot. I remember our guests were greatly
astonished at seeing her come thus swinging into the
room on the door. Jenny was very polite, and
always thanked us with a mew when we opened the
door to let her in or out.

HOME

The cat is very sensitive to treatment, and
responds to good care; if we wish a cat as areal pet
we must provide it the comforts of a home. A
special sleeping place should be given; this may con-
sist of a box or a basket, in which should be placed a
bed of soft straw or hay, with disinfected sawdust
sprinkled on the bottom of the box; this bed should
be changed as often as is needed. A bit of carpet ora
cushion may be used for bedding, but this needs to be
frequently cleaned, or it may become infested with
fleas. The bed should be placed in a warm and pro-
tected situation; cats should not be put out of doors

Mammals The Cat

nights. In case the cat is valuable, the risk of losing
it is great if it is allowed to run out at night. More-
over, it does greatest damage to birds at night, or
during early morning.

If puss is confined in the house, a shallow tin or
box of dry earth or ashes should be kept in some
convenient place, and she should be taught to use it.
This should be emptied every day to keep it perfectly
sanitary.

If a number of cats are kept there should be a
special room or building with an outside run for their
use. This place would need to be heated in cold
weather, and must be free from damp, frost and
draughts. Cats do not do well in pens or cages.

FOOD

Cats should be fed well at regular periods. Bread
and milk is an acceptable food to most. Potatoes
mixed with meat scraps and gravy may be given now
and then; occasionally fish heads, or other fish scraps,
boiled with or without rice, are greatly relished.
Many cats like porridge in the winter months, and
all enjoy getting raw meat off of bones; however,
smaller bones of chicken or game should not be given
lest they cause internal injury. Cooked meat, in
reasonable quantities, should be given each day.
Cats are fond of grass, mint and catnip; catnip
especially should be harvested in the summer, so that
it may be givenin the winter. Some advise the feed-
ing of a little raw meat three times a week, but this
sometimes produces indigestion, or what is often
called ‘‘fits.’’ Above all, a dish of clean water should
be kept where puss can help herself, for she likes to
drink many times a day. Feeding her milk is not

The Cat Mammals

compensation for lack of water, therefore her special
drinking dish should be kept filled with clean water,
where she can reach it at any time.

CARE

Cats are sensitive and nervous creatures, and there-
fore it is necessary to treat them with gentleness and
kindness. They are timid, but are fond of notice.
They are very sensitive to the tone of voice, and often
a stern command serves quite as well to warn or
punish as a whipping. They are greatly benefited
by warmth and sunshine, and should have plenty of
exercise. Bathing is not necessary for the short-
haired cats, for they are very cleanly and attend to
their own washing. The long-haired cats need more
care, and cannot be allowed their liberty. They
need to be carefully washed, dried and combed before
a fire, often enough to keep them clean. Some advise
the cleaning of the fur with fine flour, which can be
rubbed in and brushed out. During the summer
months cats are often troubled with fleas. One
remedy for this is to wet the fur in a solution consist-
ing of one quart of water to two tablespoons of
creolin. This kills the fleas, and leaves no unpleasant
odor, and is not poisonous to the cat. A lather of tar
soap also may be used for this. An old fashioned
remedy was to spray the cat’s fur and bedding with
spirits of camphor. Carbolic acid should never be
used as a disinfectant around cats as it does not agree
with them.

The epileptic “‘fits’”’ with which cats are afflicted are
often caused by internal parasites, and some good
vermifuge should be given. One grain of santonine
sprinkled into a little milk and fed three times in one

Mammals The Cat

day on an empty stomach will usually effect a cure;
this treatment may be repeated twice at intervals of
two days to make sure. As santonine is a poison if
given in large quantities, it should be followed with a
teaspoonful of castor oil at night. Cats are often
afflicted with diarrhoea, and the cure for this is to
keep the patient confined, and give only a very small
amount of food, which should consist of boiled rice
and a little boiled milk. For constipation give a
teaspoonful of castor oil; one authority advises Gar-
field tea steeped strong and given in teaspoon doses.

Puss has a strong love for places and does not take
readily to anew home. Therefore, if it is necessary
to move a pet cat, she should be taken into a room
of .the new house, close the doors and windows, and
pet her and talk to her so that she feels that she is not
alone. Then she should be allowed to examine the
room until she becomes acquainted with it; and her
nest should be placed in the corner. Later she
should be allowed to examine the entire house at her
leisure, and usually after a little she will settle down
into her new quarters contentedly.

Every cat allowed in the house must be broken to
cleanliness when young. This is best done by giving
kittens close attention, and putting them out of doors,
or in their box with the sand tray as soon as they are
seen to be sniffing around corners of the room. If the
worst happens, the kitten’s nose should be rubbed in
the urine or excrement and then it should be put out
of doors. Toa cat, which has a most sensitive nose,
there could be no greater punishment or indignity
than this. With care in putting the kitten out of
doors at intervals, usually one or two repetitions of
this punishment is enough. A kitten hasa far better
memory than has a puppy.

From Country Life tn America

READY FOR THE KITTEN SHOW

Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.
IN MISCHIEF

Photo by Verne Morton
AN UNUSUAL STEP-MOTHER

The Cai Mammals

CARE OF MOTHER AND KITTENS

When the young are expected the mother should
have a dark and quiet retreat. She should be
given an open basket with a soft carpet in the bot-
tom, and she should be supplied with all the milk
she can drink.

There are usually from two to five kittens born
in a litter. They are blind and helpless at first.
The mother takes excellent care of her kittens,
feeding them and washing them, and giving them
every attention. On the tenth day after birth, the
kittens open their eyes, and soon clamber out of the
basket, very happy and playful. They should be
left with the mother from five to seven weeks, or
until she tries to wean them. Sad experience awaits
the kittens at this period when they try to get their
accustomed dinner. Their mother growls at their
approach, and cuffs their-ears energetically; so at
this time we should take the mother away, and teach
the kittens to lap sugared milk from a saucer.
A little lime water added to the milk is beneficial.
Soon we should begin to feed them three or four
times a day, on bread and milk, porridge, and a little
finely-minced cooked meat. The food should always
be lukewarm when given them. A little later,
boiled rice, brown bread and oatmeal with milk,
and sometimes boiled vegetables may be given.
Kittens need a soft bone to gnaw to keep their teeth
sharp and clean.

REFERENCES

AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

Our Domestic ANIMALS, C. W. Burkett.

ConcerRNING Cats, H. M. Winslow.

“How a Cat Played Robinson Crusoe,” NzIcHBors Une
Known, C. G. D. Roberts.

Mammals The Cat

“The Slum Cat,’’ ANIMAL HERoEs, Thompson-Seton.

“The Kitten at School,” THe Wit or THe WiLp, Ernest
Ingersoll.

‘Cat Storigs, Lion, TIGER AND PANTHER STORIES, retold from
St, Nicholas,

THE KITTEN AND THE FALLING LEAVES

See the kitten on the wall,

Sporting with the leaves that fall,
Withered leaves, one, two and three
Falling from the elder tree,
Through the calm and frosty air

Of the morning bright and fair.

See the kitten, how she starts,
Crouches, stretches, paws and darts;
With a tiger-leap half way

Now she meets her coming prey.
Lets it go as fast and then

Has it in her power again.

How she works with three or four,
Like an Indian conjurer;

Quick as he in feats of art,
Gracefully she plays her part;

Yet were gazing thousands there,
What would little Tabby care?

William Wordsworth.

Photo by Verne Morton

SUNSHINE, AND CONTENTMENT

Photo by Verne Morton

THE PET HORSE

THE PONY

HE pony is a hero, and bred of heroes. Wherever
it may have come from, or of whatever breed,
eI its ancestors braved and conquered dangers
a me and endured privations which would have
killed any animal less heroic. It is prob-
able, indeed, that because of the priva-
tions which these horses underwent when
in a wild or semi-wild state, their size was
= === ‘reduced and the races of ponies were
developed...

Strictly speaking, a pony is a horse, fourteen and
one-half hands high, or less. The finest breeds of
ponies come from regions of scanty vegetation and
unfavorable climate. This is true of the cold and
dry climates of Russia and Scandinavia; the sterile
islands of Shetland; the mountains of Wales, and
northwest America, with their scanty vegetation;
the heath-covered downs of Exmoor and New
Forest in England; the arid wastes of the southwest
United States and Mexico, and of Arabia. In all
of these regions races of ponies have been developed,
probably from wild herds -of hardy horses. The
struggle for existence under these adverse conditions
was so severe a test, that all but the hardiest died
from starvation. However, those which did sur-
vive were so tough and strong that they were able
to give to their offspring the endurance to withstand
cold or heat, scanty food and scanty water.

Thus it has happened that through generation
after generation of hardening, the pony of to-day is
superior in many ways to the horse which has been

Mammals The Pony

more tenderly cared for by man. The pony has
better feet and legs than the horse, and is more
active. Since a wild horse relies for safety upon
the strength of legs and feet, and the ability to flee
up mountain sides, if it happens to live in such a
situation, it was necessary to the pony’s existence
that it be thus strong and sure. I was in a stage
coach once in the Sierra mountains when we met an
Indian pony, heavily packed, on a very narrow .
mountain road. It stopped, looked at us with
intelligent eyes, then looked down the precipice
that fell away from one side of the road, then up
the steep bank that bordered the other side. Then
with quick decision, it climbed, squirrel-like, up the
bank out of our way and clinging to it like a fly to
the wall waited for us to pass, and afterwards
climbed carefully down. My heart was thrilled
with this daring performance, and I shall never
forget it.

The pony is not only stronger in body in propor-
tion than the horse, but it also lives longer. There
are many records showing ponies to have reached
the age of thirty-eight, forty, and even forty-five
years. Moreover, the pony is more intelligent than
the horse. There are many more trick ponies than
horses in shows, and one reason for this undoubtedly
is the superior brain of the pony, which enables it
to remember and to learn many things.

Of all the ponies, the Shetland is the most used as
a pet. If we could visit the home of the ancestors
of our Shetland pony, we should have to journey to
some very picturesque, rocky islands north of
Scotland. In fact, they are so far north that they
would seem to belong almost to the Arctic regions;
however, the climate there is changed and moderated

LOADING A PONY WITH PEAT IN THE SHETLAND ISLANDS

SANVISI GNWILSHS AHL NI SHINOd ONIGUAH JITIOO ¥

Apnig-aanjoN fo yooqpupy wosy

The Pony Mammals

by the warmth of the Gulf Stream. The islands
consist of high points of rocks, and basins lying be-
tween, which have peat bottoms. Over this peat
grows heather and scanty grass on which the herds
of ponies feed. There are no trees and shrubs for
shelter, and the ponies are never housed. They
are born, and live their lives in an open field the
year round. Their only protection from the wind
and storm are piles of rocks, and stone walls. Be-
cause of the warm, moist atmosphere brought by
the Gulf Stream into this semi-Arctic region, much
rain and mist is condensed; thus the Shetland ponies
have developed their long, fine hair, to protect them
from moisture.

The ponies were ranging these Shetland islands
before the year 872, and are supposed to have been
brought from Norway in ancient times. However,
ponies were found in England and Wales by Julius
Caesar when he conquered the British Isles. The
mustangs and bronchos of our Southwest are sup-
posed to have descended from horses introduced.
by the Spaniards, and therefore have Spanish or
Moorish ancestors.

HOUSE

The stable should be well ventilated, without
drafts, and clean bedding of straw should be given
every day. There should be a yard adjoining the
stable where the pony may be let out to take exercise
daily.

FOOD

In general, the pony should receive one-fourth or:
less of the rations given to a horse. Good, well-
cured hay, and clover, are best for it. A pint of bran,

Mammals The Pony

and a pint of oats may be fed twice each day for
grain. About once a week a steamed bran mash
may be given, and it is well to change the rations
slightly by feeding two or three carrots in addition
to the regular grain ration occasionally. Corn
meal, with the bran, may be. used instead of oats,
if the latter are not to be had. Corn meal two parts,
and one of cottonseed meal, with a small amount of
wheat bran, may sometimes be given to change the
feed.

- The pony’s stomach is small, and when more food
is packed into it than it naturally holds, the pony
becomes podgy, and no longer travels easily or freely.
A good quality of hay is excellent for keeping the
stomach and bowels in order. The pony should
have free access to grass as often as possible in sum-
mer.

CARE

The pony should be fed with absolute regularity,
and should not be used for a short time after its
meal. If it is not warm, it should be watered before
feeding; in the winter the water should have the
chill taken off. Also in winter the frozen bit should
be warmed before being placed in the pony’s mouth;
the tight-drawn, cruel, over-check rein should never
be used, although a moderate check may be needed.
When the pony is sweating it should be blanketed
immediately if hitched outside in the cold weather,
but if hitched in the barn the blanket should not be
put on until the perspiration has stopped steaming.
The pony should be carefully groomed, and its legs
should receive more attention than the body during
the grooming. In driving the pony, control it
more by the sound of the voice than by the whip;

The Pony Mammals

it should have daily exercise, either in driving or
in its yard; if this is impossible, then its feed should
be cut down somewhat while it is idle. Its shoes
should be removed and reset once a month, and
renewed as often as worn out; when the pony is
turned out to pasture in the winter, or for a period
of several weeks in the summer, the shoes should
be removed, as this helps growth which repairs
damage to the hoof.

It is well for the little master or mistress of the
pony to learn to take care of the harness, and to
learn how it goes together to fit the pony, as this will
avoid many accidents. If the harness becomes
muddy, or dusty, it should be brushed and sponged,
and then rubbed with a cloth moistened with neats-
foot oil. The patent or enameled leather ornaments
should be cleaned by rubbing with a cloth moistened
with tepid water, and should not be oiled. The
harness must be kept free from the dirt left by
sweat, as this galls the pony.

THE SHETLAND PONY

My Shetland Isle was bleak and cold,
With rocks and stones heaped high.

The heather o’er the open wold
Shone purple ‘neath the rainy sky.

‘There was my home; a sturdy foal
I roamed the peat bogs far and wide.
The rough rocks sheltered me from cold;
With scant grass was I satisfied.

My shaggy coat kept off the rain;

My herd was gay and free from care.
T ran and ran with touseled mane,—

I never saw a harness there.

THE COLT

ORSES have an interesting story as
told by the fossils in the rocks of
America; but we should not recog-
nize these very ancient ancestors
of our horses if we should see them,
for they were not larger than sheep,

and each one had four toes on
the front foot and three toes on the hind foot.
This first little horse with many toes lived when the
earth was a damp, warm place, and when animals
needed toes to spread out to enable them to walk in
the mud. But as the ages passed, the earth grew
colder and drier, and a long leg ending in a single
hoof seemed most serviceable for running swiftly
over dry places; thus it has come about that our
horses of the present day walk on the nails of their
middle toes, for the hoof is a toenail. In the desert
of Gobi in Thibet the original stock from which our
domestic horses have been bred was discovered by
Col. Przhevalski. These are dun-colored ponies,
with erect manes, no forelocks and with a dark stripe
along the back. Very good pictures of these horses
are found in the drawings made by the cave men
before the dawn of history.

Since the herds of wild horses made swift flights
when attacked by their enemies, colts are born with
long legs so that they are able to keep up with the
herd. In fact, its legs are so long that, when it
grazes, the colt has to spread the front legs wide
apart so as to reach the grass with its mouth. Of
course as the colt grows older its neck grows longer

The Colt Mammals

in proportion; for, an animal standing so high as a
horse, is obliged to have a long neck in order to feed.

HOUSE

A stable well-ventilated, dry and free from
draughts, should be provided for the colt in winter;
and plenty of bedding should be littered over the
floor.

FOOD

If it is necessary to raise the colt independently
of the mother, give it milk as fresh from a cow as
possible. Rich milk should never be given. Jersey
milk is far too rich for a colt, since it needs a milk
poor in fat. A half pint given to a colt two or three
days old is sufficient, but it should be fed often.
The milk should be prepared as follows: Take a
dessertspoonful of granulated sugar, add enough
water to dissolve it, and add three tablespoonfuls
of lime water, and enough milk to make a pound;
warm the mixture to blood-heat, and give one-half
a teacupful every hour at first. As the colt grows
older it should be given more food but less fre-
quently. At first it should be fed twelve times, and
then nine and then six times per day, but finally
it may be fed four times daily. Bean or pea gruel,
boiled and then put through a sieve to remove the
skins is excellent food for a young colt, as is also a
jelly made from boiling meal and shorts together.
When three or four weeks of age, it should be en-
couraged to nibble ground oats. If the colt is fed
milk after it is two months old, it should be given
skimmed milk. A ration of sweet skimmed milk,
ground oats and meal is excellent food for a growing
colt. Later, grain, ground oats, and in cold weather

Mammals The Colt

one-fourth the rations weight of corn meal, and-a
half pint of oil meal per day should be given.

CARE

Never feed sour milk, and always feed the milk
from vessels that have been scalded every day.
If the colt scours, two ounces of castor oil may be
given, and one feeding period skipped. If there is
any trouble with constipation, give half a pint of oil
meal per day in the food.

The colt should be handled properly from the first,
and should be taught obedience from the beginning,
if it is to be a useful horse. It should never be
frightened or teased. It should be taught early the
use of the halter, first to lead and then to drive;
and should early be made to “stand-over,” and to
have all its feet lifted successively and held for a
time. If you need to catch the colt and lift it
do not catch it around the neck, but put one arm
under its neck and the other under its hams, i.e.,
lift it at both ends at once. A colt caught in
this way will not be frightened, as when caught by
the head. Always be gentle, firm and patient when
dealing with your colt.

REFERENCES

Tue Horss, I. P. Roberis.

Ovutpoor Work, M. R. Miller.

DomeEsticaTED AnimALs, N. S. Shaler.

Our Domestic ANIMALS, C. W. Burgess.

MANUAL oF Farm Animas, M. W. Harper.

ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE, Warren.

Buiack Beauty, Sewell.

“KaweEan’s Run,” by Clarence King—Ciaws anp Hoors,
Johonnot. :

Joun Brent, Theodore Winthrop.

HANDBOOK OF NaTureE-Stupy, A. B. Comstock.

Photo by Verne Morton

THE PET COLT

UAIMAVD MTA VW SV ADMNOG FHL

THE DONKEY

ae interesting it would be if we could
see the ancestors of our pet donkey
for six thousand years back, all
standing in a row, with a picture
behind each showing in what
country it had lived, and what sort
of master it had had, and what sort of work it
did. It might require years to take in such a show,
and probably the ancestor at the far end of the line
would be found to be a wild, fleet animal of north-
eastern Africa,—maybe one. of a herd feeding on an
oasis in the Sahara, or grazing on the scanty vegeta-
tion of desert mountains. From this wild African
species our donkeys of today are supposed to have
originated. However, there are wild species found
in Persia and Syria, and one in Thibet, and one in
northwestern India, and perhaps our especial donkey
may have come from some of these. To this day,
herds of wild asses roam Persia and Armenia as
they did in the times of Abraham, or when Xenophon
described them four hundred years B. C. These
wild creatures can run so swiftly that Nadir Shah,
who lived two hundred years ago, considered that
running down one of these wild creatures with grey-
hounds was equal in effort to winning a battle, or
conquering a province. Its flesh was regarded as
superior to the best venison, and its hide was made
into ornamental shagreen and other valuable leather
entirely waterproof.

There are pictures of donkeys in the tombs of
ancient Thebes, which are excellent likenesses of

Mammals The Donkey

. the little animals that today bear the burdens for
the farmers along the Nile.

George Washington introduced donkeys to the
agriculturists of the United States. Spain had long
been in the lead in breeding these animals; and to
export one from that country was prohibited. But
the King of Spain, learning of Washington’s desire,
sent him two as a present. The donkey is used
extensively today in the southwestern United States
and Mexico, where its strength and endurance
as a beast of burden make it most useful. It is
there called a burro. Donkeys are used extensively
in southern Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor.
The best breeds are now found in Smyrna, the Is-
lands of Cypress, Spain and Peru.

The donkey is able to thrive upon food which
would starve a horse. It can subsist on one-fourth
the food necessary to keep a horse, and it can carry
burdens on its back for long distances which would
break down a horse; and it carries these burdens
over steep mountains, and roads where a horse
would stumble and fall. Its hoof is longer and nar-
rower, and more upright than that of the horse;
and the joint above it, called the pastern, is shorter
and stiffer, which renders its feet less likely to become
lame; and since the hoof is thicker and therefore
tougher than that of the horse, it is able to climb
mountains and rocky trails which would tear and
bruise the horse’s feet.

The donkey is a friend of the poor man, because
it can pick up a living at little expense. When
treated well, it is as affectionate as a dog. The
mother donkey is exceedingly fond of her colt.
The noted obstinacy of the animal comes probably
from long generations of cruel treatment. It is

The Donkey Mammals

an assertion of the creature’s natural strength and
dignity which have not been crushed out through
thousands of years of abuse. For defense, the
donkey can both bite and kick. As a kicker it is
most efficient, for it can bear its weight upon its
front feet and kick with both hind legs, aiming just
where each hoof shall strike with wonderful accuracy
and precision.

The color of the donkey should be a mouse gray,
with a dark line along the back bone, and a dark
transverse bar across the shoulders.

For housing and feeding the donkey, follow the
directions given for caring for the pony. It
should be kept warmer than the pony in winter,
for it suffers much with cold in our northern climate.

REFERENCE
Our Domestic AnImats, Burkett.

THE DONKEY

An Ass is what they called me in ancient days, long gone;
But Donkey or Burro is my present given name;

In German I am A-zel, in France I am an Ahn,

In Egypt, a Homar bedecked with beads and fame;

In Italian I’m Aseeno or little Aseenello—

In every land they load and whack me just the same.

But everybody knows I am a patient fellow,

Although sometimes I will not budge, because I am so game.

THE CALF

HE CALF with its playful ways makes

an attractive pet. When it is first
& born it is not very steady on its legs, and
in a state of wildness it is hidden by its
mother until it becomes strong enough to
follow with the herd. It is very obedient
to its mother’s’ training, and will remain
as still as if frozen unless actually attacked.
The hiding of the calf by its wild mother was a
necessity, since she was obliged to go far afield to
graze and get the food to be changed into milk for
the nourishment of her offspring; and, since she
was obliged to be absent for some time, while
grazing, the calf was obliged to go without nour-
ishment for some hours; this is made possible
by the large compound stomach of the calf, which
if filled twice per day affords sufficient nourishment.
Related to this large stomach of the calf, is the large
udder of the cow, which holds enough milk to fill
it; and thus she has become useful to us as a milch
animal.

HOUSE

For its winter home the calf needs a well-bedded
stall in a barn or closed shed, with windows and doors
sufficient for light and ventilation. The shed
should be built on a dry, well-drained foundation,
and the ventilation should be free from draughts.
It should have fresh bedding every day or so, and its
stable should be kept clean. For a summer home
there may bea shed to give shelter from rain and the
mid-day sun in the corner of a grassy field or pasture.

“

Photo by Verne Morton
A PERFECT UNDERSTANDING

ATV) FHL ONICHA

DIU Ut aft’

"J Kajunod wosg

The Calf Mammals

FOOD

The first food the young calf should have is the
mother’s milk, as this is necessary to cleanse its diges-
tive system. If for some reason this is impossible,
one or two ounces of castor oil should be given before
the calf is fed; if the calf is to be fed by the mother
cow, it should have nourishment three times a day
until three weeks old. But if hand-raised, it should
be fed on warm, sweet milk three times a day. The
first few days this should be whole milk, but it may
be changed gradually to skimmed milk; the feed-
ing periods should be regular. During the first
week, from six to eight pounds of milk per day
should be given, and a pound should be added to
this daily ration every week with the advance in
age of the calf until the food is changed. When about
four weeks old the calf should be given skimmed milk
altogether. The change should be made gradually;
and the amount given should be increased to ten
quarts daily, but not more. When it is two or three
weeks old begin to teach the calf to eat a little grain.
Place a handful in the pail after it has finished
drinking the milk. After it has learned to eat grain,
it should be given a feed box, and when it is six
weeks old it should be able to take daily one pound
of the following mixture:

3 parts corn meal

3 parts ground oats
.3 parts wheat bran
I part linseed meal

The calf should also be taught to take hay with
the grain. Let it nibble at sweet alfalfa or common
clover hay. After the first or second months, allow
it to have access to cool, clear water.

Mammals The Calf

‘CARE

If strong and healthy, the calf needs fresh air and
exercise, so there should be a large yard adjoining
its stable in which it can run about. Its manger
should be kept clean, and the pail from which it is
fed should be scalded every day.

It is much easier to teach a calf to eat if it is not
allowed to take its food from its mother after the
first meal. If it is troubled with looseness of the
bowels, less food should be given for a day or two.
If troubled with lice, crude petroleum should be
rubbed along the backbone, and underneath just
where the legs join the body.

To remove the horns of the young calf: As soon
as the young horn can be felt by the hand, it should
be removed; the hair should be clipped from around
it, then take a stick of potash, carefully wrapped,
so that it will not burn the fingers, dip in water and
rub it upon the tip of the young horn until the skin
begins to loosen and becomes red. Be very care-
ful not to touch the skin surrounding the horn with
the potash. This need not be applied but once.

REFERENCES

Outpoor Work, M. R. Miller.

MANvaAL oF Farm Animals, Harper.
ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE, G. Warren.
HANDBOOK OF NATuRE-STupY, A. B. Comstock.

Co.

Page &

Courtesy of Doubleday,

DEER

Yaad MOTIVA V

DIdIUMY Ut afv] S4unoD mor]

THE FAWN

f| ERCILESS in the past has been the slaughter

,, of deer by our hunters and it seems
quite miraculous that we still have in
North America in our wildernesses
and forest preserves, three native species
of deer. The moose is the largest; it has a short neck,
and its food is largely twigs of trees and bushes;
the caribou lives on the cold, dry plains of British
America and is the reindeer of America, although it
has never been domesticated. But the most com-
mon of the three species is the Virginian deer,
which once dwelt everywhere in our forests, and
still breeds in our forest preserves in abundance.
This is the deer which we are most likely to have as
pets, although the fallow deer of Europe has been
introduced into America as a park pet.

Our Virginia deer, also called the white-tailed,
has a coat that is khaki colored, as is shown by the
numbers of hunters in khaki coats which are shot
by mistake each year during the hunting season.
The underparts of the animal are white, and the
fawns are spotted with white. The little fawn needs
to remain hidden while the mother feeds, and its
spotted coat looks like the ground flecked with sun-
shine, and so it is protected from the sight of its
enemies. While the large, liquid eyes of the deer
are fairly keen, yet these animals trust to their sense
of smell and hearing to give them warning of their
enemies, from whom they escape by flight. They
are rapid runners, and tremendous jumpers and
excellent swimmers. The farmers whose lands ad-

Mammals The Fawn

join our forests preserves cannot protect their crops
with fences of ordinary height from visits of this deer.
The stags when hard-pushed are desperate fighters.
However, their great antlers are used chiefly in
fighting rivals when competing for does.

The growth of the stag’s antlers is one of the most
remarkable occurrences in animal physiology. The
antlers are shed each year, and grow anew in some-
thing less than three months. They are at first
covered with the ‘‘velvet,’”’ which is a skin supplied
with blood-vessels to carry nourishment to the grow-
ing tissue. As the antlers complete their growth,
the blood supply to the velvet is checked, and the
velvet withers and ravels off. Stags are very shy
during the period when their antlers are growing,
for they are helpless if attacked, since their new
antlers are extremely sensitive and tender.

HOUSE AND RANGE

If deer are kept in a park, a dry, well-drained
shelter-shed, kept well-bedded, will prove sufficient.
There should be plenty of fresh clean water in the
park or enclosure, so that the deer may bathe as
well as drink. A large park is needed if a herd of
both sexes are kept together. If the park is small,
one stag with several does will thrive in it; but close
quarters often leads the stags to fight each other,
they are especially quarrelsome at the beginning of
autumn.

FOOD
In a park the deer find the grass and foliage suffici-
ent food; in addition they need a slab of rock salt to

lick, and dry, clean, large bones to chew, if the shed
antlers are taken away. In winter hay, oats, apples,

The Fawn Mammals

turnips, beets, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, or prun-
ings from. the orchard can be given to supplement
browsing.

CARE OF THE FAWN

Usually two fawns are born at a time in late spring,
in some sheltered thicket. For a few days the fawn
simply lies close and quiet, and is fed by the mother,
and does not stir unless she gives the signal. There
is the closest possible relation between the mother
doe and her young.

It is only when taken very young that a fawn makes.
an attractive pet. It soon learns to know who feeds
it, and will follow its little master or mistress around
with devotion. It is also playful and very amusing.
In general, it should have the treatment and food
given the calf.

Although the fawn when young is attractive as a
pet, it does not remain so. Before it is half grown
it is likely to have become dangerous; in fact, Dr.
Hornaday, who has had extensive experience with
deer of all kinds, regards them as too dangerous
to be used as pets.

REFERENCES

AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

Tue Lire oF ANIMALS, Ernest Ingersoll.

Tue Deer Famity, 7. Roosevelt.

“The Ringwaak Buck,” in THE HAUNTERS OF THE SILENCES,
C. G. D. Roberts.

“Following the Deer,” in SECRETS oF THE Woops, and
“What. Fawns Must Know,” in THe ScHooL oF THE Woops,
W. J. Long.

Wiip Animats Every CuILp SHOULD Know, Julia E. Rogers.

THE COSSET LAMB

-#e HIS playful little creature makes a
delightful comrade, and becomes very
much attached to its boy and girl play-
mates. As a matter of fact, the older
i lambs have games which they play con-
fm stantly by themselves. One isa true game

of ‘‘Follow-my-leader.”” Each lamb runs
as fast as it can, pushing ahead to attain the place
of leader; when it succeeds, it leads its followers a
hard chase over most difficult places, across streams,
over stone piles, and logs, or any other obstacles it
may find. This game is of great use to the lambs
that belong to the wild flocks; because, when
sheep are attacked by wolves or other creatures,
the leader, who is a wise old sheep, leads the
flock over streams and chasms and rocks in a flight
which leaves the enemy behind because of the diffi-
culties of the trail.

The other game which lambs play is peculiar to
stony districts. The lamb climbs to the top of a
boulder, and its comrades gather around and try
to butt it off. The one who succeeds in doing this
climbs the rock and is ‘‘it,’’ and strives hard to keep
its position. This kind of training would enable a
sheep to climb to a difficult position and protect
itself against an enemy trying to reach it from be-
low. A pet lamb of ours had a game which consisted
in jumping across thresholds. It would run from
room to room and at the thresholds would leap high
in the air, as if it were jumping a fence or rock.
The lamb’s long legs serve to enable it to follow its

Photo by Verne Morton

A NOONDAY REST

ATLLOG V WOUd SAWVI ONIGAAA

0D & a8vgq ‘Kopaiqnory fo KsatanoD

The Cosset Lamb Mammals

mother when it is only a few hours old. A sheep
shows anger by stamping on the ground with its
front feet, but its weapon of defense is its hard head
armed with horns.

HOUSE

The lamb is a timid little animal and easily fright-
ened, and cannot be kept in a dark, poorly ventilated
barn or shed, neither can it endure rain or cold.
It should have a clean, dry, well-ventilated, sun-
lighted place to sleep in. A stall in the barn does
very well, or a shed may be built for it. If a lamb
is not allowed to run about the premises, it should
have an open yard in which to take its exercise; and
in the summer it should be given shade. Straw
bedding, changed often, should make the sleeping
place comfortable.

FOOD

Young lambs are very delicate, and if one must
be raised by hand it must be fed from a bottle with
a rubber nipple. Modified cow’s milk, heated to
103° F. should be given in small amounts but often.
At the age of ten days or two weeks the lamb will
begin to eat a little grain; this should be given twice
daily, but care should be taken not to give any more
than is eaten. After the lamb has learned to eat
grain, feed the following ration:

5 parts of cracked corn
5 parts of wheat bran
I part of oil meal, coarsely ground

When beginning to give full feed, the grain should
be given sparingly, and hay liberally. At the

Mammals The Cosset Lamb

beginning, feed one-fourth pound of grain daily,
and gradually increase this to one pound. An older
lamb may be fed corn silage or beets and other roots.

REFERENCES

“Flocks and Herds,’”’ in Domesticatep Animats, N. Y.
Shaler.

OvutTpoor Work, M. R. Miller.

Lire oF Animas, Ernest Ingersoll.

Our Domestic ANIMALs, C. W. Burkett.

Tue Frock, Mary Austin.

On the grassy banks
Lambkins at their pranks;

Woolly sisters, woolly brothers
Jumping off their feet

While their woolly mothers
Watch by them and bleat.

Christina Rossetti.

A frisky lamb

And a frisky child

Playing their pranks

In a cowslip meadow:

The sky all blue

And the air all mild

And the fields all sun
And.the lanes half shadow.

Christina Rossetti.

From Country Life in America
“DRINK, PRETTY CREATURE, DRINK”

Photo by Verne Morton

TAKING A DRIVE

THE GOAT

E CAN never really become acquainted
with the goat until we see it in its
native mountains. The steeper and
rougher the mountains the better
for the goat, for its muscles are like

steel springs, and it leaps up and down steep places,

getting a foothold on narrow ledges, and seems
to enjoy looking down from dizzy heights.

If we think for a moment, we can easily under-
stand this development of agility on the part of this
animal. In all wild places there are even today
animals of prey which feed upon small mammals
of sweet flesh, like the goat and sheep. So it is
much to the advantage of the goat to be able to seek
safety in the rocky fastnesses of mountains where,
if followed by wolf or panther, it can escape by
leaping across chasms, or find refuge on some shelf
of rock where the enemy cannot follow. Asa natural
result of this, the wild goat through the ages has
been obliged to live upon the scanty verdure of the
rocks, and to be able to derive nourishment from
moss and bark, and even from those poisonous herbs
like the hemlock that Socrates drank as a death
potion. So we need not be surprised when we see
goats eat posters, newspapers, or old clothing. It
is a part of their nature to try anything in their
reach, on the chance that it may prove a nourishing
morsel.

Nor need we wonder if we see our goats climbing
to the roofs of sheds, or walking along the top rail
of a fence, or if they are able to walk a tight-rope

Mammals The Goat

in the show. It is most unnatural for a goat to stay
upon the flat ground; also it is never dizzy, and
is perfectly sure of its footing in hazardous situations.

Goats are sagacious animals, and a few are often
kept with the great droves of sheep on our western
ranches. The goat’s office in a flock of sheep is
that of leader, and the sheep have perfect confidence
in him in this respect. For instance, a goat will lead
a herd of sheep across a single log above a mountain
torrent with perfect safety. If the herd is attacked
by wolves or other enemies, the goat will give warning
by its cries, while sheep are always silent under such
an attack.

Perhaps none of our domestic animals have been
so widely useful to man the world over as the goat.
When man was a Nomad he took with him in his
wanderings his herd of goats. He drank their
milk, ate their flesh, wove their hair into clothing,
made garments of their pelts, and used their skins
for bags in which to carry a supply of water. These
goat-skin waterbags are often seen in Mohammedan
countries about the Mediterranean at the present
day. Indeed, in the Orient, all these uses of the
goat mentioned above continue at present. Even
in cities of Southern Europe herds of goats are driven
along the streets to be milked at the doors of cus-
tomers. A common sight in Naples is a goat climb-
ing two or three flights of stairs in a tenement, so
as to reach the door of her patron.

Many countries have developed their special
breeds of goats. The Swiss farmers have found
this animal especially adapted to the mountainous
pastures; and in some isolated valleys, encompassed
by mountains, like the Saane and Toggenburg
valleys, there have been developed breeds of goats

The Goat Mammals

which have won world-wide reputations. In Asia
Minor the long-haired Angora goat has been devel-
oped; and in Cashmere has been bred the long-haired
goat whose fleece is used for the making of the
famous Cashmere shawls. ;

In America we have a native wild goat, although
it is more nearly related to the antelope than to the
goat family; it lives in the Rocky Mountains and
the Cascade ranges. It has white shaggy hair, and
black feet, eyes and nose, and slender but efficient
black horns. There have been some very exciting
stories written and told about the adventures of
hunters when pursuing this animal.

“As playful as a kid’’, is a common expression, and
is founded upon observation. The only way for the
kid to develop its steel-spring muscles for maturity,
is to keep in constant activity when young. In fact
a kid goes into training very shortly after it is born.

HOME

The winter home of the goat needs to be warm and
light, and be funished with a plentiful supply of dry
bedding. It should be cleaned often, so that it will
be dry and fresh, otherwise it becomes bad smelling.
The goat, of all the animals, must have plenty of fresh
air and exercise, so the year round it should have access
to a yard or field where it can browse and roam about.
During the summer it does not need to be housed.
The fence about the pastures should be well-made,
and with no boards leaning up against it, for the goat
can walk up a leaning board and jump over a fence
quite as easily as a boy.

Mammals The Goat

FOOD

The goat is not dainty about its food, and eats what
other animals refuse. However, it thrives better on
good food, such as corn fodder, cowpea, clover hay
and alfalfa. Oats, corn and bran are valuable as
winter food. The goat likes more salt than do sheep
and must have a plentiful supply of water at all times.
If the goat is housed in the winter, give it twigs of
hazel, box-elder, or maple to browse upon for enter-
tainment.

CARE

The goat should never be teased. This spoils its
temper, as well as its attractiveness. If it is an An-
gora goat, it should be combed and washed about
twice a month during the summer. All goats like
to be caressed. If treated kindly, bucks will learn
to draw their boy-masters in a carriage or cart. But
if teased, they often refuse to work, and will die
sooner than yield.

CARE OF THE KID

A kid of a milch goat should be separated from the
mother soon, and fed froma nursery bottle. It should
be weaned gradually. The Angora kid should be
weaned when four months old. The kids especially
need plenty of fresh air, a field for play and exercise,
and a dry, comfortable place in which to rest.

REFERENCES

Outpoor Work, M. R. Miller.
- Our Domestic Antmats, C. W. Burkett.
Flocks and Herds, in Domesticatep Animats, N.S. Shaler.
AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.
“The Angora Goat,” FarMzR’s Butietin No. 137, U. S.
Dept. of Agriculture.

L.. a i q :
mare eel are

From Country Life in America

A SPAN OF ANGORAS

ATINVA AddVH V

UOpAO PY asa KG OJ0Yq

THE PIG

"A nice little pig with a querly tail,
All soft as satin and pinky pale,
Is a very different thing by far,
Than the lumps of iniquity big pigs are.”

“aT HE change noted in this rhyme between the
ve BON little pig and the big one is not altogether
’ og SEE the pig’s fault, but rather because of the
sear ~=6poor care given him by ignorant people

who make him a creature of filth.

A little pig makes a charming pet. It is pretty
and neat and very intelligent. It will soon know the
little master or mistress who feeds it, and will follow
those it loves like a devoted dog. It is sufficiently
clever so that it may be taught many tricks, and will
repay patient training.

One of the most interesting things about a pig is
its nose; this fleshy disk surrounding the nostrils is
a most sensitive organ of feeling. By its use a pig
can select corn from chaff; at the same time it is so
strong that with it the ground may be rooted up in
search for food. <A pig’s sense of smell is as keen as
that of a dog, and there are many instances on record
of a pig being trained as a pointer for hunting birds;
it shows a keener intelligence in this capacity than
do dogs. In France, pigs are taught to hunt for
truffles, which are edible fungi growing upon tree
roots far below the surface of the ground.

Though the pig’s eyes are small, they gleam with
intelligence. Pigs are often trained for shows, by
teaching them how to pick out cards and count, and
many otherintelligent tricks. When the pig is allowed

Mammals The Pig

to roam in the woods, it lives on roots, nuts and
forage, being especially fond of acorns and beech-
nuts; and it has a remarkable record for destroying
rattlesnakes. The pig has quite an extended lan-
guage which its little master will become interested
in studying. There is the constant grunting which
keeps the herd of swine together; there is the squeal
of anger and discontent; the satisfied grunt of enjoy-
ment of food, the squeal of terror, and a nasal growl
of defiance, and many more vocal expressions.

FOOD FOR THE LITTLE PIG

The pet pig is usually one that has in some way be-
come separated from the litter, and must be brought
up by hand. It should be given at first a very
small quantity of cow’s milk, which is luke-warm;
this may be given from a nursing bottle with a rubber
nipple, exactly as if prepared for a child; it should

‘be fed every two hours, for three or four days, and
after that, every three hours; if it grows and is vig-
orous, it may be fed every four hours; and finally it
should be fed four times a day. When about three
weeks of age it may be fed three times daily, but the
milk must be sweet, and the trough or basin in which
it is fed must be kept clean, or digestive disorders will
follow. Occasionally the milk may be replaced with
bran or shorts made into a gruel; later, grain soaked
for twenty-four hours may be fed. As it grows old-
er, it should have plenty of green food, which may be
in the form of roots of all kinds, clover or other accept-
able forage. The pig is a thirsty animal, and should
have access to clear water; when young cold water,
especially in winter, should not be given to it.

SHIO9NId Gad-ATLLOG

UuoyoD aypusoy. 4 0704I

The Pig Mammals

HOUSE

It is well to have a little portable pen for a pet pig.
This may be made of boards shaped like an A tent.
If the ground is dry it does not need a floor. There
should be a ventilator at the top of the pen that is
protected from,the rain; this may be gained by plac- |
ing a window near the peak on each side. A door '
about two feet wide should be put in one side opening
into a yard fenced with chicken wire. The bottom
of the pen must be arranged so that it can be kept
clean and dry; if the ground is wet, it should have
a floor. The house should be tight and warm in the
winter, and cool and well-ventilated in the summer.

CARE

Plenty of fresh bedding should be given to the pig;
this may be of straw or shavings. The bed should
be separated by a board from the remainder of the
pen, since the pig is a very neat animal in its habits
and will not make its own bed foul. The floor should
slope away from the bed. Plenty of fresh water
should be given, and some shade should be provided
inthe summer. The pen should be cleaned every day.

If it is possible, it is best for a pet pig to be allowed
free range of the premises, for only thus when he is
given the full companionship which we usually give
to a dog, will the pig develop his full intelligence and
charm as a pet.

REFERENCES

OvutTpoor Work, M. R. Miller.

ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE, Warren.

Our Domestic ANIMALS, Burkett.

Lives or Animas, Ingersoll.

CaMERA. ADVENTURES IN AFRICAN WILDs, Dugmore.
Hanpsook or Nature-Stupy, A. B. Comstock.

MONKEYS

ANY of us are tempted to look upon the
monkey as a little man; it so much re-
sembles human beings in form and action
that we endow it with human attributes.
However, the dog is often mentally and
‘morally much more like us than is the
monkey.

The monkey, in a natural state, lives in the trees of
the tropics, and only comes to the ground when
necessary. Its long, strong hands and feet are made
for grappling branches, and the muscles of the legs
and arms are fitted to sustain the body of the animal
as it swings from one branch to another. Some
species in South America have the tail developed to
seize hold of branches and help in tree travel. It is
not natural for a monkey to walk upright, and it is
cruel to force it into this position. It is quite impos-
sible for the monkey to carry the head upright,
because of the way it is joined to the body; the
monkey naturally walks on “all fours.”

Thus, as we watch the antics of this fascinating pet
we must always think of the monkey as a dweller in
trees, and we should give it as much of its natural
surroundings as possible. We should read all the
nature books and travel books that deal with the
forests of the tropics, and thus learn how monkeys
live when at home. Kipling’s Jungle Stories tell us
much of interest that is true.

Monkeys are very imitative, and are certainly not
without the power of reasoning. For instance: A
Professor of Physiology in the Cornell Medical Col-

Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.

LOOK PLEASANT, PLEASE

Susy, a chimpanzie in the New York Zoological Gardens, noted for her intelligence and beloved by children

Monkeys Mammals

lege, in making some experiments upon the vitality of
the body, wished to keep the monkey upon which he
was experimenting awake all night to see how this
would affect his physical condition; so an alarm
clock was set to ring at frequent intervals during the
night. In the morning the professor found the
monkey fast asleep, and the alarm clock standing on
its head in a pail of water.

The most common monkeys in captivity are the
Bunder or Rhesus of India, and the Capuchins of
South America; both of these are used by organ
grinders; both are intelligent, and become very
devoted to their masters. The Rhesus is the most
common monkey in India; it has a short tail, and
yellowish brown fur, and the old males are very dis-
agreeable and dangerous pets. The Capuchins have
their hair done pompadour, and have long, strong tails
with which they climb. A Capuchin likes to hang by
the tail from a branch of some very high tree, stretch
out its arms and legs to keep its balance, and then
drop, perhaps thirty feet, accurately seizing with its
tail another branch as it lands. It is very fond of
oranges, bananas and sweets. It makes a most
interesting pet, although the males as they grow old
develop disagreeable dispositions. In fact, it is more
desirable to select a female of any species of monkey
as a pet, as she is more amiable and affectionate than
her mate. However, the monkeys are a sociable folk,
, and enjoy themselves much better if given com-
panions of their own species.

HOUSE

The indoor cage for the monkey should be as large
as possible to allow the active animal plenty of oppor-

Mammals Monkeys

tunity for exercise. The perches should be made of
stout branches; the floor should be well-covered with
straw, or sawdust, which should be renewed fre-
quently. At the top of the cage there should be a
sleeping box, which can be removed to be cleaned.
The cage should be kept in an even temperature of
about 75° F.

An out-of-door home can be given the monkey in
our warm southern climate, and in the summer in the
north. The house should be at least six feet square,
and be placed in a well-sheltered position, and the
floor should be raised above the ground. There
should be connected with the house an outside run
covered with netting. In both house and run there
should be strong perches, and the whole establish-
ment should be thoroughly cleaned often.

In placing the monkey out of doors it is often more
desirable not to cage him at all, as he is so restless and
active; in that case his range may be limited by
fastening him to some object with a light chain, so
that he can bemoved from place to place occasionally.

Wherever his home is, the pet should be warm and
comfortable. He should have plenty of covering,
and be kept free from any dampness. He should also
be kept clean.

FOOD

The monkey is fond of most of the food which we
eat, but should be given little animal food. The
following is recommended: Boiled rice or tapioca,
baked or boiled potatoes, ripe bananas and ripe sweet
apple, stale bread, occasionally a small raw onion and
at all times plenty of raw carrots, as this vegetable
has a very excellent effect upon the digestive system.
Whole peanuts roasted may be given occasionally,

Monkeys Mammals

and also a half of an orange, and ripe grapes. Mon-
keys should be fed twice a day, in the early morning
and at noon. In the morning bread should be given,
and at noon bananas or other fruit. Change of food
from day to day helps keep the appetite good, but
bread should always be given for breakfast.

To the Ringtail monkey give whole peanuts
roasted, half an orange, grapes, and a little sweet
apple and boiled potatoes, lettuce or carrots, and
bread. Occasionally, give egg and condensed milk
beaten together, and a little lime water added now
and then. Water should be given frequently.

Monkeys of different species eat different kinds
of food in their wild condition; and we should read
all that we can find concerning the species we have
for a pet, so as to feed and treat it intelligently.

Mr. Ferdinand Engeholm of the New York Zoolog-
ical Gardens who kindly gave me the above dietary
for monkeys especially recommends that the individ-
ual tastes of the pet be studied and that a frequent
change of food be offered.

CARE

Monkeys should never be kept in a temperature
below 70°, because they are animals of the tropics,
and cold and dampness bring on rheumatism and
tuberculosis. They must be kept in a place entirely
protected from draughts; if kept in cages, they should
be large, at least four feet square, for the common
Ringtail. To protect from draughts it is well to have
the cage of wood on three sides, with tight floor and
with the front side wired. Plenty of straw should
be given for bedding.

Mr. Engeholm advises the following simple rem-
edies when needed: To prevent constipation one-

Mammals Monkeys

half a teaspoonful of olive oil should be given twice
a week. If the monkey is afflicted with diarrhoea,
it should be given a mixture made by beating a white
of egg with a little sugar, and adding a small amount
of blackberry brandy.

A monkey given the proper care is washed and
combed often, properly fed at regular intervals,
never teased, and should be allowed as much liberty
as possible. It is very sensitive, and responds readily
to kindness like the dog. It resents being laughed
at, but a kind master is soon regarded as a real
friend from whom it dislikes to be separated.

Monkeys have many diseases, some of them inci-
dent upon the change of climate; and because this
creature is so nearly like us in form, it should, when
ill, be attended by a regular physician, and treated
like a sick child.

THE MONKEY

Look now at his odd grimaces,
Saw you e’er such comic faces?

Now like learned judge sedate,
Now with nonsense in his pate.

Ha! he is not half asleep,
See, he slyly takes a peep!
Monkey, though your eyes are shut,
You could see this little nut.

There, the little ancient man
Cracks as fast as e’er he can;
Now, good-bye, you funny fellow,
Nature’s primest Punchinello!

Mary Howitt.

THE MARMOSET

HE beautiful little marmosets
have their native home in Gui-
ame ana and Brazil. They

i have long and exquisitely
==. soft fur, striped with black
on white or reddish yel-

My low. ‘The tail is long and full, and
_aéf tinged with black. On each side of
tee the face, just beneath the ears, is a
iaree fandlike tuft of white hairs, giving the appear-
ance of a peculiar headdress.

Marmosets are beautiful and gentle, but they
suffer severely from cold in our climate; they become
very much attached to their masters if they are kind-
ly treated. A pet marmoset loves to sit on its mas-
ter’s hand with its little paws clinging to his fingers,
and with tail curled about his wrist; and if chilly, it
will hide beneath his coat, and cuddle up to his warm
body. It is particularly fond of catching flies and
eating them, and also considers cockroaches delicate
morsels. A full-grown marmoset has a body from
seven or eight inches long, and a tail a foot in length.

FOOD

Bananas, raw carrots, boiled potatoes, shelled
peanuts, almost all kinds of fruit, Malaga grapes cut
in half, meal worms and sweet crackers are all in the
marmoset dietary. Once a day egg and milk mixed
as if for egg-nog should be given; bread may be soak-
ed in this mixture and condensed milk should be

used.
63

The Marmoset ,; Mammals

CARE

The cage should be provided with branches for
the little creature to climb around upon, and should
be large enough to allow it plenty of exercise. It
must have a nest box, with plenty of warm bedding.
One marmoset which we saw had a little wool com-
fortable for its box, and it was interesting to see it
get underneath this and pull it up over its shoulders
and head in a truly human way.

REFERENCES

THE Lire or Animas, Ernest Ingersoll.

Apres AND Monkeys, R. L. Garner.

EXPLORATIONS AND ADVENTURES IN EQuaTORIAL SOUTH
AFRICA AND GorRILLA Lanp, Paul du Chaillu.

“The Song in the Night,” and “The Trail up the Wind,”
UNDER THE Roor oF THE JUNGLE, C. L. Bull.

“Kaas Hunting,” Tue First Juncte Book, Kipling.

THE MARMOSET

I am a little marmoset!
My whiskers make a white-rosette
On either side my face.
My longish tail with rings is set
I'll twist it round your wrist, if let,
To hold me firm in place.
Bring all the insects you can get;
Bring also a warm coverlet,
And I will be your loving pet
For many happy days.

Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.

”

“a BUNNY FAMILY

LIGGVa UAT S AUVAM

‘ ‘

DIUdIUP Ut afIT KAJUNOD WOT

RABBITS AND HARES

ONE winter evening quite late

as we chanced to stop beside
) a spruce tree to look at the
Mi stars, we were startled by
LV Thump! Thump! Thump!
something striking the ground
hard under the spruce. We

Meee EE listened; again it came im-
periously, then we started to investigate, when
Molly Cottontail, or probably her husband, came
out from under the spruce and loped off over the
snow. It was a thump of defiance we had heard,
because we ventured too near the cover of this little
creature. This same sound is used for warning when
several are playing together and one perceives the
enemy.

Even more interesting than the domestic rabbits
are these little wild cottontails. In mowing our
orchard one day we found a Molly Cottontail’s nest,
it was under a raspberry bush, and at first sight seemed
lined with felt of fur and grass; but to our amaze-
ment we found this felt carpet was a coverlet for
four young cottontails, which promptly fled helter-
skelter in the grass; for they seemed to know when
their cover was off that they were in plain sight of
the enemy; and we said ‘‘What a wise little mother,
to tuck in her youngesters so safely when she was
obliged to leave them.”’

The cottontails are very well fitted for the life
they lead. They are grey in color, which renders
them almost invisible. They have long ears, which

Mammals Rabbits and Hares

are very sensitive, and hear the least noise at a long
distance. The eyes are keen and placed on the bulg-
ing part of the head, so as to see in all directions.
The nose is sensitive, and is always moving to pick
up stray smells; and above all, the hind legs are long
and strong, and enable these creatures to flee from
danger with great rapidity and ease.

- The cottontails like briar patches, and fields partly
covered, with brush, and partly with grass. They
make runways through stich places by cutting away
the small stems and grasses. A runway is usually
about five inches wide, and just high enough so the
hare can flee through. These roads cross and criss-
cross each other, and if a dog or fox is chasing the
hare, there is little chance for it to follow in these
intricate cross roads. The cottontails find the night
safest for feeding and wandering and playing. They
play amusing games among themselves,—something
like tag, and leap-frog.

In America we have no species of true rabbits, al-
though we call them by that name. Instead, they
are hares. The difference between a rabbit and a
hare is not very great structurally, although the rab-
bit is not so adept in running or jumping as the hare.
The chief difference between the two lies in their
habits. The rabbits are burrowing animals, while
the hares live in ‘‘forms’’, which are nests on the sur-
face of the ground, consisting of grass, beaten down
or eaten out for a space large enough to accommodate
the animal; the form is made in a protected situa-
tion, under a bush ortree. Hares rarely nest in holes,
but sometimes, when hard pressed by dogs, they
take refuge in a woodchuck burrow.

Hares and rabbits are not without means of de-
fense. Either can fight an enemy by leaping over

Rabbits and Hares Mammals

it and kicking it savagely with its strong hind-feet.
They can also bite, and the bucks sometimes injure
each other in this manner. There is one record, at
least, of a Belgian hare that butted cats like a billy-
goat, until all the cats in the neighborhood were
afraid of her.

VARIETIES OF RABBITS

All our many breeds of domesticated rabbits are
supposed to have descended from a species that still
abounds in the regions of the Mediterranean Sea.
With the exception of the dog, the rabbit has been
bred by man to greater variations than has any other
mammal. The most noted breeds are the following:

The Lop-eared is an English breed; for at least
one hundred and fifty years careful attention has
been given to developing the ears of this rabbit, until
they have been known to measure twenty-three
inches in length, and six inches in width. These rab-
bits show great variety in color.

The Belgian hare is really a rabbit. It has been
developed especially for size, and has been used ex-
tensively for food in Europe.

The Angora rabbit has fine, long fur; sometimes
its hair is six or seven inches long, and much atten-
tion must be given to combing it in order to keep it
decent. The most prized Angoras are albinos.

The Himalayan rabbit is white, with nose, ears,
tail and feet black, or very dark. It is a very pretty
animal, and is bred for beauty in Europe. It has
no connection whatever with the Himalayan Moun-
tains.

The Dutch rabbits are small, sweet-tempered, and
handsomely colored. The cheeks, eyes and the en-
tire body back of the shoulders are of solid dark col-

Mammals Rabbits and Hares

ors, often black. The hind feet, and the front feet
and legs, the neck and jaws are white.

The Silver-gray breed has fur which is very thick
and soft, and the color of chinchilla. The Silver-
fawn and the Silver-brown are similar.

The Flemish Giant has iron grey fur above and is
white beneath.

The Japanese rabbits have orange fur, and are
banded with black on the hind quarters.

The Polish rabbits are albino, with pink eyes.

HOUSE

Pet rabbits are usually kept in boxes or hutches.
These should be built in a way to protect the animal
from the rain and cold, and at the same time to ad-
mit fresh air and to be easily cleaned. For an ordi-
nary sized rabbit, the hutch could be at least a yard
long, and eighteen inches wide and high. The ends
must be draft-proof, and the roof water-tight, and
the hutch floor should be raised above the ground.
If the rabbits are not allowed their liberty, the hutch
may be surrounded by a yard covered with wire
netting.

There should be a sleeping apartment partitioned
off from one end of the hutch. The hutch should be
bedded down with sawdust, and on top of this, in
the sleeping apartment, there should be plenty of
clean, fresh straw or hay. The sawdust in the out-
side room will need to be renewed daily, but not so
often in the sleeping room.

It is best, if possible, to allow the rabbits out-door
runs. These may be made of wire netting, but it
must be remembered that the rabbits are burrowers,
and so the netting should be set down into the ground
for a distance. If the run is small it should be roof-

Rabbits and Hares Mammals

ed over. In any case, if several rabbits are kept to-
gether, each should have a retiring room.

FOOD

Rabbits and hares are vegetarians. Their chief
food should be hay, clover, oats, and bran; and green
food, such as grass, cabbage, a little dandelion, or
parsley; and roots, such as carrots, beets and parsnips.
They eat the hay used for bedding, so it should be of
good quality,and liberalin amount. They are espec-
ially fond of clover hay. The oats, bran or meal
should be dampened so as to be crumbly, but not
sloppy. Too much moist food is likely to prove fatal;
in general, the drier the food the better the rab-
bit thrives. If there are no green vegetables, bread-
crusts, either dry or soaked in water or milk, and
squeezed, make good food. The oats may be given
as an evening meal, the greens may be given at noon;
the green food should not be wet, frosted, or weath-
ered. When many cabbage leaves are fed, the hutch
is likely to have a “rabbity’’ smell. Food should
be given in vessels that have the edges turned inward
so the rabbit cannot easily scratch the food out.
These feeding pans should be kept very clean.

Water should be given in a vessel securely fastened
to avoid spilling, and the water should be kept fresh.
If soaked bread, or succulent green stuff is given, the
water is not needed.

CARE

It is very important that rabbits be given exercise
as freely as possible, if they are confined in a hutch.
If they have good runways they will exercise them-
selves.

Mammals Rabbits and Hares

When handled, a rabbit should not be lifted by the
ears alone. Clasp the ears or the loose skin of the
back with one hand, and bear the animal’s weight
with the other. If treated kindly and gently, rabbits
become very tame, and in many homes they have
the range of the premises.

Rabbits are likely to have dropsy or diarrhoea from
being fed too much green food. When attacked by
these they should be fed hay and oats. They are
also likely to suffer from colds and pneumonia. Mucus
flows from the nose, and great care should be taken
to prevent the mucus from hardening and thus stop
the animal’s breath. The nose should be bathed
with hot water at least twice a day, and the patient
should be given a warm soft bed. A little hot milk
may be given, and potato parings boiled with bran.
Some rabbits suffer from disease of the paws. This
usually comes from filthy hutches, and may be pre-
vented more readily than cured.

CARE OF THE DOE AND YOUNG

The doe carries her young about thirty days and
her sleeping room should be kept private when a
litter is expected, and she should be kept very quiet.
She will make her own nest of the hay, lining it with
her own fur which she pulls out for that purpose.
She should not be disturbed soon after the young are
born, else she may devour her litter.

The young rabbits are born blind and helpless,
and are covered with very scanty soft silky fur.
When the mother is off feeding, we may be permitted
to peep in to see if any are dead or deformed, and if so
we should remove them. After nine days the eyes of
the little rabbits open. Before a month old the

Rabbits and Hares Mammals

youngsters can move about, and may be fed, but
should not be taken away from the mother before
they are two months old.

Bread and milk is good for a doe and litter. Fine
bran, to which a little scraped carrot has been added,
may be given after alittle. Oat meal dampened may
also be given. After weaning the litter, the sexes
should be separated.

For References see those for Guinea Pig.

MOLLY COTTONTAIL

I am little Molly Cottontail, my fur is nice and gray,
And if to see me you should fail; I was meant to be that way.
T look just like the hay.

My ears are very, very tall when I listen for my foe
And down along my back they fall when I am lying low.
But every sound I know.

My eyes are placed so I can see behind and front as well.
My nice nose wabbles constantly—my enemy to smell—
Before he comes pell mell.

I have some bunny comrades gay, by night we jump and run.
Leapfrog and tag, we like to play and have whole loads of fun.
And fear not dog nor gun.

For we always have a guard, a sentinel to peer,
Who thumps the ground so hard that all of us can hear
If an enemy comes near.

We flee through briar and thorn, in runways none can follow,
My home is in a cosy form down in the grassy hollow,
Where all the weeds run fallow.

And there I make the nest for my bunnies, blind and wee.
I pluck the soft fur from my breast to cover them when it is best
That I should elsewhere be.

THE GUINEA PIG

HESE compact little rodents are
yw, related to the rabbits. Indeed, in
© Patagonia there is a species with long
legs very much like those of a hare,
a distinct tail and long ears. So
that whatever this little animal is,
it is not a pig, nor does it come from
Guinea; for South America is the native land of the
Guinea pig and its near relations; and they dwelt
there long before man came, for we find their skele-
tons among the fossils of that region.

The cavy family is a large one, containing many
species, some of which are not much larger than mice,
and others of all sizes up to that of a half-grown
pig. These many species have differing habits.
Some live in the mountains with dens in the rocks;
others live in the rich river valleys, and do much
damage to crops; others live mostly in the water,
while many inhabit the high table lands. Many of
the lofty plains of the Andes mountains are so under-
mined by the burrows of the cavies, that it is danger-
ous to attempt to cross them on horseback, since the
horse is likely to fall and break a leg. The prairie
dogs make some of our western plains likewise
dangerous.

Although some species of cavies feed during the
day, most of them feed during certain hours of the
night. Their food consists of roots, and many kinds
of vegetables and fruits. One species in Patagonia
has been known to climb trees to feed upon their fruit,
but this is a very unusual cavy accomplishment.

From Country Life in America
WHITE PERUVIAN GUINEA PIG

Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.
ABYSSINIAN GUINEA PIG

The Guinea Pig Mammals

Cavies form a prized article of food among the
South American Indians. Our common pet is sup-
posed to have been developed from the species called
“Cutler’s cavy,’’ which Had been domesticated in
ancient times by the Incas of Peru; mummies of
cavies are found in their cemeteries.

While many of the species, in a wild state, breed
only twice per year, our domesticated varieties pro-
duce their litters about every two months. An in-
teresting thing about the little Guinea pigs is that
they are most precocious babies; they are fully
dressed in long hairy coats, and have their eyes open
when they are born. They are quite capable of
running along beside the mother when they are but
a few hours old, and they reach their full growth in
from three to five months.

The best known varieties of this pet are as follows:
The English, which has a short, smooth coat, like the
original wild cavy, and with varying colors. The
Abyssinian which has a rough coat, arranged in cow-
licks of rosettes. The Angora which has a smooth
coat of long, soft hair, and occurs in many colors and
patterns. The Peruvian has the long hair of the
Angora, and the rosettes of the Abyssinian, andisa
most frowsy little creature. While all these varieties
may have several colors, there are those of one color
which are called self-colored; and there are albinos
with white hair and pink eyes in all the breeds. The
colors recognized are the agouti, consisting of black
or brown hairs tipped with yellow, black, chocolate,
or brown and yellow.

HOUSE

The Guinea pig should be kept in a hutch inside of
‘a house or shed of some kind. It cannot stand

Mammals The Guinea Pig

exposure to the cold, and should not be kept where
the temperature falls below freezing. An inverted
box a foot square with a six-inch hole in the side may
be used as a nest for one Guinea pig. It should be
filled with straw or hay.

FOOD

Guinea pigs live exclusively on vegetable food.
They are very fond of fresh grass, lettuce, celery
leaves, beet tops, plantain, watercress, dandelions
and parsley. Apples are also appreciated now and
then. But if we wish to keep our Guinea pigs
thoroughly well, we will furnish them with a constant
supply of carrots. Grains of various sorts may be
given, especially oats, either in the natural state or
in the form of rolled oats. When feeding on the juicy
vegetables the cavies do not drink much, but it is
best to keep a fresh supply of water always within
reach.

CARE

Each house may contain several females, but only
one male, for the males are given to fighting each
other desperately. The long-haired varieties need
much personal attention; their hair should not be
combed, but should be brushed downwards with a
soft hairbrush. A tooth brush is needed to properly
comb the rosettes of the Abyssinians and Peruvians.

REFERENCES

Description of habits, AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

THE Lire or AnimaLs, Ernest Ingersoll.

RasBiTs, CATS AND CaviEs, Lane.

OvutTpoor Work, M. R. Miller.

THE COMMON SENSE OF RABBIT AND Cavy KEeEpinc, The
Spratts Co.

The Guinea Pig Mammals

“Ragegylug,” Witp Antmats I Have Known, and “Little
War Horse,” ANIMAL HERoEs, Thompson-Seton.
SQUIRRELS AND OTHER Fur Bearers, John Burroughs.
“Queer Ways of Br’er Rabbit,” Ways or Woop Foix,
W. J. Long.
“Rabbit Roads,” in Witp Lire Near Home, D. L. Sharpe.
Our Domestic ANIMALS, C. W. Burkett.

THE RED SQUIRREL

Just a tawny glimmer,

A dash of red and gray,
Was it a flitting shadow,

Or a sunbeam gone astray!

It glances up a tree trunk,

And a pair of bright eyes glow
Where a little spy in ambush

Is measuring his foe.

I hear a mocking chuckle,
Then wrathful, he grows bold

And stays his pressing business
To scold and scold and scold.

SQUIRRELS

ORMERLY gray and blacksquirrels wereas
common throughout our country as is the
red squirrel today, and even more so; but
~ these larger specieshave beenhunted tosuch
an extent that we rarely see the gray
squirrels except as protected creatures in
parks; and the black squirrel has dis-
appeared except in a few localities. The red squirrel
has, because of its small size and greater cunning,
escaped this sad fate.

The red squirrel is just a playful, natural-born
rascal, but perhaps the most attractive rascal in the
animal world. He is a great thief, and would much
rather steal his food than to gather it, even though it
caused him more effort. In fact, he enjoys strenuous
effort always, especially in a bad cause. The chip-
munk, white-footed mice, gray squirrels, and espec-
ially the blue-jays, are the victims of his thieving.
He will spend a whole morning watching a blue jay
or a chipmunk in order to discover where they hide
their stores; but if one of them tries to steal his stores
it is quite another matter, and he becomes so indig-
nant that he scolds for an hour after.

The gray squirrel is not so quick mentally or physi-
cally as is his red cousin, neither is he so mischievous
or suspicious. Although he lives in holes in trees he
wishes plenty of room, and so hollows out a good sized
nest which he beds down with leaves. Several may
live together in such a nest. They also make nests
in summer among the branches of trees; these they
build of leaves and small branches in layers, fodied
with leaves to protect from rain.

From Country Life in America
FEEDING THE GRAY SQUIRREL,

Squirrels Mammals

The squirrel has two pairs of gnawing teeth, which
are long and strong, and he needs to gnaw hard sub-
stances with them constantly or they will grow so
long that he cannot use them at all, and will starve to
death. He is very clever about opening nuts so as
to get all the meats. He usually opens a hickory
nut by making two holes which tap the cavities which
contain the meats. In walnuts, or butternuts, which
have much harder shells, he makes four small holes,
one opposite each quarter of the kernel.

The young are born in a protected nest, usually in
the hollow of a tree. There are from four to six
young in a litter and they appear in April.

It is quite useless to try to tame a red squirrel
unless taken when young. The gray squirrels, on
the contrary, will become very tame, and will soon
learn to take food from the hand of the master or
mistress.

HOUSE

It is wicked to keep such an active creature as a
squirrel in an ordinary small squirrel cage, even
though it be provided with a wheel. The way to get
the most pleasure from pet squirrels is to give them
their freedom in the trees about the grounds, and
tame them by feeding. If the squirrels must be
confined, they should be kept in a cage of chicken
wire of half inch mesh, and it should be at least six
feet square. At one side near the top there should be
a nest box about one foot square, with a hole at one
side near the top, about three inches in diameter;
the box should contain dried grass or leaves. In the
cage there should be branches spread across so that
the captives may leap and play upon them. A pair
may be kept in such a cage, but there should be two

Mammals Squtrrels

nest boxes. A wheel may be placed in this home for
the amusement of the little prisoners.

FOOD

The gray and red squirrels take the same kind of
food. They should be given an abundance of nuts
with hard shells, like walnuts, butternuts and hickory
nuts, so as to keep their long teeth from growing too
rapidly. They are also fond of chestnuts, and acorns,
and will learn to eat peanuts. They are fond of
berries, apples, lettuce, and meal worms. A bone
with a little uncooked meat on it should be given once
or twice a week. Corn, bread and milk, bread crusts,
and dry breakfast food are also relished. Lumps of
hard plaster should be kept accessible for health’s
sake and for sake of the teeth.

A dish of fresh water should always be kept where
the squirrel can get at it.

A baby squirrel may be reared by keeping it in a
warm nest in a box fitted with batting or wool. It
must be fed at first with warm, fresh milk from the
point of a small teaspoon. The milk should be of
blood temperature. After alittle, give bread soaked
in warm milk. As soon as the gnawing teeth have
well started, nut meats may be given. Lumps of
plaster should be given also.

CARE

The cage should be kept clean; the nest boxes
should be cleaned and filled freshly with bedding
once a week during the summer; but it is best not to
disturb the nest boxes during cold weather. Fresh
‘bedding should be placed in them about the first of
March as a preparation for the young squirrels.

Squirrels Mammals

The gray squirrels, and sometimes the red squirrels,
will breed in a cage, as described. Unless two squir-
rels live happily together, it is best to keep them in
separate cages, as they are likely to injure each other.

FURRY

His story as recorded in

THE PET NOTE-BOOK

*Furry was a baby red squirrel. One day in May
his mother was moving him from one tree to another.
He was clinging with his little arms around her neck
and his body clasped tightly against her breast, when
something frightened her and in a sudden movement,
she dropped her heavy baby in the zrass. Thus, I
inherited him and entered upon the rather onerous
duties of caring for a baby of whose needs I knew
little; but I knew that every well-cared for baby
should have a book detailing all that happens to it,
therefore, I made a book for Furry, writing in it each
day the things he did. If the children who have pets
keep similar books, they will find them most interest-
ing reading afterward, and they will surely enjoy the
writing very much.

*From the Author’s ‘“‘Handbook of Nature-Study”’.
79

Mammals Squirrels

May 18, 1902—The baby squirrel is just large
enough to cuddle in one hand. He cuddles all right
when once he is captured; but he is a terrible fighter,
and when I attempt to take him in one hand, he
scratches and bites and growls so that I have been
obliged to name him Fury. I told him, however, if
he improved in temper I would change his name to

Furry.

May 19—Fury greets me when I open his box, with
the most awe-inspiring little growls, which he evi-
dently supposes will make me turn pale with fear.
‘He has not cut his teeth yet, so he cannot bite very
severely, but that isn’t his fault, for he tries hard
enough. The Naturalist said cold milk would kill
him, so I warmed the milk and put it in a teaspoon
and placed it in front of his nose; he batted the
spoon with both forepaws and tried tobite it, and thus
got a taste of the milk, which he drank eagerly lapping
it up like a kitten. When I hold him in one hand and
cover him with the other, he turns contented little
somersaults over and over.

May 20—Fury bit me only once to-day, when I
took him out to feed him. He is cutting his teeth on
my devoted fingers. I tried giving him grape-nuts
soaked in milk, but he spat it out in disgust.

He always washes his face as soon as he is through
eating.

May 21—Fury lies curled under his blanket all
day. Evidently good little squirrels stay quietly in
the nest, when the mother is not at home to give them
permission to run around. When Fury sleeps, he
rolls himself up in a little ball with his tail wrapped
closely around him. The squirrel’s tail is his ‘‘furs,”’

Squirrels Mammals

which he wraps around him to keep his back warm
when he sleeps in winter.

May 23—Every time I meet Uncle John he asks,
“Ts his name Fury or Furry now?” Uncle John is
much interested in the good behavior of even little
squirrels. As Fury has not bitten me hard for two
days, I think I will call him Furry after this. He ate
some bread soaked in milk to-day, holding it in his
hands in real squirrel fashion. I let him run around
the room and he liked it.

May 25—Furry got away from me this morning
and I did not find him for an hour. Then I dis-
covered him in a pasteboard box of drawing paper
with the cover on. How did he squeeze through?

May 26—He holds the bowl of the spoon with both
front paws while he drinks the milk. When I try to
draw the spoon away, to fill it again after he has
emptied it, he objects and hangs on to it with all his
little might, and scolds as hard as ever hecan. Heis
such a funny, unreasonable baby.

May 28—To-night I gave Furry a walnut meat.
As soon as he smelled it he became greatly excited;
he grasped the meat in his hands and ran off and hid
under my elbow, growling like a kitten with its first
mouse.

May 30—Since he tasted nuts he has lost interest
in milk. The nut meats are too hard for his new
teeth, so I mash them and soak them in water and
now he eats them like a little piggy-wig with no
manners at all. He loves to have me stroke his back
while he is eating. He uses his thumbs and fingers in
such a human way that I always call his front paws,
hands. When his piece of nut is very small he holds

Mammals Squirrels

it in one hand and clasps the other hand behind the
one which holds the dainty morsel, so as to make it
safe.

May 31—When he is sleepy, he scolds if I disturb
him and turning over on his back, bats my hand with
all of his soft little paws and pretends that he is
going to bite.

June 4—Furry ranges around the room now to
please himself. He is a little mischief; he tips over
his cup of milk and has commenced gnawing off the
wall paper behind the book-shelf to make him a nest.
The paper is green and will probably make him sorry.

June 5—This morning Furry was hidden in a roll
of paper. I put my hand over one end of the roll and
then reached in with the other hand to get him; but
he got me instead, because he ran up my sleeve and
was much more contented to be there than I was to
have him. I was glad enough when he left his hiding
place and climbed to the top shelf of the bookcase,
far beyond my reach.

June 6—I have not seen Furry for twenty-four
hours, but he is here surely enough. Last night he
tipped over the ink bottle and scattered nut shells
over the floor. He prefers pecans to any other nuts.

June 7—I caught Furry to-day and he bit my finger
so it bled. But afterwards, he cuddled in my hand
for a long time and then climbed my shoulder and
went hunting around in my hair and wanted to stay
there and make a nest. When I took him away, he
pulled out his two hands full of my devoted tresses.
I'll not employ him as a hairdresser.

pee =

From Country Life in America

HAVE A PEANUT!

From Country Life in America

DARING FATE!
A Red Squirrel at the Bird's Drinking Dish

Squirrels Mammals

June 9—Furry sleeps nights in the top drawer of
my desk; he crawls in from behind. When I pull out
the drawer he pops out and scares me nearly out of
my wits; but he keeps his wits about him and gets
away before I can catch him.

June 20—I keep the window open so Furry can
run out and in and learn to take care of himself out-
of-doors.

August 20—Furry soon learned to take care of
himself, though he often returns for nuts, which I
keep for himina bowl. He does not come very near
me out-of-doors, but he often speaks to me in a
friendly manner from a certain pitch pine tree near
the house.

There are many blank leaves in Furry’s note-book.
I wish that he could have written on these what he
thought about me and my performances. It would
certainly have been the most interesting book con-
cerning squirrels in the world.

REFERENCE

Description of habits, AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

“The Gray Squirrel,” in FamMILiaR Witp Animats, W. J.
Lotiridge.

SQUIRRELS AND OTHER Fur Bearers, John Burroughs.

“Squirrels and More Squirrels,” in LirrLE BEasts oF FIELD
AND Woon, W. E. Cram.

‘‘Meeko, the Mischief-Maker,” in S—cRETS OF THE Woops,
W. J. Long.

A QUINTETTE oF Graycoats, Effie Bignell.

THE CHIPMUNK

f f HEREVER this little ground

/ squirrel is found, he is easily
tamed, and the best way to keep
him for a pet is to let him live
pout of doors under natural con-
ie ditions, and work gradually into
his confidence through feeding
him. We have for years had
such intimate chipmunk friends,
and have enjoyed them far more than if they were
caged. They soon learn to know members of the
family; and one of the chief joys of such a relationship
has been the way the mother has taught the young-
sters to regard us as friends. I know of no more de-
lightful experience than to have one of these young
chipmunks, a little soft striped ball sit up in front of
me as I rest ona garden bench, looking eagerly for a
donation from my hand.

Miss Irene Hardy, of Palo Alto, Cal., has had
marked success in making pets of the little chip-
munks of the Sierras. One called Chipsy was
especially interesting. He was allowed the freedom
of her room, and after she had filled the dish on the
table with English walnuts, he would keep himself
busy for a long time stealing and hiding them.
His originality in finding hiding places was remark-
able. Once he managed to get his nuts and himself
into a covered bandbox on the closet shelf and stored
his precious walnuts in the velvet bows of a bonnet.
His unsuspecting mistress wore the bonnet thus
decorated to church and did not discover the work of
her new milliner until after she returned.

Photo by Verne Morton
PET CHIPMUNK FILLING HIS CHEEK POUCHES WITH HICKORY NUTS

Photo by Irene Hardy

CHIPSY
A pet Sierra chipmunk giving his favorite performance on a tumbler

he Chipmunk Mammals

The chipmunk has cheek pouches which the squirrel
lacks, and in these pouches he carries out the soil
shich he removes in making his burrow as well as
carries in his store of nuts and grain. The burrow is
usually made in a dry hillside. The entrance is just
large enough to admit the chipmunk’s body, but
widens to a nest which is well-bedded down. There
is usually a back door also, so that incaseof necessity,
the inmate can escape. In this nest, the chipmunk
stores nuts and acorns, so that when he awakes
during his long winter’s sleep he finds refreshment
near-by. The chipmunk is not so noisy as the red
squirrel, but he can cluck like a cuckoo when he is
gathering nuts, and he can chatter a great many
things which we should like to understand. When
he eats, he holds his nut in both hands, and makes
himself into a little bunch with his tail curled up his
back.

HOUSE

If in the country, and there are no cats about, the
chipmunks may be trusted to provide their own
homes. Next to entire freedom it is most desirable
to let a chipmunk have the freedom of one room in
which there are nooks where he may hide and make
his nest. If it is necessary to keep this pet in close
confinement, the cage should be large and made of
fine chicken wire, such as described for the red squir-
rels, and should be fitted in a similar way with nest
box and branches. A chipmunk will not live long in
a small cage. The bottom of the cage should be
cement, otherwise the captive will burrow out.
Cover the bottom of the cage with a foot or so of
loose soil, so that the pet can burrow in it at his

pleasure.
85

Mammals The Chipmunk

FOOD

Beechnuts, hickory nuts, sweet acorns, and in fact,
almost any kind of nut is relished by the chipmunk.
It is also fond of cherries and cherry-pits. Apples
(including the seeds) berries, carrots, almost any
breakfast food, bread crusts, and occasionally a bone
with a little meat upon it may be given.

CARE

If confined to a cage or room, the chipmunk should
have access to fresh water. It is natural for this
animal to hibernate, and it is best to let him have a
cold room in winter so that he can go to sleep when
he gets sleepy; and plenty of food should be at hand
in case he wakes up.

REFERENCES

Description of habits, AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

SQUIRRELS AND OTHER Fur Bearers, John Burroughs.

“Small Folk with Lively Feet,” in Famii1ar Lire In FIetp
AND Forest, F. S. Mathews.

A CHIPMUNK CONVERSATION

“Little chap all dressed in stripes so gay
Pray tell me how do you do today—
You have the mumps I fear.”

“Little girl, to chat I cannot stay

My pouches are filled, I must away
To my cellar for winter is near.”

Photo by O. L. Foster

A FLYING SQUIRREL

Photo by Eugene Barker

A TAMED FLYING SQUIRREL COMING
TO ITS FOOD BASKET AT NIGHT

FLYING SQUIRRELS

LYING squirrels are the original in-

ventors of the aeroplane. Thous-
ands of years before human beings ever
thought of such things, these little animals
had tasted well this mode of travel. The
flying squirrel has very much the same
structure as other squirrels, except that
there is a fold of skin along the sides, con-
nected with the fore and hind legs, so that
it can be extended by spreading the legs
wide out when the creature leaps. The
great Audubon has given us interesting ac-
counts of how these aeronauts leap from the top of
one tree to the base of another fifty yards away,
making a curve upwards at the end so as to land
among the branches. Dr. Eugene Barker who
has made a special study of these squirrels, declares
that they can turn at will, at sharp angles when
flying, the tail being held out stiffly and seeming to
serve as a rudder.

The flying squirrels are night folk. They usually
sleep during the day, and about nine o’clock in the
evening awake, and are very active. They. nest in
cavities in trees, usually rather high up. Often they
take possession of an abandoned woodpecker’s nest.
or some other ‘‘cave for rent’, using even bird boxes.
They frequently make their nest in a dead tree,
cutting out a cavity with their strong teeth until it
is large and commodious; the entrance is small, and
preferably beneath a branch, where it is not too
obvious. The nest is lined with fine moss or other

Mammals Flying Squirrels

soft material. These squirrels are sociable little
folk, and several may live in such anest. They
also make a summer nest in the trees, or notably
in high grape vines. It is made of finely shredded
bark with very thick walls, and with a cosy little
pocket at the center in which to cuddle.

At the writing of this, a flying squirrel family has
taken possession of our garret. It is rather exciting
to reach into a wall-pocket, expecting to get some
cotton-batting, and have a little creature pop out and
cling to the rafter above your head, and gaze at you
with its great, soft eyes, as if asking why it was thus
disturbed. From my own experience, I should say
that its fur was the softest and finest that covers any
animal; it certainly feels softer than any cotton-
batting. The favorite gathering place for this family
is over our sleeping porch, and often in the coldest
weather we hear them hopping around at night, so we
know they do not really hibernate.

The young are born in May; in the South there is
another litter in September. They are bare and
blind when first born, but the little mother cuddles
them under her soft ‘“‘wings’”’ and takes excellent care
of them.

If taken when young, the flying squirrel is a delight-
ful pet. Mr. Ingersoll says, “If you do not know
where a family is living, go about tapping on wood-
pecker-riddled dead stubs on the edge of a wood,
until a furry head pops up to investigate, and then
the capture is very easy, for it cannot be denied that
this little animal seems to be fearless and confiding,
largely through lack of wit.”’

Dr. Merriam gives an account of one which when
placed on the table in front of him would come to the
edge nearest him and whimper to be taken up; when

Flying Squirrels Mammals

the doctor extended his arm the little creature,
trembling with delight would leap upon his hand and
run up his sleeve or down his neck.

Mr. Ingersoll says that the general testimony of
those who have made these animals pets, is that if one
chanced to escape from the cage at night it went
straight to where its master was sleeping, and crawled
into bed with him and cuddled up as close as possible.
Several have told me that these squirrels particularly
enjoy spending their days curled up in a coat-
pocket.

Since flying squirrels are not strictly speaking
hibernating animals, they need to provide stores for
their winter use. They are not selfish like the red
squirrel, but often have their stores in common, in or
near their winter nests. These consist of nuts,
acorns, corn, grain, birch-catkins, seeds from cones,
and various other dried seeds. In the spring they
eat many growing buds of trees. In gathering acorns
and nuts, they cut off and drop down more than they
harvest. Whether this is from mischief or careless-
ness we do not know. I am sorry to say that they
will also take bird’s eggs and nestlings, if they can
find them.

HOUSE

The flying squirrel should have the freedom of the
house. If kept in a cage at all, it should be a large
one, like that described for the red and gray squirrels.
Mr. Silas Lottridge kept a pair in a large cage, which
had a squirrel-wheel attachment, that seemed to give
them a great deal of pleasure. One day, in their
play, one of them took an apple into the wheel to get
it away from the other, and when the wheel began to
revolve was vastly entertained by the noise of the

Mammals Flying Squirrels

apple bounding against it; and the pair was soon
jumping and bounding over the apple as the wheel
revolved. After they had learned this game, they
often put two or three large nuts in the wheel to make
matters exciting.

The ideal home for the flying squirrel is a hole or
cranny in a tree trunk near the house; or in a bird
boca paced on a tree or beneath the eaves. This
arrangement gives the little aeronauts a chance to
live their lives naturally, and at the same time prove
interesting neighbors.

FOOD

The pet should be fed soft-shelled nuts, like acorns
and chestnuts, corn, and many kinds of seeds. Mr.
Barker found that his flying squirrels were fond of
puffed wheat, and oat meal, and almost any kind of
breakfast foods. They also learned to eat peanuts.
Meal worms, or a bone with a scanty amount of meat
on it may be given occasionally. Also bread soaked
in sweet milk.

At the New York Zoological Garden, the dietary
consists of bread, lettuce, sunflower seed, and a
peanut or two once of twice a week.

CARE

Water should not be left in the cage, but a shallow
dish that cannot be upset should be put in once a day.
Cut hay makes an excellent bedding material for
this pet.

REFERENCES

AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

“Flying Squirrels,”’ FAMILIAR WILD Animats, W. /. ee

“A Tree-top Aeronaut,’’ NEIGHBORS UNKNOWN, C. G._D.
Roberts.

Witp Lire in OrRcHARD AND FIEtp, Ernest Ingersoll.

Photo by T,. S. Andrus
A WOODCHUCK MOTHER AND LITTLE ONE

From Country Life in America
A PET WOODCHUCK SITTING FOR ITS PICTURE

THE WOODCHUCK

OW STRANGE it is that coun-
try children have so seldom
made pets of young wood-
chucks! They are interesting
little animals, and more in-
telligent than most people
think.

The woodchuck shows his
cleverness by the way he digs a
burrow. He does the work by
loosening the earth with his front feet, and pushing it
backward and out of the entrance with the hind feet.
The direction of the burrow extends downward for a
little way, and then rises at an easy angle, so that the
inmate may bein no dangerofflood. Thenest consists
of an enlargement at the end of the burrow lined with
soft grass, which the animal brings in its capacious
cheek pockets. There is usually more than one back
door to the woodchuck’s burrow, through which he
may escape if pressed too closely by enemies. These
back doors differ from the entrance in having no
earth heaped near them, and in being hidden.

The following true story of a pet woodchuck, was
given me by Professor Ida Reveley of Wells College.
It is a record of a pet woodchuck, captured and
tamed by her and her brother:

CHUCKIE

“Oh, Lou! Open that barrel for me. Just see!
I’ve got the cutest little woodchuck—had him by one
toe, and he isn’t hurt much, so we will keep him.

Mammals The Woodchuck

Look out; you know they bite like sixty!” With
that Bob undid his hat, at the same time holding it
over the barrel, and there tumbled out a poor, forlorn,
wet woodchuck, scarcely larger than his fist. It was
so different in shape from a kitten, that a comparison
with a young feline would fail to convey any idea of
its true size and shape. ;

The cover was quickly put over the barrel, and the
woodchuck was left to his own reflections on the
folly of disregarding parental admonitions in respect
to boys and traps. After supper, it occurred to Bob
(for a wonder) that his captive might be hungry.
He was so small that there was only one way to feed
him, so a dish of milk and a spoon were found and the
two children set to work, first to get him out of the
barrel without injury to themselves; secondly to feed
him. The first was accomplished by throwing an old
apron into the barrel, and having enveloped the
formidable creature in its folds, it was an easy task to
tip up the barrel and “‘dump”’ the contents upon the
floor. Here the apron was removed, and after
several soft touches had been bestowed on the animal
without resistance on his part, Lou ventured to take
him up inher hands. Frightened he may have been,
but not so much so that it took away his desire to eat;
for as soon as Bob had put some milk into his spoon,
Chuckie seized it between his teeth, and placed one
paw on each side so he could drain it more easily.
A few minutes sufficed to satisfy his hunger for that
time, and also to teach him to eat, so that afterwards
it was necessary only to place milk where he could
find it. At night he was placed in a box behind the
kitchen stove, and remained there until early the next
morning, when he awoke the household by his shrill
little whistle, expressive of his displeasure in having

The Woodchuck Mammals

explored the whole floor without finding anything to
eat.

In two or three days Chuckie became accustomed
to his home, and grew fat and playful as any sensible
creature would have done under like circumstances.
He was very fond of running over the carpets, but for
some reason or other grandma was decidedly averse
to having him walk on the carpet in her room, which
was his favorite place for taking exercise. Whenever
he saw the door open, he seemed to say, ‘‘Now’s my
chance!’ and proceeded to take advantage of it as
fast as his stubby little legs would carry him. Grand-
ma usually started at about the same time, and if
Chuckie saw that she was getting ahead of him, he
would take a shorter route and go under the stove,
thus reaching the coveted territory first; after which,
with his spunkiness and natural animal obstinacy, it
was the work of several minutes to get him out.

He spent much of his time under the stove at first.
When he was hungry he would come out and ask for
milk as plainly as he could; and if that did not
attract attention he would seize the bottom of
mamma’s or grandma’s dress, pulling and grunting
with all his might.. If they walked along, dragging
him, he didn’t seem to mind it in the least, but hung
on with a perverseness worthy of a better cause.

It was some time before he came to know his name,
but he could always. be called by rapping on the floor.

Such funny places as he found for a bed when he
grew older! Many a time did papa find him curled
up in his slipper; and once when Bob had hung his
coat on a chair to dry, Chuckie found his way into a
pocket; and after that, his favorite place was in the
pocket (or sleeve purposely tied at the end) of an old
coat which hung on a nail on a low railing.

Mammals The Woodchuck

There was a pile of wood out by the back door,
ready to be sawed and put into the woodshed.
Under this Chuckie had a nest which he sometimes
used in the day time. When the wood pile was
removed, this nest was found to be made of bark and
all sorts of bright colored things, particularly green
paper.

Chuckie was as playful as a kitten, but was by no
means as agile, and it was truly a laughable sight to
see him play with a piece of bark suspended from the
end of a pole.

He was an excellent climber, and liked to be under
a dress or coat, and would often climb into Bob’s
lap and from there under his coat on his back, where
he would stay until taken down.

Bob and Lou carried him with them all over the
neighborhood, and once even took him to town
several miles away. But he grew very troublesome,
and they had to borrow a shoe box to carry him
home in.

As he grew older he became more shy, and one day
he disappeared; only once after that was he seen, and
that time in a pasture near the house, when he came
within a few feet of Bob, who called him by name.

This is atrue story, and Chuckie was only one of the
many pets which Bob and Lou had at their home.”

HOUSE

It would be better to let the woodchuck play about
the grounds and garden, if possible; but if kept con-
fined, the cage should be a large one, eight or ten feet
square and three feet high, made of chicken wire, and
with cement bottom, otherwise the captive will
burrow out. A box at least two feet square, with a

The Woodchuck Mammals

- hole in one side large enough for the woodchuck to
enter should be provided for a nest, and it should be
filled with dried grass.

FOOD

Fresh clover and grass are the woodchuck’s favorite
food. Melon rinds, sweet apples, peaches, almost
any vegetables and roots, especially carrots, will be
greedily eaten. Sweet milk may be given occasion-
ally. Fresh water should be kept always accessible.

CARE

The cage should be kept clean, and the grass in the
nest box changed often; since the woodchuck is a
hibernating animal it should be fed plentifully in the
fall, and be given a cold place to stay in the winter.
However, it should not be kept in a place where the
thermometer drops below freezing. The object of
giving food plentifully in August and September is
to allow the animal to put on sufficient fat to last
during its winter sieep. If kept constantly in a warm
place, it will have drowsy spells, but will take food
occasionally.

REFERENCES

AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

“A Woodland Codger,’”’ Witp NeicuBors, Ernest Ingersoll.
FamILiaR WILD Animats, W. J. Lottridge.

SQUIRRELS AND OTHER Fur Bearers, John Burroughs.
Witp ANIMALS THAT EVERY CHILD SHOULD Know, Rogers.

THE PRAIRIE DOG

~ HIS little cousin of the squirrels makes a pet

that is entertaining the day long, and is also

= easily cared for, although it does not like to

= be handled. The prairie dog, sitting up on

hi -- his mound, with his hands folded, looks like

ig a little statue, so still he sits, when he is

making a reconnaissance of the country round

about. But this statue soon comes to life, drops on

all fours and scuttles off to find a straw, which is the

prairie dog’s equivalent for a cigar. Then he sits up

again, takes an end of the straw in each hand, bends

it V-shape, thrusts the angle into his mouth and

nibbles away with great enjoyment. He is a jolly

fellow, full of fun, and we become very fond of him
because of his cheerful disposition.

The prairie dog’s whole appearance is attractive,
and at the same time comical. His legs are so short,
that when he is running along he looks as though he
were on casters, and his short black-bordered tail,
seems at first to be a mere afterthought; but further
observation shows that it is of great use in expressing
his feelings, for with every fresh emotion of its owner,
the tail jerks sympathetically.

The usual bark of a prairie dog is probably meant
for a chuckle, intended to express entire contentment
with things in general. However, he makes several
other interesting sounds that certainly are full of
meaning to his fellows. For instance, he gives a
very special kind of a bark when his old enemy, the
snake, glides into his burrow; as soon as they hear
this warning bark, all of his neighbors gather around,
and proceed to fill the hole with earth, packing it

From Country Life in America

PRAIRIE DOG AT THE DOOR OF HIS BURROW

TANNOL S,90d AIdIVad JO ADNVUINA LV IMO ONIMOMANEA V

DIUIUY Ut afvT KyunoD mol

The Prairie Dog Mammals

hard, thus burying the snake alive. At least this is
the story naturalists tell.

The burrow of the prairie dog is very carefully
made; around the entrance is a mound of earth
packed hard, which in times of flood prevents the
waters from flowing into the burrow and drowning
out the inmates. This mound also serves as a watch-
tower, on which its little builder may sit and look
abroad over the land and up into the sky, when
watching for snakes, coyotes, foxes, wild.cats, hawks
and owls, which are the natural enemies of his kind.
The burrow extends down a very steep slope from the
entrance for twelve or fifteen feet, and then extends
out horizontally leading to various chambers, some
of which are used for living rooms, other for store-
houses, in which harvests of grass or other vegetation
may be kept; while there are still other chambers
used for refuse.

Mexico and Southwestern United States to the
Utah basin, and the great dry plains east of the Rocky
Mountains, are the regions inhabited by prairie dogs.
They are sociable little fellows, and like to live in
villages. Since they soon exhaust the scanty food
supply around their burrows, the old villages are
abandoned and new ones established in more favor-
able situations; thus their villages cover acres.
Since the development of the arid regions into farm-
ing lands, the prairie dogs have taken a new lease of
life, and have flourished greatly. They especially
enjoy all kinds of farm crops, and consequently do a
great deal of damage. Dr. Merriam says that there
are colonies extending for a distance of twenty to
thirty miles. One colony in Texas covers an area of
twenty-five hundred square miles. The government
is making experiments as to the best methods of
destroying these industrious little burrowers when
they encroach upon cultivated lands.

Mammals The Prairie Dog

HOUSE

The prairie dog prefers to house himself; so, all we
have to do is to give him a little ground of his own,
and he will proceed at once to make him a burrow.
The difficulty is to keep him from burrowing beyond
the boundaries of his chicken-wire fence. If we feed
him well, we may perhaps make him sufficiently lazy,
so that he will not burrow so extensively under
ground. However, if he seems likely to escape, we
may build for him a cage, which ought to be at least
ten feet square, with a zinc or cement bottom and
chicken-wire sides. The floor of the cage should have
on it two or three feet of solidly packed earth, so that
the little prisoner can play at making a burrow. A
most successful enclosure for a prairie dog home may
be seen in the New York Zoological Park. It is a
circular enclosure, eighty feet in diameter, surrounded
by an iron fence, with an overhang, with walls going
down to bed-rock. It occupies a rocky hill top, and
contains about fifty fat, contented prairie dogs.

FOOD

Almost any green food is acceptable such as grass,
clover, lettuce, celery tops, carrots, potatoes, apples,
and in fact, almost any kind of vegetation that
is green and succulent. In his native home the
prairie dog never drinks, and when in confinement he
seems to get sufficient water from his juicy green food.
A pile of hay or straw should be kept in one corner of
the enclosure, to afford the little prisoner entertain-
ment.

REFERENCES

AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

Witp Animas Tuat Every CuItp SHoutp Know, Rogers.
VisiT TO A PRatriIE Doc Vittace, Washington Irving.

From Country Life in America
A PET PRAIRIE DOG

Page & Co.

Courtesy of Doubleday,

WHITE MICE

Photo by Verne Morton

BABY MICE, PINK, BARE AND BLIND

THE WHITE RAT

E are so accustomed to think of
WI arat as simply a pest, that we do
not realize what the species have
lived through in order to survive.

We are quite in the habit of look-
ing to the history of Europe for
descriptions of great wars, but there
was once a war in Europe that is not
mentioned in the accounts of great
battles which took place there; and yet, perhaps, this
was the fiercest war of all, and it was waged be-
tween two species of rats.

Both of these European rat species are supposed to
have originated in Asia, probably in China. One of
them is the Black rat, more slender than our common
species, being about seven inches in length, bluish
black in color, and having large thin ears. There is
no record of the way or of the time of this rat’s
invasion of Europe from the Orient; but in 1300
A.D. it was thoroughly established there. In 1727
Europe was invaded by the species called, strangely,
the Norway rat; this came from western China, and
was a larger, fiercer and more dangerous animal than
the Black species. In twenty-five years after it
began to invade Russia, it had spread over all
Europe, and had conquered, killed, and probably
eaten the Black rats, which had been in possession of
the region for so many centuries.

A similar warfare took place in America, for
probably with the ships of Columbus, and certainly
in the Mayflower, the Black rats migrated from

FY
Mammals The White Rat

Europe to America. Soon after the Norway rat had
conquered Europe it came to America in ships, and
here has carried on the war of extermination against
the Black species, which is now found only in remote
corners of our country. There is a variety of the
Black species which has escaped this general extinc-
tion. It is found in Egypt and adjoining countries,
and has been introduced into our Southern States, it
is called the “Roof rat’’.

White rats and mice have been known for a long
time; they are the albinos of our common forms, but
have been bred for so long as fancy pets, that the
breed is distinct. They are far more delicate than
their common relations, but are more easily kept.

HOUSE

The general management for a white rat is the
same as for mice, only the rat needs a larger cage.
A pair of rats should have a cage at least two feet long
‘by one foot wide and high. The front of the box
should be covered with one-half inch wire netting;
the cage should be bedded with sawdust or dry
leaves, which should be frequently renewed. Every
week or two the rats should be removed into a fresh
house, and the one they have been in should be
washed with soap and hot water and thoroughly
dried before they are again put into it. In a corner
of the cage there should be a sleeping compartment
made of an inverted box, with a hole at one side, large
enough to admit the body of the rat. This box
should be filled with strips of paper or excelsior.

FOOD

The white rat may be fed grain of all kinds, and
insects; it is especially fond of meal worms, hard-
I0o

The White Rat Mammals

boiled egg, and now and then a bone with some raw
meat upon it. In fact, almost any table scraps are
acceptable to these creatures, but they should never
be fed with cheese. Plenty of fresh water should be
kept in a dish where the rats can have constant access
to it.

Into the street the Piper stept,

Smiling first a little smile,
As if he knew what magic slept

In his quiet pipe the while;
Then, like a musical adept,
To blow the pipe his lips he wrinkled,
And green and blue his sharp eyes twinkled
Like a candle-flame where salt is sprinkled;
And ere three shrill notes the pipe uttered,
You heard as if an army muttered;
And the mutterings grew to a grumbling;
And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling;
And out of the house the rats came tumbling.
Great rats, small rats, lean rats, brawny rats,
Brown rats, black rats, gray rats, tawny rats,
Grave old plodders, gay young friskers,
Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins,
Cocking tails and pricking whiskers,
Families by tens and dozens,
Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives—
Followed the Piper for their lives.
From street to street he piped advancing,
And step by step they followed dancing,
Until they came to the river Weser
Wherein all plunged and perished.

From ‘‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’ by Robert Browning.

IOI

MICE

HEN properly cared for, the ordinary
house mouse makes an amusing pet;
but the little white-footed mouse
of the woods is, on the whole, more
ie interesting and agreeable. The

house mouse is wonderfully adapted
for a successful life. The thin, velvety ears are wide
open for catching any sound; the eyes are keen, andthe
nose is long and inquisitive, and always sniffing for
new impressions. The whiskers are delicate and very
sensitive. The gnawing teeth are very strong,
enabling the mouse to gnaw through boards. At the
first glance one wonders why the mouse should have
such a long and scaly tail; if we watch our pet we
.will find that it uses its tail in climbing up the
sides of its cage, and will also twist it around its
little twine trapeze when hanging to it with its hind
feet.

It is particularly interesting to watch a mouse
clean itself. It nibbles and licks its fur, reaching
around so as to get at it from behind, and taking hold
with its little hands to hold it firm while being
cleaned. When washing its face and head, it uses its
front feet for a washcloth, and licks them clean each
time after rubbing from behind the ears down over
the face.

Young mice are small, downy, pink, and are born
blind. The mother makes for them a nice soft nest
of bits of cloth, paper, grass, or whatever is at hand.
The nest is ball-shaped, and at its center the family is
cuddled.

102

Mice Mammals

Of all the wild mice, the white-footed or the deer
mouse makes the most interesting pet. It lives in
the woods, and is very different in appearance from
the house mouse. Its ears are very large, and it is
white beneath the head and body. The feet are
pinkish. This mouse stores food for winter use.
When I was a child I found in a hollow log two quarts
of shelled beechnuts stored by this mouse. This
little creature hasa pretty habit of making its summer
home in the fork of a branch or in a deserted bird’s
nest, which it roofs over. The young mice are
carried hanging to the mother’s breast.

HOUSE

While there are many good cages for observing
wild mice, the one I like the best is an aquarium jar,
with straight sides, either square or circular; a cover
of wire netting is necessary. Place in the jar plenty
of paper in strips, or excelsior, so that the pet may
hide beneath it. Fasten a coarse piece of twine so
that it will extend from the middle of the cover nearly
to the bottom of the jar, so that the mouse can amuse
itself, and us, by climbing. There should be another
jar of the same size to which the mouse may be
changed when its nest needs cleaning, which is as
often as once or twice a week. It is rather difficult to
change the mice from one jar to the other, and it.
should be done thus: ‘Take off the cover and invert.
the clean jar to take its place, then turn both jars on
their sides on the table, mouth to mouth. Wait
until the pet is exploring his new quarters, then
thrust a square of wire netting in for a cover and bring
the fresh jar to an upright position.

103

Mammals Mice

FOOD

Mice thrive on almost all that we eat, and are
especially fond of breakfast foods. They like stale
bread, flies, meal worms, and bits of raw meat or hard
boiled eggs. There must always be a dish of water
in the cage; if there is not plenty of water, mice will
destroy each other. They should never be given
cheese.

CARE

Mice need to be kept in a moderately warm room,
and must always have plenty of soft material for their
nests. The cage must be cleaned and scalded at
least once or twice a week.

REFERENCES

Description of habits, AMERIcAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

SQUIRRELS AND OTHER FurR-BEARERS, John Burroughs.

Witp Lire in OrcHarpD anD FIELD, Ernest Ingersoll.

“The White-footed Mouse,” Famitiar Witp Animats, W. /.
Lottridge.

“Tookhees,” the “‘Fraid One,” SECRETS OF THE Woops, W. /.
Long.

“The Tunnel Runners,” NeicHBpors UNkNown, and “In
the Deep of the Grass,” in THz WaTCHERS OF THE TRAILS,
C. G. D. Roberts.

THE MOUSE’S PETITION
Found in a trap where he had been confined all night

Oh! hear a pensive prisoner’s prayer, for liberty that sighs;

And never let thine heart be shut against the wretch’s cries.

For here forlorn and sad I sit, within the wiry grate;

And tremble at the approaching morn, which brings impending
fate. :

If e’er thy breast with freedom glow’d, and spurn’d a tyrant’s
chain,

Let not thy strong oppressive force a free-born Mouse detain.

by Anna Letitia Barbauld.
104

FANCY MICE

It is difficult to believe
that the Golden, Brown,
and Black and Spotted
fancy mice were really de-
scended from our little gray
house mouse, but this is a
fact which has been dis-
covered by scientists. It seems that the hairs in the
fur of the house mouse contains black, chocolate and
yellow pigments, arranged so that the base of the hair
is black, the tip is yellow, while between it is barred
with chocolate brown. Mice are likely to give birth
now and then to pink-eyed, pure-white albino off-
spring; these have been selected and bred until a race
of albinos has been established, and thus we get our
white mice as pets. By breeding these albinos with
the house mice the colors in the coat of the latter
have been separated, and some disappear altogether,
and thus our fancy mice have been developed.

The Golden Agouti has the same arrangement of
pigment in the hairs as the house mouse, except that
the yellow tips have been exaggerated so that this
mouse is golden in color. The Sable is like the
Agouti, except that its back is dark, and it is golden
yellow underneath and at the sides. The Cinnamon
has only the yellow and the chocolate pigments in the
hair, the black being left out, while the Black has
chocolate and black pigments, but no yellow, and the
Fawn has yellow and black with the brown left out.

The Red and Yellow varieties carry only the yellow
pigment. The Chocolate carries only the brown

105

Mammals Fancy Mice

pigment. In the following varieties these colors have
become pale and diluted: Blue and Lilac have a
diluted black pigment; the Silver has a diluted
chocolate pigment, and the Cream has the yellow
pigment diluted.

The varieties mentioned above are solid colored,
but there are also several varieties that carry several
colors. The most noted of these are the Dutch
marked, which have the eye-patches, ears and rear
portion of the body in some solid color, the remainder
of the body white; these are very pretty when the
colors are black and white. Beside these there are
the spotted varieties in all colors.

HOUSE

There are many varieties of cages for pet mice.
Any box with a lid, and that has a floor area of twelve
inches by six inches will do for a pair. One side of
the box may have a wire screen or a glass, so that the
pets may be observed. These cages often have a slit
along the lower edge of one side which may be used
in cleaning out the cage; a little scraper with a
handle may be pushed through this slit for drawing
out the soiled sawdust; of course such an open-
ing must be closed by a strip of wood when not in
use.

Each cage should always be furnished with a mov-
able nest box, this should be at least four inches
square, with a hole in one side two inches in diameter,
and should have a lid for convenience in cleaning
which may be hooked down with wire while in use.
This nest box may be attached to the side of the cage,
or placed in one corner on the floor. However, it
should be where it may be easily reached by the hand
from above when the lid to the cage is raised, for the

106

Fancy Mice Mammals

mice are less likely to escape through an opening
above than through a door at the side.

CARE

Mice are born naked, blind and deaf, and are most
helpless little creatures; they mature in four months.
When four weeks old the males and females should
be separated and kept in separate cages. The females
will live together usually without fighting, but the
males fight to the death if kept together after they
are mature. As soon as they begin to fight, they
should be separated and put in different cages.

Before she gives birth to her young the mother
mouse should be put in a separate cage containing a
nesting box eight inches square. The very young
mice should never be handled nor the nest be dis-
turbed for at least eight days after their birth, else
the mother may destroy them. She sometimes
destroys them because of thirst, so she must be kept
well supplied with fresh water. It is well to give her
bread soaked in water every morning after the young

are born.
FOOD

Food of the simplest kind is best for fancy mice.
Canary seeds, white millet and oats, a piece of stale
bread or good dog biscuit soaked in skim milk, a
morsel of apple or carrot in winter and grass heads
or dandelion leaves in summer.

If the mice are fed twice daily, give the cereals at
night and the soft food in the morning. Sugar and
salt are both apt to disagree with mice and a large
amount of animal food makes them smelly.

REFERENCE

Fancy Mice, C. J. Davies, published by L. Upcott Gill,
London.

107

JAPANESE WALTZING MICE

HESE brown and white, piebald dancers
) ffl) area source of amusement to all who
= watch them. Anatomists and physi-
ologists have written long treatises upon
why this mouse dances like a spinning top. But it
does not matter much to us whether the dancing
is caused by imperfect equilibrium through some
defect of the ear or brain, or from some other cause,
so long as our pets keep active and entertaining. It
is supposed that these mice originated in India, from
the common mouse of China and were introduced into
Japan. There is a pretty legend that these mice
lived in the cotton bolls of India in the long ago.
Mrs. Cyrus R. Crosby has given to me the notes
which she made upon the habits and care of her pair
of pet waltzers. Although they are nocturnal in
their habits, and begin their regular dancing after
four o’clock in the afternoon, yet she found that some-
times they came out in the morning or at noon and
danced for a time. Once she tried to count how
many times one of them whirled without stopping;
the approximate number was two-hundred and
seventy-four. One day when taking the male out of
the cage he bit his mistress, and in the scramble that
ensued he jumped into the drinking dish as he
returned to the cage. He was greatly disturbed and
excited over getting wet; for a time he danced faster
than usual, then sat down and began to clean himself
most violently; he scraped the water off his fur with
his foot, and then licked his foot; he used both fore
feet and hind feet for this process until he looked

108

Japanese Waltzing Mice Mammals

very sleek. He was oblivious of everything else
while cleaning himself, not paying the slightest
attention to the fact that his mate in dancing was
constantly switching his face with her tail. Later,
the pair quarreled, and the female turned into a
vixen, attacking her frightened spouse on all possible
occasions, and driving him into the corners in a most
heartless way.

HOUSE

Since these mice are very sensitive to drafts, their
cage should be a wooden box with wire netting over
one side. Mrs. Crosby has a circular cage of wire
netting which has the advantage of giving a better
view of the dancers, but she has to be very careful
to keep the cage away from drafts. The floor should
be covered with dry sand or sawdust. It is con-
venient to put several layers of paper on the bottom
of the cage, removing the soiled top one each day.
The mice should be removed and the cage washed
with an emulsion of kerosene and water once a week,
drying it thoroughly before putting the mice back into
it. In one corner of the cage there should be a
retiring nest; a wooden box two or three inches
square with a hole in one side will do. This should
be placed on the floor and not fastened up against the
side of the cage as with fancy mice. Shredded tissue
paper makes the best bedding for these delicate
creatures. Cotton or other fibrous material is not
suitable. ,

A playhouse should be placed in the cage. This is
made by taking a wooden box, without a cover,
about three inches square, and two inches high. Cut
holes one and a half inches wide down the sides of the
box opposite each other. Invert this box in the

109

Mammals Japanese Waltzing Mice

middle of the cage, and the weird little creatures will
play in and out through the openings by the hour.

FOOD

Dry food should be given chiefly, such as canary
seed, hemp seed, dry bread, crackers, force, or other
cereals. Give for a change bread soaked in sweet
milk. Every other day give a bit of lettuce or turnip
or carrot.

Fresh water should be put in the cage every day,
for these mice are thirsty little creatures, and need
pure water to keep them healthy.

CARE

The cage should be set where there are no drafts,
and the temperature should not vary greatly from
60°. In general the care is very similar to that given
to fancy mice.

WALTZING MICE

Little four-foot dervishes are they
As they whirl and twirl—

It is not work and it is not play—

’Tis as if they just were built that way
To twirl and whirl.

They go so fast they make a blur
As they whirl and twirl,
Their very long tails and spotted fur
Look like a wheel on a pivot awhirr
As they twirl and whirl.

110

From Country Life in America
A WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE AT HER OWN DOORWAY

3unod Joy Surpuejep umnsoddo Joyjour y
jwavo AMVL

DIUM p Ut afvT CAUNDD MOAT
—_ = 5

THE OPOSSUM

HE only way we can under-
stand why the opossum devel-
oped a pouch in which to hide
and carry her young, is to think
of the enemies the ancient opos-
sum families had to meet; for
Zi the opossums appeared first
during the Mesozoic period, the
age of terrible reptiles. At that
time there were various species
of opossums scattered over all Europe and North
America. Whether the reptiles ate them, pouches
and all, and so destroyed them, we shall never know;
but now the opossums have disappeared from all
countries except South and Central America, and
one species in the Southern United States; and this
species is certainly having a hard struggle for exist-
ence because it is preyed upon by most wild animals
that eat meat, and by one tame one, that eats a great
deal of meat, i. e., man. Mr. Sharp says of our
opossum that ‘‘He is an eternal surprise. Either
he is the most stupidly wise animal of the woods,
or the most wisely stupid. He is a puzzle. Appar-
ently his one unburied talent is heaviness. Job, the
fat boy, was not a sounder, nor more constant sleeper,
nor was his mental machinery any slower than the
*possum’s. The little beast is utterly wanting in
swiftness and weapons, his sole hope and defense
being luck and indifference.”

The opossum builds its nest in hollow logs or
stumps, or in hollows about the roots of trees. It

Ill

Mammals The Opossum

usually rents its house ready-made, not taking the
trouble to dig it out, but makes a warm nest for itself
when cold weather threatens, by carrying in dried
grass and leaves rolled into bundles so as to be carried
by the useful tail. It does not sleep all winter, but
comes out often to visit hen-roosts, and even kitchens
trying to find something to eat.

The opossum has a most interesting form. Its tail
is scaly, and acts as a third hand when the creature is
climbing, since it can be twined around a branch and
will hold the weight of the animal, which is thus
enabled to swing from one tree to another. Its feet
look very much like hands, and are made for grap-
pling; but the most interesting thing about the
opossum is the pocket in which the mother carries her
babies, which are born blind and naked, when not
more than an inch long. With her teeth the little
mother places each helpless mite in her pocket, where
it clings to a teat; and here safe in the pouch the
babies stay for about two months while they grow
very rapidly. After a little they climb out and
clamber around on the mother’s back and anchor
themselves by twisting their own tails about that of
their parent; but they rush back into the pouch when
there are signs of danger.

“Playing ‘possum’ is a common saying, and it
refers to this creature’s habit of acting as if it were
dead when overcome by the enemy. It acts this part
so well that it may be maltreated severely but will
not give a sign to show that it is alive. But if it sees
the enemy off guard for a moment it comes to life and
disappears very suddenly.

The young opossum makes an interesting pet. It
is sharp-witted and knowing, and is very fond of
play. However, it does not become attached to

II2

From Country Life in America

PLAYING POSSUM!

The Opossum Mammals

people, even to those who feed it. It uses its teeth
too freely for comfort sometimes, and is rather given
to chewing up slippers and handkerchiefs and other
articles of apparel.

HOUSE

It is best, if possible, to let the pet opossum run
about freely, but it must not be forgotten that it is
naturally a night prowler, and therefore should be
confined at night. It may have its nest in a barrel or
box in the house. It usually sleeps during the day.
It is never to be placed near the chickens or other
domestic fowls. If confined all the time to a cage,
there should be in it branches for the pet to climb, for
it is naturally a dweller in trees.

FOOD

The opossum is a general feeder, and in a wild state
eats insects, young reptiles, mice, birds and birds’
eggs and fruits. It may be fed corn, nuts, berries,
persimmons and other fruits. It is also fond of
bacon, dried beef, or any bits of meat and poultry.
It should always have access to plenty of fresh water,
and its cage or nest should be kept clean.

REFERENCES

AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.
FamiLiaR WILp ANIMALS, W. J. Lottridge.
“In Persimmon Time,” Witp Lire Near Home, D. L. Sharp.

‘And I saw a mother possum up in a tree,
Her tail was arched above conveniently,
And hanging to it by their tails were three
Little baby possums as cute as they could be.”

113

THE LITTLE BROWN BAT

‘ HEN a bat is first captured, it is so
WW excited and snappy that courage is
*” required to handle it for it can in-
flict quite severe wounds. But it
readily responds to kind treatment
and soon learns to take food from the hand of its
master or mistress.

The bat has perhaps the most wonderful wings of
all winged creatures, for they consist of a thin
membrane spread over the fingers to the arms and
back along the sides to the hind legs, and from the
hind legs to the tail. This membrane is filled with
sensitive nerves, which informs the swift flyer of the
objects in its path, so that it is able to dart among
the branches of trees in the night at terrific speed,
never touching a twig. Its flight is the highest ideal
we may entertain for the achievement of the aero-
plane. The bat as it darts about keeps its mouth
open, and scoops in all the insects that it overtakes.
During the winter, bats hibernate, like the wood-
chucks. They-select for the winter some hollow tree
or protected place, there they hang themselves up by
the front feet or hind feet, and go to sleep and do
not awake until the insects begin flying the next
spring.

The little bats are born in July, and usually occur
as twins. The mother feeds her little ones from her
breast, cradling them in her soft wings for the
time. Sometimes she takes them with her when she
goes out after insects in the evenings, and they cling
securely to her neck while she darts about. When

114

Photo by Verne Morton

THE LITTLE BROWN BAT

Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.

A BAT ASLEEP

The Little Brown Bat Mammals

she wishes to hunt more easily, she hangs her little
youngsters upon some twig, and they are sufficiently
well-trained to stay there until she returns to-get
them.

Bats should be handled with care, since they are
able to give a very sharp nip with their needle-like
teeth. They may be caught in an insect net and
gradually tamed. The following account of her
experience with a bat by Miss Evelyn Groesbeck
Mitchell, will suggest the proper treatment for this
pet:

My first bat came to me in the following manner.
One day a small, excited, red-headed boy rushed
up to me with a pasteboard box, from which came a
great hissing, scratching and squeaking, a sharp,
penetrating, painfully high, metallic squeaking that
set my ears aching. .

“What is it, Michael?” I asked.

“Tis a quare mouse I found in me cellar,”’ said
Michael, “I know ye loike mice. Luk at him.”

Carefully I slid off the cover, holding the box
beneath a large glass jar. Out bustled a highly
indignant little Brown Bat, hissing like a boiled-over
kettle and scrambling about in a ludicrous fashion on
his outstretched wings and tiny feet.

I took the little beastie home and put himinaglass-
sided box with wire top. He at once hung himself
up-side-down from the wire by the hooked claws of his
hind feet and vented his wrath in a series of shrill
squeaks, which he kept up all night.

On my venturing to peep at him next day it seemed
as if he would literally burst with rage. Offers of
food, in the shape of flies at the end of a long straw,
were snappishly rejected. For a whole day the
obstinate little rascal starved himself. About six

115

Mammals Little Brown Bat

o’clock and in the middle of what was evidently
intended for a lively scolding, I popped a fly into his
wide open mouth. Snap went the jaws and down
went the fly into the hungry littlestomach. Thenext
fly took the same trip down the ‘red lane’ and the
third was eagerly seized. After that the scamp
stopped scolding. It kept us busy hunting flies for
him. In fact, as it was late in the fall, flies were hard
to find and raw meat had to be substituted. This he
would chew in a most impolite way, opening his
square little mouth to its full extent at every bite.
He soon snatched food eagerly from my fingers and
would cling to my hand while eating.

On being offered water in a doll’s spoon he dipped
his nose in, sputtered, sneezed, chattered and finally
drank. For milk, however, he showed great pre-
ference, lapping greedily with his tiny red tongue.

In two days my strange pet was perfectly tame.
I let him out in my room. He immediately hung
himself on a bunch of seaweed in a corner of the
ceiling, remaining there allday. This was always his
favorite place. At dusk he would fly about the room
and I have seen him catch flies. When the lights
were on I put him in the box in spite of his scold-
ing.

Very soon he learned to know me, because I fed
him. He would hitch himself to my dress or snuggle
in my palm like a bunch of floss silk. Strangers he
did not like, and a great many actually did not know
what he was and were afraid of him. His sensitive
wings he would not permit me to touch at first, later
he did not care so long as I was very gentle. He de-
lighted in being scratched on the back very gently
with a bit of wood. He washed himself with his
tongue and rubbed his face with his wrists. When

116

Little Brown Bat Mammals

he was hanging up he could reach almost all over
oe and he looked very funny when he washed his
back.

When my little fellow was hungry, he would fly in
my face or scramble about my dress, making faces
and saying in sharp bat words, ‘I want something to
eat.’’ If I were not quick about it, I was as likely to
be bitten as the meat. Luckily his bites were not as
big as his temper or there would have been nothing
left of me. He was not particular as to when he ate,
and often flew by daylight, that is, in the afternoon.

Do you know that bats, like many other animals,
sleep all winter? But my little bat did not sleep
except on the coldest days—the room was too
warm.

When spring came and the other bats began to fly,
he would hang on the window screen in the evening
and squeak. I suppose he was singing. Pretty soon
another bat lit in a tree outside the window. Then
there wasa duet. It proved too much for my nerves.
I threw all sorts of things at that bat in the tree, but
he or she simply shifted about and kept up the cricket-
like song. After three nights of ear-racking serenade,
and the protest of the rest of the family, I liberated
my pet. I think it was he who hung on my screen
and flew about with another bat for several nights,
but at last I saw him no more.

HOUSE

The above story suggests that the bat should be
kept in a room so that it may fly about, otherwise I
am sure it will not live very long. I had a pet bat
for some weeks, and I kept it in a dark box during the
day, and let it fly around the room at night.

117

Mammals Little Brown Bat

FOOD

Almost any kind of insects are in the bat’s dietary,
but bits of raw meat may be substituted. Fresh
water must be placed where the little creature can
find it, and I found my bat also was very fond of
drinking fresh milk.

CARE

The chief care is to provide the bat a place to hang
during the day. A loose curtain affords an excellent
surface for it to cling to, or twigs or slats may be used.
It is best to keep the bat in a cold, but protected
place during the winter, so that it can follow its
natural habit of hibernating.

REFERENCES
Description of habits, AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

THE BAT

“As blind as a bat,” the foolish say,

Which shows how much they know.

I can see by night, I can see by day

I have wonderful wings that feel my way
In the dark where branches grow.

I dart about in the twilight gray

Catching insects, which are my prey

With my mouth wide open so!

And when I am tired without delay

I hang upside down wherever I may
And fast asleep I go.

118

JUST AFTER A NAP
A Raccoon in a Tree

Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.
FEEDING A BABY COON FROM A BOTTLE

THE RACCOON

O ONE has yet settled the ques-
tion whether the crow, the fox,
or the raccoon makes the most
mischievous pet. Each does
its best to earn the medal in
this competition; but of the
three, the raccoon certainly
looks the most mischievous.
The black patches around his

eyes look like goggles; and there is a deep, specula-
tive look in the eye itself, that matches the anxious
look of the face. Probably his anxiety is occasioned
from fear that he has not done all the naughty tricks
possible in a given time. The raccoon is always full
of curiosity, and will examine any unusual object
with great thoroughness. This meddling habit has
often led to his undoing; for one way of trapping
coons is to suspend above a trap a bit of bright tin;
this so fixes the attention of these wily animals that
they lose all caution and walk into the trap.

The wild raccoon likes to live near water, because of
its partiality for frogs, fish, oysters and other water
animals. It also has a strange habit of washing its
meat before eating. Thus it is, we often find raccoon
tracks in the soft mud on the margins of pond or
stream; these tracks are unmistakable, for the
raccoon is what the scientists call a plantigrade, i. e.,
it walks on its entire foot instead of its toes, and its
tracks look as if they were made by the hand or foot
of a fairy.

119

Mammals The Raccoon

Raccoons usually have their nests in hollow trees,
or in caverns in rockyledges. They are night wander-
ers, and sleep daytimes, curled up in the forks of
branches. It is a comical sight when a coon thus
arranges itself for a nap; it adapts its fat body to
this uneven narrow bed with perfect ease, and tucks
its nose down beneath its paws, and curls its tail
about its body, thus making itself into a furry ball.
The black and gray ringed tail protects its owner
from sight because its colors seem like flecks of sun-
shine and shadow amid the foliage of the tree.

During the summer the raccoon lays on enough fat
to sustain it during the winter. Usually several lie
together in their winter nest, sleeping away the hun-
gry cold months. When they come forth during the
thaws of March or April to hunt for what scant food
they may find, they are lean and weak.

The young are born in April and May, usually
from three to six in a litter; they are blind and help-
less at first, and are cared for tenderly by their
parents. The family usually remains together for
a year, when the youngsters are fully grown. The
young cry pitifully when separated from their
parents. In fact, the coon’s cry is never a cheerful
sound; it is a strange, sad wail, ending in a whimper.

The raccoon is a very general feeder, and is fond of
corn in the milk stage, and thus does much damage.
It is also fond of poultry, and destroys birds’ nests.
It is fond of fish, and catches them in its paws while
sitting on the shore. It eats frogs, turtle eggs,
snakes, and on the Gulf coast feeds largely upon
oysters. It also relishes fruit, especially berries and
wild grapes.

As a pet, the raccoon soon learns to do a great
many things which we would rather it did not learn.

120

The Raccoon Mammals

We once knew one that ranged over the house to suit
his fancy, and he learned to open the door of every
cupboard in the kitchen and pantry. He also opened
boxes with perfect ease. Another was chained in the
yard, and would lie curled up as if asleep, with one
eye always slyly watching the food left from his
breakfast. Soon some unwary hen would come up,
stretch her neck cautiously until, reassured, she
began the stolen feast. Then there was a scramble
and a squawk, and before we could save her he would
have wrung her neck and stripped off her feathers.

HOUSE

To really enjoy the pet raccoon, we should let him
have the run of the house. He soon becomes very
much at home, and never attempts to run away.
A basket or a box can be put in a certain corner for
his sleeping quarters. If he is not wanted in the
house, a dog’s kennel, or a barrel or box may be given
him for a home; to this he may be chained, and
should have a nearby branch on which he can climb.
The roomier the place the better for the raccoon, for
he loves his freedom. An enclosure of chicken wire,
with a shelter shed in one corner, and a tree or
branches on which he can climb, is a most desirable
coon cage.

FOOD

Water is so necessary to the raccoon’s happiness
that is should be spoken of before food. He is
particularly fond of pieces of raw meat which he will
souse around in his drinking basin until it is pallid
and flabby, and then he will eat it, using his paws like
hands to aid his teeth in tearing it apart. He is fond
of beetles, mice, rats, insects, fruit, corn, molasses,

I21

Mammals The Raccoon

sugar, preserves and cake. He will eat eagerly
almost any of the food scraps from the family table.

CARE

The raccoon should have fresh water to play in
constantly. If we think he needs a bath we can give
him one in warm water and he will like it. The
mother coon, when her young are born, must have a
good supply of water, for she will destroy them if
she cannot have water with which to wash them.

REFERENCES

AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

SQUIRRELS AND OTHER Fur Bearers, John Burroughs.
THe LittLteE PEOPLE OF THE SycamorRE, C. G. D. Roberts.
A Litre BROTHER OF THE BEAR, W. J. Long.

Witp Neicupors, Ernest Ingersoll.

“Mux,” Roor anp Meapow, D. L. Sharp.

Oh Mister Coon with goggles black
You surely do look wise.

But in the mud your little track
Is fairy-footed size.

Your tail is ringed with black and gray
You never are in haste.

You wash your meat in a funny way
Before it suits your taste.

122

THE PORCUPINE

HERE are some of her creatures
that Mother Nature has clad
in armor, notably the turtle,
the armadillo and the oyster;
f} but the porcupine has an ar-
‘ mor of defense, which is made
up of weapons of offense, con-
sisting of bristling spears; and

ISN SAS 2S each of these spears, is, near
ae ip. beset with backward curving barbs, so that
when it is once imbedded in flesh, it works farther
in at every movement. The pain the hedgehog’s
quills inflict is severe, and many an animal has
died from these imbedded spears.

When attacked, the porcupine curls up so as to
protect its nose and the under part of its body; mean-
while, it lashes the enemy in the face with its short
club-like tail, and leaves a mass of quills with every
stroke. Old hunters tell us that the best way to ex-
tract quills from the flesh is by twisting them around;
“screw them out’, instead of extracting them by a
straight pull.

The porcupine is not a very intelligent animal, and
therefore its chief interest as a pet lies in watching
its queer habits. It has been protected from its
enemies so long and so well, that it is not afraid of any-
thing. Because its quills are so sharp, its wits have
not needed to be sharpened in order to avoid
danger.

The natural home of the porcupine is a nest of dry
leaves in a hollow log, or beneath a pile of rocks. It

123

Mammals The Porcupine

spends much of its time in trees, sometimes climbing
about in one tree several days, eating the buds and
bark. Its food is succulent bark, foliage, twigs, buds
of trees, and some nuts, such as beech-nuts. It is es-
pecially fond of salt, as campers in the forests have
learned to their sorrow. It attacks the camp stores
in order to get at the bacon, and it particularly en-
joys gnawing the wood of an old salt barrel. It is
also fond of sugar, and often damages the utensils
used in maple sugar making. Its teeth are long,
sharp and yellow, and especially fitted for gnawing.
In fact, this little animal must have something hard
to gnaw, in order to keep its teeth worn down;
otherwise, they would become so long as to prevent
the mouth from shutting, and inflict starvation.

HOUSE

It should be remembered that the porcupine. is
active nights and sleeps during the day. It also
hibernates in the winter. The young are born about
the first of May; there are usually two, rarely
three, in a litter. The young porcupine is a huge
baby, it is larger than a newly-born bear-cub; its
eyes are open, and its body is covered with soft, furry,
dark-brown hair. Out through this dense fur grow
long hairs tipped with yellowish white, these harden
and become quills. The mother is very careful of
her young until their quills are grown, then she weans
them.

A porcupine as a pet should not be kept indoors,
for it is a smelly animal, and often infested with
fleas. It should be kept in a hutch, bedded with
sawdust, which will need to be renewed frequently.
There should be a retiring box in one corner of the
hutch, bedded with dry leaves.

124

The Porcupine Mammals

FOOD

As a pet, the porcupine eats apples, vegetables,
bread and milk, chopped cooked meat, and almost
any table scraps; and it should always be provided
with fresh water.

REFERENCES

AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

SQUIRRELS AND OTHER Fur Bearers, John Burroughs.

Witp Netcueors, Ernest Ingersoll.

“Unk Wunk, the Porcupine,” THE ScHOoL oF THE Woops,
W. J. Long.

MISTER PORKY

Mister Porky, you are like a chestnut bur
Trotting round on pitty-pat-y feet.

But hidden in the chestnut’s prickly fur
Is something very good, indeed, to eat.

Mister Porky, to discover I have tried

What good there is so hid beneath your quills;
Have you a temper sweet and satisfied?

Have you a heart that joy and gladness thrills?

Mister Porky, you are not so very big,

Nor half so fierce as your appearance warns.
You are nothing but a little piggy-wig

All covered up with very thornful thorns.

125

FERRETS

HE one who handles ferrets needs to
have courage; for however carefully
the little master or mistress may be,
they are sure to be bitten more or less.
Ferrets are never so tame that they
will not bite at the smell of blood.
The ferret has an almost uncanny
fierceness, and a will power that makes

it a destroyer of other animals. This characteristic

fierceness is not likely to teach gentleness to its care-
takers; but other pets may be kept for that purpose;
and with all the knowledge which we now possess
concerning the dangers to human life through rats,
we must realize that sympathy with the lower ani-
mals cannot always be maintained. Thus it is that
ferrets may well supplement the child’s experience
with pets; if he has eyes to see, the ferrets will give
him some excellent examples scarcely to be gotten
elsewhere, of some of the forces in the great struggle
for existence in nature. Moreover, one who watches

a ferret mother care for and discipline her young

ones gains a new insight into the training which the

wild mothers administer in fitting their youngsters
for successful lives.

I am indebted to Mr. Karl P. Schmidt for my
interest in ferrets. At my request his brother,
Frank J. W. Schmidt, a lad of twelve years, wrote
me a letter about the habits of his ferrets, and I think
I cannot do better than to give the letter exactly as
he wrote it:

126

Ferrets Mammals

MY EXPERIENCE WITH FERRETS

A year ago my father brought me a pair of ferrets.
They were then about eight months old, and they
proved to be the most interesting pets I have ever
had. We got them because we were overrun with
rats, and wanted to try them for rat hunting. They
are relatives of the English polecat and of the Amer-
ican mink and weasel, and are much like them in
their habits, they will not hunt or kill their cousins.
Female ferrets are called ‘‘Jills’, so we called our
two Jack and Jill. My big brother made a box or
hutch four feet long, two feet wide and two feet high
with half-inch mesh wire on part of the side and on
a large door on top. At first we had a box in the
back for them to sleep in, but later we found that
they ought to have a dark room, so we put in a parti-
tion about fifteen inches from the end with a two
inch hole for a door. We put in hay or straw for
their bedroom, and coarse sawdust in the front room.
They are very neat and clean in their habits, using
only one corner of their hutch for a toilet room; but
of course they have the strong odor of all their family.
It is better to paint the floor and at least six inches
of the wall of the hutch, as it is thus easier to clean.
The hutches and dishes have to be kept very clean,
especially in hot weather. If kept clean the ferrets
are never sick except that sometimes the young ones
get a kind of distemper, that is nearly always fatal.

The first winter we kept them in the house and
after they got used to us and a little tame, we let
them run in a big sitting-room. They had lots of fun
exploring it. They do not seem to see much, but
smell everything. They liked to hide behind papa’s
big desk, and would crawl into the fireplace wood-
box, and into ma’s stocking basket for a nap. If

127

Mammals Ferrets

there was a wrinkle in the rug it made a fine tunnel
for them. We used to put a stocking on the floor
for them to go into; they could go clear to the end
and turn round and come out head first—one would
scarcely believe what a small hole they can turn
aroundin. If we play with them they dance around
in a comical way—backwards or sidewise, always
keeping an eye on us. If they find something on the
floor new to them, a broom, a mop, or ma’s sewing,
they just go crazy, roll over and over on it, get under
it, pull it with their teeth and very likely nip you
if you try to take it away from them. We had a
playful little cat (we first called it ‘‘Little Cat,’’ then
L. C., which was finally corrupted to Elsie), and
Jack would play with her, but he always finished by
nipping her on the ear; he never bit her anywhere
else.

No matter how tame they are they have. to be
handled carefully or they will nip or even bite hard,
if they get a taste or smell of blood. Once one bit
my finger and I made him let go by pinching his
tail; but another time I held Jack too close to my
face and I must have had alittle blood on my nose, for
he made a grab for it, and wouldn’t let go—we had
to slip the separator wrench down his throat and
twist it around to open his jaws. After that I was
more careful. When hunting rats we always
handled the ferrets with gloves.

They were not trained when we got them, and
. when we put a rat in their hutch they did not know
what to do with it; they would nip it a little, but the
rat was more than amatch forthem. So we trained
them by giving them live mice and English spar-
rows, and they soon learned to kill things with one
bite. Then we tried putting in the rat again. It

128

Ferrets Mammals

was as big as Jill and they had a royal battle, but
Jill came out ahead. Once I put her into a hole
in the wall of the hotbed and three rats ran for their
lives. I got one with my shinny stick. Another
time I put her into the wall of the barn, and she
found a rat’s nest, chased the old rat out, ate up the
young ones, and curled up and went to sleep in the
nest. When I got tired of waiting for her to come
out I cut a hole in the wall where I had heard her
last, and there she was. Once I took her out in the
field and put her down a gopher hole. The gopher
did not have her safety hole dug, so Jill caught her
by a hind leg and backed out. She had to work
hard but she got her out. She was a surprised
gopher. Ferrets are always ready to go into any
kind of a hole to investigate.

I never saw any animal sleep so soundly as a ferret.
The first time we found Jill asleep we thought she
was dead; she was perfectly limp, and Karl called
us in to view the remains; but by the time we all got
there she woke up, stretched, and seemed to ask us
what the trouble was, anyway.

Ferrets are easy to feed—a little bread and milk
twice a day, with johnnycake, oatmeal, or pancakes
for a change, and meat when convenient. We gave
them the mice and rats and red squirrels that we
caught, and some of ma’s weak chicks. In the spring
we had a few small chicks in the house and no matter
where we put them, Jack hunted them out, and they
soon disappeared. We were more careful after that.
They always take hold of a chicken or sparrow just
back of a wing, and seem to kill them instantly.
Rats and mice they bite just back of the ear.

In April we put Jack in a separate hutch, and in
May we heard a curious squeaking in Jill’s sleeping

129

Mammals Ferrets

quarters, and knew she had young ones. The ferret
book says the mother will kill the young ones if you
look at them before she brings them out herself, but
after awhile I could not wait any longer and peeked
through a crack in the partition. There were eight
young ones, seven like Jack and Jill, (the brown
ferrets are called polecat ferrets), and one pure white.
When they were about four weeks old, Jill began to
carry in bread for them. She would line them up
and give each one a piece, and when she thought
they had eaten enough, she took it away and put
them back in the nest. Often they wanted more
bread, or wanted to run around a while, but she
made them mind. She carried them by the back
of the neck, and if they cried, she cuffed them.
After they began to come out for their own food she
was still busier, for she kept strict watch, and made
them stop eating when she thought they had enough.
When they outgrew the hutch, we moved them to the
kitchen of an empty cottage, and gave them an
empty cracker box to sleep in.

The young ones grew very fast, and were as big
as their mother in three months, and even larger by
fall. They were most interesting to watch while we
had them in this kitchen. There was a pantry in one
corner with good hiding places in it, and the young
ones always wanted to take their food in there,
while Jill wanted the food in the sleeping box. They
were trained from the first on rats and made short
work of the ones we gave them; they would sink
their teeth in a rat and try to get it in the pantry, but
Jill would haul the whole lot of them into the cracker
box, just by will power, for they were eight to one.
If one of the young ones got more than his share,
Jill would hunt him up, and then come back and

130

Ferrets Mammals

bring the rest of them to him. They killed mice
and chicks (the stunted ones) so quickly that it real-
ly was not cruel to give them their meat alive. I
spent a good deal of my time during the summer at
the window of the ferret cottage, watching their ways
of playing. They were the greatest wrestlers you
ever saw, sometimes they would play in twos, some-
times in threes, sometimes the whole lot would have
a free-for-all—I had to laugh and laugh. Their noises
and calls are very interesting—they have a regular
ferret language.

During the hot weather I lost two from distemper,
I think, because I left some sour milk where they
could get at it. The others I raised and sold at the
age of five months, at $3 a pair. They are easy to
tend and I think any boy that is not too much afraid
of being bitten, could raise them. I would rather lose
any other pets than my ferrets.

F. W. SCHMIDT.

Fernwold, Dec. 18, 1913.

REFERENCES

Pages 219-247 AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.
“Rikki-tikki-tavi,’’ SECOND JUNGLE Book, Kipling.
Wiitp Animas Every Cuitp SHoutp Know, Rogers.

A LITTLE DETECTIVE

The Ferret has an active nose,
His whiskers match his snout;

He’s a detective, sharp, who knows
Just how to ferret out

What may be hid by friends or foes.
He’s a Conan Doyle, no doubt!

131

THE SKUNK

EDANGERJHERE i is certainly no one but a naturalist

| would have thought of making a pet of
y these malodorous little animals, but Dr.
i Hart C. Merriam, one of our greatest
y, living naturalists, once lived near the Adi-
rondack mountains. While there, he
tamed young skunks, and declares them to be
cleanly and charming pets. He says:

“From some I removed the scent bags, but the
greater number were left in the state of nature.
None ever emitted any odor, although a couple
of them, when half-grown, used to assume a pain-
fully suggestive attitude on the approach of strang-
ers. These same skunks, when I came within the
reach, would climb up my legs and get into my arms.
They liked to be carried, and never offered’to bite.”’

The doctor’s favorite of these pets was called
“Meph’’, and Meph used to accompany him on his
drives, curled up asleep in his pocket. Of Meph’s
performances the doctor says:

“After supper I commonly took a walk, and he
always followed close at my heels. If I chanced to
walk too fast for him he would scold and stamp
with his fore feet, and if I persisted in keeping too far
ahead, he would turn about disgusted and make off
in a opposite direction; but if I stopped and called
him he would follow along at a sort of ambling pace,
and soon overtake me. . . . We used to walk
through the woods to a large meadow that abounded
in grasshoppers. Here Meph would fairly revel in
his favorite food, and it was rich sport to watch

132

The Skunk Mammals

his manoeuvers. When a grasshopper jumped he
jumped, and I have seen him with as many as three
in his mouth, and two under his forepaws at one
time.”

Miss Evelyn Groesback Mitchell had a pet skunk
whose scent-glands had been removed. She writes
his story thus:

“Billy was not shut up, no indeed! He trotted
about the house like a cat. He looked far prettier
than most cats and was as fond of being petted al-
though it was no easy task to-catch hold of him ex-
cept by the tail, which proved a convenient handle.
All day he would sleep in his box until late afternoon,
then tumble out and start on a regular rampage.
Little busybody that he was, every corner of the
rooms must be inspected. Under all the furniture
he would go, nosing about, picking and pulling at
every new object. Sometimes he would rout out a
spider or croton bug on which he would pounce,
gobbling it down in a twinkling. Anything that
looked like a hole was carefully inspected. - It was
his delight to crawl into paper bags and shoes. The
waste basket was a favorite diversion. Scaling the
side until the basket upset, he would proceed to
scatter the contents from Dan to Beersheba, then,
seizing the basket by the bottom, he would rush
backward about the room. If anyone tried to
catch him to stop his careering, he stamped and spit
like a bad child.

Billy was easy to feed, eating vegetables, fruit,
meat, almost anything but potatoes and white bread.
He loved to chew bones and was very fond of sweets.
Soon he learned to sit up and beg and could even be
induced to walk a few steps on his hind feet after
choice morsels.

133

Mammals The Skunk

When unbearably noisy and persistent in refusal
to sit still and be petted, he was placed in his box and
covered up. It took a pretty heavy weight to keep
the lid on, too. This box was his city of refuge in
troublous times. There he dragged bits of paper
and cloth among which he burrowed and hid bones.
He delighted in tearing up paper and simply revelled
in the Sunday news.

The rascal was playful enough but his nonsense
consisted mostly of rushing about, gnawing, digging
with his long foreclaws, (you would have thought
he would scrape the bottom out of his box), and
dragging things about, preferably shoes or the waste
basket. If one cuffed him about he would cuff and
grab back, or suddenly, in a funny rage, turn both
head and tail toward the offender and up went that
tail like a trigger. Then indeed his playmate might
be glad that the skunk wasn’t loaded.

A neighbor’s kitten stood in great awe of him and
fled at his appearance, although another used to
tussle him all about. When Billy had had enough,
you would hear a squeal and the kitten would be
nursing a good nip while Billy, with boxed ears fled
into hiding.

Once a week Billy, like other civilized people had
awash day. Not that he wasn’t clean, for the long
fur was always speckless though he never performed
his toilet in public. He was just washed on general
principles. A comical sight he was as he stood in a
pan of warm water, covered with lather, his long tail
all draggled. He never bit or tried to run but bore it
all with a ‘‘meek-as-Moses”’ expression on his pointed
little face. My, my, what a shaking there was
when he was rinsed and placed on the floor! Nota
sort of reversible buzz-saw skake like that of a dog

134

The Skunk Mammals

but an end-to-end serpentine wriggle so that he looked
like two skunks with half a dozen tails, and the
water flew in all directions. After a good drying in
a rough towel he was as pretty and fluffy as could
be.”

To the farmer the skunk is a most useful animal
despite its tendency to raid hen-roosts, for its chief
food consists of grasshoppers, other injurious insects,
and field mice. Its home is in a deep burrow, usu-
ally made by itself; but sometimes a woodchuck’s
deserted burrow is utilized; or it may find a nest in a
cozy crevice in a stone wall, or in a hollow stump.
At the end of the burrow there is a nice bed of leaves
where it lies cuddled up in the coldest of weather,
although it comes out during the winter thaws
hunting for food.

The little skunks are born early in the spring, and
in May they are often seen, six to ten of them, fol-
lowing their mother afield on warm, dark nights to
hunt for insects. They form a charming and play-
ful family; but if one of them is to be secured for a
pet, it certainly would be well to take it to a vet-
erinarian and have the scent glands properly removed.

HOUSE

_ While Dr. Merriam’s skunks had the range of
the premises, he says of Meph; “His nest was in a
a box at the foot of the stairs, and before he grew
strong enough to climb out by himself, he would,
whenever he saw him coming, stand on his hind legs,
with his paws resting on the edge of the box, and beg
to be carried up stairs.’” Thus it would seem the
skunk naturally desires a nest even though it may
be given its freedom.

135

Mammals The Skunk

FOOD

Meat and fruit and some vegetables, and plenty
of fresh water should be provided. In fact, most of

the things which we eat seem to be suitable skunk
food.

REFERENCES

Description of habits, AMERICAN ANIMALS, Stone and Cram.

SQUIRRELS AND OTHER Fur Bearers, John Burroughs.

“That Famous Essence Peddler,’’ Famruiar Lire In FIeLD
AND Forest, F. S. Mathews.

“The Skunk Calmly Considered,”” Witp Neicugors, Ernest
Ingersoll.

“The Scarcity of Skunks,”” THE Face oF THE Figxps, D. L.
Sharp.

A SMELLFUL KITTY

Some animals are smelly

_ And some are made to smell,

And thus the matter is arranged
To suit them both quite well.

IT am a pretty kitty
_More smellful than them all,
For I can make a mile of smell
On provocation small.

136

Ag Se ss
Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.

PET SKUNKS

Photo by Verne Morton

TAMING A YOUNG ROBIN

EREIN are given general directions for
the care of all kinds of birds. These di-
rections were given tome by Mr. Stephen
Stacey, a curator of the bird house in

et the New York Zoological Park, who also
generously outlined the care and diet of many species
of birds as given in this volume.

All birds must have clean, pure water. Drinking
cups should be disinfected often by washing thor-
oughly in the following solution: Two one-grain
tablets of permanganate of potash dissolved in one
quart of water.

If birds are affected with looseness of the bowels,
they should be given boiled milk to drink instead of
water. Bismuth may be added to the boiled milk
in the proportion of a small pinch to two tablespoon-
fuls of milk. Also a pinch of bismuth mixed with
hard-boiled egg will serve to tighten the bowels of
seed-eating birds.

When the birds are affected with constipation,
and this is often the cause of their being dumpish
and out of sorts, milk of magensia may be given,
four or five drops diluted in the drinking water.
Three or four drops of salad oil willalsoserve to loosen
the bowels. Castor oil should never be used, unless
the bird is egg-bound.

If the bird seems weak and miserable, afew drops of
blackberry brandy, diluted with water may be given.
One-fourth as much brandy as water may be given
to a bird as large as a jay, but should be much more
diluted for a little bird.

137

THE CANARY

N the ocean northwest of Africa, and not two-
hundred miles away, is a group of islands dear
to children the world over, because from there
came the cheerful little cage-birds of our house-
holds, the canaries. Those privileged to visit
the Canary Islands find them steep and rugged,
the result of volcanic upheavals; some of the
islands are so small as to be mere rocks jutting up
from the sea. The highest peak of all, Teneriffe,
is 12,182 feet high. The soil is rich, and both
tropical and temperate vegetation flourish there;
and all told, there is but little more land in all the
Canary Islands than in our state of Delaware.

The Canary belongs to the finch family, andisa
near relative of our wild goldfinch; as a wild bird, its
color is olive or green above, with fine blackish spots
on head and rump, and with golden breast. Like
our goldfinches, the canaries associate in flocks, and
have a curved, wave-like flight. The canary nest is
made of moss, dried grass and the down of plants, and
is carefully concealed in a shrub or low tree, prefer-
ably an evergreen. The nest is usually about ten
feet from the ground. The eggs are four and five
in number, pale green or blue, spotted with reddish
brown. The canaries have not only summer and
winter nests, but fall and spring nests also, and per-
haps one or two extra to suit the season. They build
their first nest in February or March, near the coast,
for then the lower levels are warm and comfortable.
By the time the first brood can fly the weather of the
coast has become hot, so the next nest is made far-

138

Photo by Verne Morton
MAKING FRIENDS WITH A YOUNG ORIOLE

aos
Photo by \erne Morton

FREEDOM NOT APPRECIATED
Acanary out of its cage

The Canary Birds

ther up the mountain where the temperature is still
comfortable; and when this brood is well-grown, the
enterprising and industrious parents go up the moun-
tain still higher to a cooler level, and there rear an-
other brood. August finds them rearing their fourth
brood near the mountain peaks. Indeed they need
to rear many broods in their native islands, for sev-
eral kinds of hawks are there, and two species of owls
that are always hunting for little birds to satisfy their
appetites. However, there are no snakes there to
steal their nestlings. The food of the wild canary
consists of various seeds and fruits; and it is espec-
ially fond of figs. A wild annual grass of the Canary
Island produces the canary seed which we buy.
This grass is now extensively cultivated for the pur-
pose of exporting seed as bird food.

The canaries have spread to the Islands of Mad-
eira, Elba and St. Helena. They were first brought
to Europe about three hundred years ago, and
were first bred for sale in Germany. In the year
1677 England imported some of these canaries from
Germany, but a little later the rearing of birds be-
came a regular business; and at present it has become
so important a business in England, as well as on
the Continent, that the doings of the canary world
are chronicled weekly in their journals with as much
accuracy as the rise and the fall of the money market.

The original canary has been crossed with several
allied species of European birds, resulting in about
fifty well-marked varieties on the market. It is inter-
esting to note that with breeding, the voice of the
canary has strengthened, and its songs are sweeter
and far more varied than when it was wild. Al-
though its voice has less power and variety than
that of the nightingale, it has better power of learn-
ing for it has a better ear and a better memory than
that famed songster.

139

Birds The Canary

SOME NOTED CANARY BREEDS

The Roller, or German Song Canaries have been
famous for many years because of their great powers
as musicians. They have been bred with especial
reference to their voices, and are trained by musical
instruments, and by other canaries which are su-
perior singers. The inhabitants of the Hartz Moun-

THE CRESTED NORWICH THE NORWICH

tains are especially noted in the rearing and training
of these birds. The St. Andreasberg is among the
most famous of these breeds. In recent years the
English breeders have also paid much attention to
this kind of canaries. No attempt has been made to
attain a peculiar or perfect plumage, or a particular
form, the whole attention of the breeders being
focused upon the voice.

In England, Scotland and Belgium, form and color
have been the objects of the breeders, and the fol-
lowing are among the most noted breeds:

140

The Canary Birds

The Norwich—this may be crested or plain headed,
and may be yellow, buff or variegated in color. It
has been estimated that four thousand
breeders are engaged in the city of
Norwich alone in rearing these birds.
It is probably the oldest of the
English breeds.

The Yorkshire canary is a straight,
long bird, with slender, graceful body
and long tail. It has varieties of yel-
low, buff, variegated and green.

The Cinnamon—takes its name
from its color which is golden brown;
the color of cinnamon. This is also
bred as a crested bird, and there is
also a variety which is buff color, and
one that is variegated.

THE YORKSHIRE

The Lizard has its wings beautifully and finely
spangled, from the plain colored cap on the head
down over the back and wings. .

The London Fancy is a stouter bird than any of
the above, and is pure colored, except for the dark
flight feathers in the wings and tail.

The Scotch Fancy is bred
to crescent shape.

The Belgian has a peculiar
hump-backed appearance, be-
cause of the attitude in
which its head is carried, and
because the shoulders are
high and massive, and held K
in an elevated’ position. THE LIZARD

141

Birds The Canary

HOUSE

To make the canary comfortable an oblong cage
should be used not less than eighteen inches long;
it should be large enough to permit the bird to exer-
cise freely. The perches should be rounded and of
different thicknesses to give a change to the bird’s
feet; they should be from three-eights inch in diam-
eter to that of twice the thickness of a lead pencil,

THE LONDON FANCY THE SCOTCH FANCY

and at least one perch should be oblong in cross sec-
tion, with the lower side flat. Perches should be
placed so as not to interfere with the bird’s exercise,
but should be convenient to the food and water;
they should be cleaned every day or two. The cage
should be hung where there is plenty of light, but not
above a gas jet; and it should never be in a draft,
for these birds are very susceptible to drafts. It
should not be hung ina window. We should remem-
ber that in their native islands canaries live in an
equable temperature. They can endure a tempera-
ture rather cooler than we usually prefer in our living

142

The Canary Birds

rooms, but sudden changes are to be avoided. It is
well to keep the cage floor covered with sand; at
least sand should always be present in the cage, and
accessible. If sand is spread over the floor it should
be renewed twice a week. Many people put paper
on the cage floor as it is easily removed and replaced.

FOOD

The standard canary food is a mixture of the seeds
of canary grass, millet, rape and hemp, but the seeds
of many grasses that grow as weeds
in our rich gardens are relished; and
these may be gathered in the late
summer for occasional use in the
winter. A little green food should
be given every day, such as chickweed,
lettuce and tender grass, and especially
the green seed stalks of common
plantain may be given in summer; in
winter, sweet apples, a section of
orange, a slice of raw potato, or car-
rot, or a leaf of cabbage is acceptable.
A bit of dry bread, or sometimes bread

vHE BeLgiam Soaked in milk, is eaten eagerly for

variety. Green foliage with plant lice
on it is an especial treat to a canary. Grit of some
sort must be kept constantly accessible. Canary
bird grit may be bought at the food stores. A piece
of cuttle-fish bone should always be kept within reach
of the bird to aid digestion, and also to keep the beak
from growing too long, and out of shape. Lump
sugar should not be given.

Be very careful to get the seed of the summer
rape—which is a small, round, reddish seed. Mustard
seed, which is larger and black, is not acceptable.

143

Birds The Canary

The seed diet of English canaries should consist
of two parts canary seeds, one part rape seed, with
a little white millet, plantain, groundsel and chick-
weed seed. German canaries should have two parts
rape, one part canary seed, and a little white millet.

Those firms making a specialty of bird foods, like
the famous Spratts, sell a wide range of seeds and
insectivorous foods, tonics and medicines, with
which it would be well for the keeper of canaries to
become familiar.

My neighbor, Mrs. Frederick Bedell, resuscitated
her canary after it was lying apparently dead from a
chill. She mixed a drop of bacon fat with cayenne
pepper, and forced it into the beak of the bird, and
after a little it revived; she kept it wrapped warmly
until it seemed quite recovered. For a day or two
she gave the bird a little of the fat and the pepper
daily. A piece of raw, salt, fat pork given three
times a week is a great help to a bird suffering from
a cold and hoarseness.

CARE

It is most necessary that the drinking dish be filled
with fresh water daily, for these little prisoners
need to drink often.

The canary should have an opportunity to bathe
three times a week. The bath dish should hold
water to the depth of three-fourths of an inch and
it is a good plan to have a layer of clean sand or
gravel in the bottom. The water should be tepid.
To give the bird its bath, take the cage off its base
and place it over the bath tub; then remove the
perches and the seed’ and drinking cups so that there
may be nothing to distract the bird’s attention
from the business at hand. The birds imported

144

The Canary Birds

from Europe are accustomed to the outside bath,
which is a little bath cage that may be hung to the
open door of the bird-cage. This is sold by all
importers of foreign birds and costs about $.75.
After the bath the bird may be placed in the direct
sunshine, if not too hot, for twenty minutes. It
must not be exposed to drafts.

It is most desirable that the canary should be
allowed to fly about the room for a time each day,
this gives it the needed exercise to keep it healthy.

When the period of moulting arrives the canary
needs special care. Moulting is a very taxing pro-
cess and the bird’s vitality becomes low. Soft food,
prepared as follows, may be given: Chop fine a
hard-boiled egg, with an equal amount of soft crack-
er or bread-crumbs, mix with a heaping teaspoonful
of cayenne pepper. This should be kept freshly
prepared in the feeding cup, so the bird can have
constant access to it. The cage should be kept in a
warm place (not hot) where there are no drafts.
When the new coat is grown, the soft food can be
discontinued. Feeding the cayenne pepper at this
time gives warmth for digestion and aids in making
the plumage beautiful and of good color. The
bird should not bathe every day when moulting,
but it may bathe occasionally. The birds usually
moult in mid-summer.

In caring for these pets in sickness there are a
few things that we can do. If the bird seems dumpy
and sits still with feathers ruffled, when it is not
moulting, it is very likely to be suffering from
constipation. Note whether the droppings on the
cage floor are scarce and dry. If so, open the bird’s
beak and with a pipette give it four or five drops of
milk of magnesia diluted in water or three or four

145

Birds The Canary

drops of salad oil. This will usually afford relief.
If not, inject into the bird’s anus four or five drops of
castor or olive oil with a pipette. A diet of fresh
carrot is a great help in cases of constipation.

In cases of diarrhoea, give boiled milk instead of
water and give bismuth mixed with hard boiled
egg. Five or six drops of brandy in the drinking
water is also a remedy.

Often the feet of canaries become scaly and diseas-
ed, and the claws fall off. In this case the perches
should be dipped in peroxide after they are cleaned,
and a few drops of caraway-seed oil mixed in vaseline
should be applied to the bird’s feet once a day until
they are cured. Care should be taken that the feet
are washed and wiped dry before the vaseline is ap-
plied. Overgrown nails should be clipped at the
tips but not deep enough to hurt.

It seems a pity to keep one canary alone. Two
are company for each other, even though they may
be kept in neighboring cages, and thus give each other
cheer without annoyance.

NESTING

A pair of birds will usually live quite happily while
nesting. When this season comes, special care is
needed. As soon as the hen begins to beg for food
from her mate, and he begins to feed her, the nest
box should be put in the cage near the top. This
should be a box about 314 inches square and 2 inches
deep. Bits of moss, wool, hair and dry grass should
be put against the bars of the cage, where they can
be pulled through bit by bit by the busy nest makers.
The hen is likely to be fussy about her nest, and will
place a mass of material in it only to dump it out
again. If it falls to the bottom of the cage it will

soon be soiled, and should be removed.
146

The Canary Birds

It is very interesting to watch the tender care
usually given to the mother bird by her mate while
she is incubating. He feeds her, and seems to take
the greatest interest in her. My own especial pet
bird, Kim, has interested me greatly because of his
solicitous care of his mate, and his pride and joy in
the eggs. When she comes off of the nest he will
slip onto it and‘sit very proudly; and one day I
found him sitting with her on the eggs, surely a most
tender and touching companionship. If the male
is cross, he should be removed after the eggs are
laid, and allow his wife to sit in peace. Some
recommend a nest of wire-netting lined with felt.
This is usually used by regular breeders, but the
writer always liked to give her canaries the fun of
building the nest.

Breeders advise the use of a large cage during the
nesting period, in form of a wooden box with the
front wired. It should be about two feet long
and the same in height and at least a foot in depth.
There should be a large door and a sliding bottom
so that it may be easily cleaned, and of course
the cage should be fitted with food and water dishes.
This cage may be made by any boy who can use car-
penter tools.

Hard boiled egg minced with stale bread should
form a part of the diet of the nesting bird. When
near time for the young to hatch give some hemp seed
and plenty of green stuff and fruit.

LOSS OF VOICE

Often the canaries will cease to sing, and this may
be due to several causes; the most common is a cold
caught by allowing the cage to be in a drafty place.

147

Birds The Canary

A very eminent English authority advises the follow-
ing treatment: Give first a drop or two of castor-
oil, then place in a drinking dish with water, a small
teaspoonful of glycerine, a bit of gum-arabic, as
large as a pea, and twenty drops of paregoric; also
give a more generous diet. Another English au-
thority advises giving a little stale bread steeped in
warm milk, with honey dropped upon it while warm.
Another advises putting from two to six drops of
whiskey in the drinking water.

Of course during the moulting season the birds do
not sing.

CANARY MAXIMS
Do not force the canary to bathe.

Do not hang the cage in the window, for in this
situation there are always drafts, which will result
in the bird’s loss of voice.

Do not expose the bird to direct sunshine except
for a short time after it has bathed. Make an
envelope of thick wrapping paper to fit around the
cage for protection during nights in cold weather.
This must fit closely around the bottom of the cage
and be open above.

Avoid sudden changes of temperature for the
canary,—about 70 degrees F. is the most desirable
temperature for this bird.

If you wish your bird to sing his best, do not hang
the cage in the strong light.

The cuttle-fish bone should be changed every
three months, since it loses its salt by exposure to
the air, and therefore helps less in digestion.

148

The Canary Birds

Examine the rape seeds which you buy, carefully.
Summer rape, which is the most desirable food for
the singing canary, is a small, reddish, round seed.
The larger round black seeds of mustard are often
mixed with the rape and are not relished.

If the bird wastes the seeds without cracking the
husks, soak the seeds in tepid water for an hour or
so before feeding, drain them on a dry paper or
cloth before putting into the food-cup. The next
day the cup should be emptied and scalded so that
there may be no danger from musty seed.

One large teaspoonful of seed is all that one bird
needs for a day.

To coax a canary to be tame and companionable,
give it a few seeds of hemp now and then from the
fingers or the lips.

If tiny red mites or bird lice are seen about the
cage, the bird should be removed and the cage
and perches washed in creolin. This should be
rinsed off in hot water and the cage thoroughly
dried before the bird is returned. The bird should
have a good insect powder like ‘“‘buhach,” thoroughly
dusted through its feathers.

REFERENCES

True Brrp Stories and the Szeconp Book or Birps, Olive
Thorne Miller.

Our Birps AND THEIR Nzstuiines, Walker.

Canary KEEPING FOR AMATEURS, W. T. Green.

Tue Common SENSE oF CANARY AND Hysrip CANARY
Cutture, The Spratt’s Co.

Ho.pen’s Book on BIrRDs.

149

PARROTS

NE of the most ancient of birds is the
parrot, and it remains true to its
type. There are fossils in Miocene
rocks that show the parrot as it is
to-day. The ability of these birdsto
talk, and their interesting habits,
caused them to be made pets by
ancient savage peoples, especially of
India and Africa. The Romans
brought these birds to Rome from India and Africa,
in the time of Nero; later the price of one of them
was as great as that of a slave. Parrots were first
introduced into northern Europe about the time of
the discovery of America, Columbus having brought
back several on his first expedition.

The parrots are all tropical or subtropical birds,
although in the Himalaya mountains they occur as
high as 4000 feet, and in the Andes they have been
found at snow-line. They are social, and usually fly in
flocks, their gorgeous plumage matching the brilliant
flowers of the tropical forests. While in general they
are short legged, and are awkward on the ground
yet there are parrakeets in South Australia which
live on the ground and are swift runners. These
brilliant birds are as common along the roads there
as are sparrows here.

If we tried to visit all the parrots in their native
countries, we should have to go to South America,
Australasia, Africa and India; and wherever we found
them, or whatever their color and size, they would
surely all have thick, lithe, finger-like claws which

150

Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.
A PARROT LEARNING A BUGLE CALL

Pa RRA seo

‘a

Photo by Verne Morton

GOOD NATURED POLLY

The Parrot Birds

they use like hands. The first and fourth toes ex-
tend backwards, the second and third forwards, and
thus afford the bird a strong grasp on twigs and
limbs. The body is always rather stout, the neck
short and the head large. The upper half of the
beak is strong and curved, the lower half scoop-shape,
and the tongue cylindrical. In all except one genus
there are twelve tail-feathers. At the base of the beak
where the nostrils open, there is a swollen area, which
may be feathered. In the tropical portions of our own
continent are found the sharp-tailed parrots, which
have the long tail feathers tapering to a point. In
Brazil and Paraguay are found the splendid macaws,
brilliant blue, yellow, green and red, some of them
quite thirty inches in length. In these same forests
are found the little parrakeets, or American love-
birds, usually less than five inches in length, and
green and blue in color. In tropical America there
also occur the blunt-tailed parrots, which are med-
ium size, with green plumage, and very good talkers.
Humboldt found one of these birds talking the lan-
guage of an Indian tribe which had become extinct.
Strangely enough, there is a genus of the blunt-
tailed parrots that live in the Sahara desert. In
north Africa, too, is found the gray parrot with the
red tail, which is the favorite pet, because it excels
in conversation.

In Africa dwell the true parrakeets, those that
have the two central tail-feathers very narrow and
long, forming the point of the long graduated tail.
The parrakeets extend out through Mauritius, Cey-
lon, India, and the East India Islands. The rose-
ringed parrakeet is found in Africa, and especially in
India; it has a body only seven inches long, and a
tail which measures ten inches. Its plumage is soft

151

Birds Parrots

green—the bill red—and the males have a pink ring
around the neck, with a black patch in front. These
live in the open ground around the villages, and
perch upon the roofs of the houses and temples;
they gather in great flocks at sunset, and perch at
night in the trees. Kipling thus describes them:

“Dim dawn behind the tamarisks, the sky is saffron yellow,
As the women in the village grind the corn, ;
And the parrots seek the river-side, each calling to his fellow
That the Day, the staring Eastern Day, is born.”

In Australia and surrounding islands occur the
broad-tailed parrots, among them the ‘‘Rosella’’, or
“Pretty Joey.’’ This bird is a little more than a foot
long; it has a scarlet breast, is yellowish green above,
has wings dark blue and a blue tail with two central
green feathers; it is one of the most brilliant of its
family.

In New Zealand is the kakapo, or owl-parrot,
which lives on the ground and remains hidden all
day, coming out at night to feed. In India, the
Philippines and the islands of the Malay Archipelago,
are the queer little bat-parrots, or lorikeets; scarce-
ly more than six inches in length, and with rainbow
plumage, of green, scarlet, blue and yellow. The
beaks of the lorikeets are not hooked, but are slender
and fitted for extracting the nectar from flowers like
the beaks of humming-birds. The lorikeets sleep
hanging with the head downward, and feet safely
clasping the branch, and thus they earned the name
of ‘‘bat-parrots.”

There are a great variety of nests built by parrots.
The Argentine green parrakeet builds at the extremi-
ty of branches which it weaves closely together. The
macaws build in holes in trees, especially the wild fig

152

Parrots Birds

tree. There is one parrakeet that builds in holes
along the river banks, while the kakapo and night-
parrakeet build on the ground in tussocks of grass.
The incubating period is about twenty-four days,
and the father bird helps incubate. The young are
born helpless, and are tenderly cared for by their
‘parents until fully grown. The parrots remain mated
for life, and make devoted pairs. Although they are
social, and fly in flocks, Dr. Arthur A. Allen states
that in Central America it can be easily seen that
they fly in flocks by pairs. He also says that though
the isolated parrot seems so brilliant, its colors par-
ticularly fit it to become invisible when in trees and
looked at from below; and although the racket
they make is ear-rending yet one rarely gets a
glimpse of the birds.

In climbing trees the parrots use both their feet
and beaks, and these same convenient organs enable
them to gather fruits, seeds and nuts, of which they
are very fond. In some countries they are pests,
because they attack trees in fruit, and grain in the
fields. In Mexico they often damage the corn in
the milk stage.

Parrots are long-lived; authentic instances of
their reaching the age of seventy have been re-
corded. One is described as reaching the age of nine-
ty-three, and becoming very decrepit and helpless.
Parrots never forget a person that annoys them, and
therefore they should always be treated with gentle-
ness, excepting when punishment is necessary. They
are birds with strong likes and dislikes, which to
us are quite mysterious. A parrot I knew fell in
love with one of twin spaniels when he was a puppy;
the two puppies were seemingly exactly like, but
the bird chose one and would have nothing to do

153

Birds Parrots

with the other. She would play with her favorite
with every sign of enjoyment; he would paw her
feathers ruthlessly, and yet she seemed always to
like it, the while every other dog on the place stood
in mortal terror of the bird.

HOUSE

The parrot’s cage should not be circular. It
should be at least two feet high, and one foot six
inches to two feet or more in either diameter.
There should be two perches, the top one thinner
than the lower one. The thinnest should be at least
a half inch in diameter. If the parrot prefers a ring
to swing on, this may be substituted for the upper
perch. It is best to have a door slide up and down
rather than to swing on hinges. The cage should be
made of galvanized wire, and flat on top. The food
dishes should be removable from the outside.

The cage should be placed in a warm room in win-
ter, although it may be kept outdoors during the day
in summer; but the bird must never be exposed to a
cold draft. The cage needs to be cleaned every day,
and the floors should be covered with clean white
sand, or else with dried soil. If possible, each day
the parrot should be allowed to come out in the
room and move around, and should be given an
opportunity to sun itself if possible. A brass cage
should not be used.

FOOD

The parrot is chiefly a seed and fruit eater, the
food varying somewhat accordingly to the species.
A suitable food is a mixture of hemp, sunflower
seeds, unhulled rice, and cracked corn. Some ripe

154

Parrots Birds

fruit, preferably bananas, oranges, cherries and
apples, should be given occasionally. A fresh twig
should be given the parrot to nibble. A bit of
cuttle-fish bone is acceptable, and sand should be
scattered on the bottom of the cage. A little red
pepper added to its food will often cure the ailing
parrot. The bird should be kept out of the dining
room, and it should not be fed from the family table.
It should not be fed fish, or bread soaked in milk;
this food is too heating, and causes it to pluck out its
feathers. Lettuce may be fed, but parsley and
chickweed never should be given, and on no account
should bones, meat or grease be given. Baked pea-
nuts have a tendency to keep the bowels from be-
coming too relaxed. Some advise hazel nuts,
almonds and walnuts; others maintain only peanuts
should be allowed. The individual tastes of the
bird should be considered, and it should be given
what it most relishes.

CARE

Water should be given two or three times a day,
and after the bird has taken its drink the drinking
dish should be removed. Some authorities say
neither coffee or tea should be allowed. Others
advise the giving of clear, black coffee if water
causes diarrhoea.

If the parrot wishes to take a bath, it should be
given opportunity preferably outside of its cage,
since it is a great splasher. The gray parrot prefers
to roll in the dust rather than to bathe, and should
be given a tray filled with fine dust for that purpose.

The dishes for the food must be kept very clean,
and often scalded. No remnants of food should be
allowed in the cage the day after it is given.

155

Birds Parrots

A piece of soft wood for the parrot to tear in pieces
should be kept constantly in the cage, half decayed
sticks do well for this. While it is not known that
this nibbling of wood has any affect upon the
parrots health, yet it seems to be a necessity for
the bird’s entertainment and happiness. If wood is
not given, the parrot often tears its perches to
slivers. It enjoys playing with spools and finds
much entertainment in mauling a wooden or strong
china doll.

It should be remembered that there are many
species of parrots and parrakeets used as cage birds.
Each species has it peculiarities which should be stud-
ied. We should find out all the facts possible con-
cerning our kind of parrot from books and bird deal-
ers, and we should study our own individual bird, so
as to know best how to treat it. We should always
show the parrot gentleness and affection, and never
laugh at it when trying to break it of a bad habit.
It is only by kindness and persistent efforts that this
bird can be taught good habits. In teaching the
parrot to talk, a lesson should be given in the
morning, and again in the evening, standing close
to the cage and repeating the words very distinctly.
If the bird remains very quiet, it is in all probability
learning the lesson, although it may not repeat the
words for several days. We ought always to teach
our parrots to say sensible and reasonable words,
for it makes them far more interesting.

At a certain winter resort in the South a very
talkative parrot was kept. To this hotel came a
woman with her husband and children as guests.
The woman was hysterical and irritable, and scold-
ed her husband and children in a shameless manner.
For a week the parrot remained quiet, and could

156

Parrots Birds

not be induced to say a word; then, one morning he
began to scold in the exact tones and words of the
woman; he scolded the husband, and scolded the
children in a way that convulsed with laughter the
other guests of the hotel. The woman did not enjoy
listening to her conversation repeated by the parrot,
and left the hotel, a wiser and better woman, it is
to be hoped.

Most parrots do not like strange experiences. The
cage should always be kept in the same place, and
when there is an out-of-door perch it should always
be kept in the same situation.

For keeping the parrot healthy there are reliable
foods, tonics and remedies, like those furnished by
the Spratts, Holden and other dealers.

Parrots are subject to inflammation of the lungs and
bronchitis. The remedy is to keep the bird in a
room where the temperature is 80°F., and the atmos-
phere of the room should be kept moist by the steam-
ing kettle; it should be fed warm milk or broth at
intervals of an hour or two hours during the day and
night. Dr. W. T. Greene, a noted English author-
ity advises for both pneumonia and bronchitis fifteen
drops each of glycerine, oxymel of squills, and mucil-
age of gum acacia, added to one ounce of tepid
water, of which the sick bird may be given three of
four sips at intervals of three or four hours during the
day and night. The same authority advises for cold

‘in the head, five or six drops of tincture of aconite to
a fluid ounce of drinking water, to be given in small
quantities every two or three hours.

For constipation, give olive oil as an injection
with a small syringe. Give also a dose of ten drops
mixed with half a teaspoon of honey twice per day.

157

Birds Parrots

For diarrhoea give bismuth in boiled milk. Keep
the bird warm and feed unhulled rice exclusively,
with a red pepper to peck at. A cracker soaked in
brandy is sometimes a remedy.

Some parrots contract a disagreeable habit of
picking their feathers. This may be caused by bird
lice, or other parasites in the feathers. Dusting the
bird with buhach, or some other pure powdered pyre-
thrum, will kill the parasites. Sometimes this hab-
it is caused by skin irritation due to indigestion, in
this case the diet should be changed, and a teaspoon-
ful of fluid of magnesia may be put in the water in
the drinking cup. In some instances there seems to
be no reason except uneasiness on the part of the
bird, in which case, its attention should be diverted.
‘Dr. Greene advises putting the bird in an out-of-
door aviary for this. At least it should be given
new wooden playthings and should be kept on a diet
of hemp and unhulled rice with a bit of apple or
banana.

Each individual parrot has its owns peculiarities,
and these should be studied by the owners, and the
bird treated accordingly.

REFERENCES

Birps oF THE WoRLD, Knowlton & Ridgeway.

THE Gray Parrott, and PopuLaR PARRAKEETS, by W. T.
Greene, The Spratt’s Co.

Book or Brirps, George H. Holden.

OOLVM9D09 AHL OL ONITLSIHM

DIdaUuy ur afvy <ajuno) wos

COCKATOOS

7) HESE birds have great crests which they
can erect at will; they are never green like
parrots, but are usually white or gray or
brownish, with the crest of brilliant color,
and often with brilliant colors on the under
side of the tail. Inmany respects they dif-
fer from other parrots. They are more affectionate,
and perhaps more dependent upon the devotion and
kindness of their master or mistress. They are nat-
urally gay and happy birds, full of delightful tricks.
I once saw in the Zoo two of these birds playing with
each other like a pair of kittens, rolling over and over
on the floor. At first I thought they were fight-
ing but it was real play. They are quite as intelli-
gent as parrots, and can be taught to speak, although
usually not so proficient as the parrots in this gift.
While they are very noisy when several are kept to-
gether, this tendency may be much reduced in the
individual bird by giving it affectionate care. If the
cockatoo is happy and healthy and well-cared-for,
it seems to forget tosquawk. The most common
of the pet cockatoos are the rose-breasted, the sul-
phur-crested, the rose-crested and the lead-beater.
The cockatoos come from Australia and the Indian
Islands. They make their nests in decaying trees.

HOUSE

The cage of the cockatoo should be like that of the
parrot, excepting that this bird is usually larger, and
should therefore have more ample quarters.

159

Birds Cockatoos

FOOD:

Equal proportion of sunflower seed, hemp seed
and oats form a very excellent dietary. Apples, ban-
anas and grapes may also be given.

CARE

These birds must be kept free from cold and drafts,
although Mr. Stacey informs me that the rose-head
and sulphur-crested cockatoos are kept out-of-doors
the year around in the New York Zoological gardens
with only a shelter to which to retire. In general,
the care given to the parrots applies to the cockatoos.

THE PARROT

Within her gilded cage confined I saw a dazzling Belle,
A parrot of the famous kind, whose name is Non-Pareil.

Like bead of glossy jet her eyes; and smoothed by Nature’s skill,
With pearl or gleaming agate vies her finely-curved bill.

Her plumy mantle’s living hues in mass opposed to mass,
Outshine the splendour that imbues the robes of pictured glass.

And, sooth to say, an after Mate did never tempt the choice
Of feathered thing most delicate in figure and in voice.

But, exiled from Australian bowers, and singleness her lot,
She trills her song with tutored powers, or mocks each casual
note.

No more of pity for regrets with which she may have striven!
Now but in wantonness she frets, or spite, if cause be given;

Arch, volatile, a sportive bird by social glee inspired;
Ambitious to be seen or heard, and pleased to be admired.

William Wordsworth.

160

LOVE-BIRDS

JVHESE little members of the parrot
family have earned their name by the
devotion shown to their mates. A pair
will sit closely side by side on the perch,
cheek against cheek, or often bill touch-
ing bill for long periods of time. How-
ever, their love is not wide in its scope, and does
not include other love-birds, and especially not
other species of birds, toward whom they act
most spitefully if given opportunity. The gray-
headed love-bird comes from Madagascar, and is
quite hardy; it is about the size of an English
sparrow; the male being green, with a purplish
gray neck, while the female is entirely green. In
its native wilds the female has an interesting man-
ner of carrying the shreds of bark with which to
line her nest tucked safely beneath the feathers of
her back, a wise way to carry a load.

The rosy-faced love-bird comes from southwest-
ern Africa. The face and beak are red, and the re-
mainder of the plumage green. The wings of the
male are lined with black. It is more delicate than
the gray-headed, and needs tender care. These
birds occur in their native land in small flocks, and
fly with exceeding swiftness for short distances.
Their food consists of berries and similar fruit seeds.
They are in the habit of using the nest holes made
by other birds for their own nests.

161

Birds Love-Birds

HOUSE

The love-birds should have large cages, giving
them plenty of chance for exercise.

FOOD

Canary seed and millet, and some green food
should be given.

A PARROT
Kept as a pet on the Island of Mull, one of the Hebrides.

The deep affection of the breast, that Heaven to living things
imparts,
Are not exclusively possessed by human hearts.

A parrot from the Spanish main, full young, and early caged,
came o’er
With bright wings, to the bleak domain of Mulla’s shore.

To spicy groves, where he had won his plumage of resplendent
hue,
His native fruits, and skies, and sun, he bade adieu.

For these he changed the smoke of turf a heathery land and
misty sky,
And turned on rocks and raging surf his golden eye.

But petted, in our climatecold he lived and chattered many a day;
Until with age, from green and gold his wings grew grey.

At last when blind and seeming dumb, he scolded, laughed,
and spoke no more,
A Spanish stranger chanced to come to Mulla’s shore.

He hailed the bird in Spanish speech, the bird in Spanish speech
replied
Flapped round the cage with joyous screech, dropped down and
died.
Thomas Campbell.

162

THE CROW

is so common, we s have not yet become
fully acquainted with its more inti-
-| mate life, and there is always some-
4 thing new to be seen and recorded by
| those who are patient and observant.
: The crow builds its nest of sticks,
grape-vines, bark, sod, grass, moss, and horsehair.
The site of the nest is in a tree or tall bush, usually
more than twenty feet above the ground; near the
top of some old hemlock is a favorite situation.
The eggs are pale bluish-green or nearly white, with
brownish markings. The young crows hatch in
April or May. Both parents devote themselves to
the care of the brood for the entire season.

Except during the breeding season the crows are
very social. They gather in flocks numbering fifty
to one thousand individuals. They all roost together,
usually in pine or hemlock forests, or in other ever-
green trees. They remain in such roosts during the
entire winter, coming out each day for food. They
often make journeys of many miles to thus get their
“daily bread.’’ When the crows are feeding in the
field there is usually a sentinel posted on some high
point; the sentinel is a wise old crow of much ex-
perience, and he gives the warning of danger when
the enemy approaches.

In the wild state, the crow is a general feeder.
Usually it finds its food upon the ground, taking
large numbers of grasshoppers, grubs, cutworms, and

163

Birds The Crow

other insects, snakes, toads, frogs, mice, etc. It is
also partial to the nestlings of other birds when it finds
them. It feeds upon a large variety of wild berries,
and is particularly fond of sprouting corn. Its lik-
ing for the last-named delicacy, and its clever ways
of obtaining it, have served to show how shrewd the
crow really is.

Next to the raccoon, the crow is the most mischiev-
ous of pets, and at the same time the most interesting.
It isnecessary to take a crow when a fledgling in order
to bring it up successfully as a pet; although there
have been records of crows that were injured, and thus
captured and fed, becoming quite tame, yet the
young bird is the more apt learner.

The crow’s propensity for stealing all bright and
shining objects makes it rather dangerous to allow
the bird the freedom of the house. Thimbles, jew-
elry, pins and needles it steals to carry off and bury
or hide in some secluded spot. Mr. Thompson-
Seton in his story of ‘Silver Spot,” gives a most inter-
esting account of the crow’s aesthetic interest in
glittering objects. However, it is not always the
glittering object that attracts, for a pet crow of our
acquaintance was so in the habit of stealing the
clothes-pins off the line, that he was kept in confine-
ment on wash day.

The crow is not only intelligent, but very imita-
tive, and therefore may be taught many tricks. Mr.
Lottridge writes of a crow taught to hop over sticks,
jump through a hoop, hold a pipe in the beak, and to
pretend it had a broken wing. The writer’s exper-
ience with tame crows has been confined to two, Joe
and Billy. Joe was the pet of a farmer, and particu-
larly enjoyed helping about the farm work. He al-
ways assisted in digging the potatoes by keeping

164

The Crow Birds

abreast of the workers and pulling up a stem and
scratching a little at each hill. One day he tried to
help his master weed the onion bed but he was not
very discriminating between weeds and onions, and
was driven off. Indignant at this treatment, he
waited until the coast was clear, and returned to
finish the job, by pulling up every onion in the
bed.

Billy was the special comrade of a little boy, with
whom he was fond of playing marbles. The boy
would shoot a marble into a hole, and then Billy
would take a marble in his beak and go and drop it in
the hole. Thus they would play turn and turn about
for hours of the day. Billy was always very angry
if the boy insisted on shooting his marble out of turn.
Billy also learned to talk the language of the chicken
yard. He was especially proficient in making the
noise which the hen makes when calling her chickens
to food. Billy would put his beak down to the
ground in imitation of the hen, give the call, and
then, when the overgrown chickens came rushing to
seize the tid-bit, he would take a mouthful of feath-
ers out of the back of the nearest one and go off
chuckling to himself. Billy also learned to imitate
the call to dinner.

HOUSE

The crow should not be confined in a cage, but
should, with a clipped wing, be allowed freedom of
the grounds and barn. It will consort with the hens
if allowed, and make itself generally at home.
When confined in a cage the crow is a very dirty
bird, and the cage ill-smelling despite reasonable
efforts to clean it.

165

Birds The Crow

FOOD

The crow eats grain, meat scraps, and almost any
of the refuse from the table. It may be fed chopped
raw meat, mice and worms; it is fond of berries of
the Virgina creeper, and many other wild berries.
Grain or corn should be softened before giving it to
the bird.

CARE

The crow should have plenty of fresh water for
drinking and bathing.

REFERENCES
Description of habits, Birp Neicusors, Neltje Banchan.
“Silver Spot,’’ Witp Animas I Have Known, Thompson-
Seton.
“Crow Ways,” Ways or Woop Fork, W. J. Long.
“Birds’ Winter Beds,” and ‘In the October Moon,” A
WatTCHER IN THE Woops, D. L. Sharp.

THE CROW

With rakish eye and plenished crop,
Oblivious of the farmer’s gun,
Upon the naked ash-tree top
The Crow sits basking in the sun.

An old ungodly rogue, I wot!
For, perched in black against the blue,
His feathers, torn with beak and shot,
Let woful glints of April through.

The year’s new grass, and, golden-eyed,
The daisies sparkle underneath,

And chestnut-trees on either side
Have opened every ruddy sheath.

But doubtful still of frost and snow,
The ash alone stands stark and bare,

And on its topmost twig the Crow
Takes the glad morning’s sun and air.

William Canton.
166

Photo by Verne Morton
CHUMS
A boy and his pet crow

juoied po3einoosip & pue siajsBunod AsBunzT
ATINVA AV{ ana ¥

DIAM UL afr] K4UNOD MOAT

THE BLUEJAY

Et ,F YOU desire a pet to test the patience of
| the household, by all means take a nestling
bluejay and rear it. It will be happy all
day long, if it can find enough mischief to
occupy itstime. It will destroy books and
“\ furniture, especially the upholstery, and
\S carry off all the pens, pins and jewelry that
~ it can lay beak upon. It will soon learn
to make raids upon the kitchen, in fact, there is
little in the household that it will not meddle with
in the course of its active life. Nevertheless, despite
its records of mischief, and despite its beautiful
plumage, the bluejay as a pet, cannot equal the
crow.

As a wild bird, the bluejay often remains in the
northern States during the winter. For most of the
year the jays live in mixed woodlands in noisy flocks,
screaming and chattering in a most disagreeable
manner, from the hearer’s standpoint. They espec-
ially enjoy harrowing a sleepy owl, and by their
scolding bring all the other birds of the forest to
join in abusing this fluffy enemy, who snaps his beak
and ruffles his feathers in a vain attempt to fright-
en his tormentors.

‘The jays are such excellent bird linguists that
they learn to imitate many sounds; they also enjoy
playing practical jokes at the expense of other birds.
For instance, a jay will suddenly give the scream of
a hawk, and then seems to enjoy seeing all the scared
little birds slip away in fright. It will also imitate
a small bird in distress, and thus bring about it a

167

Birds The Bluejay

great number of other birds that hasten to the aid
of the supposed victim.

But when nesting time comes, the last of April or
early May, the whole character of the jay changes.
It suddenly becomes the quietest and shyest of birds
and no longer screams or associates with its fellows.
Each pair finds a secluded spot and builds in a tree-
crotch, from ten to twenty feet from the ground, a
rather bulky nest of twigs, firmly interwoven, and
lined with soft rootlets. In this well protected nest
from four to six brownish or olive cinnamon-spotted
eggs are laid. The devoted parents seem to have
lost their voices, and talk in whispers, or mew softly
to each other, like little ‘pussy cats’. Not until
the youngsters are able to leave the nest do the par-
ents resume their noisy social habits.

HOUSE

A pet jay should not be kept in a cage. It is like-
ly not to live when thus confined, unless the cage be
as large as a small room. It should be given the
freedom of the premises where it can get into mis-
chief and be happy.

FOOD

The jay is a general feeder. When young, and
taken from the nest, it should be fed on bread and
milk, hard-boiled eggs minced, and a little chopped
raw meat should be given each day, with whatever
insects may be found. When older, the bird will
thrive on nuts, green peas, fruit, large insects and
mice. In case there are no insects, give the bird a
bone with a little meat on it, and let him pick it as
entertainment. A bluejay always enjoys his food

168

The Bluejay Birds

better if he thinks he is stealing it. One of his fav-
orite diversions in the forests is stealing nuts from
squirrels, therefore it will add to the bird’s zest in life
if you hide the food in certain places, which he will
soon get to know. The bird should always have
access to fresh water

REFERENCES

Description of habits, Brrp Ne1cHpors, Neltje Banchan.
“Two Studies in Blue,” AMERICAN Birps, W. J. Finley.
“Meeko”’, SECRETS OF THE Woops, W. J. Long.

“Mr. Bluejay, full o’ sass,
In them baseball clothes of his,
Sportin’ round the orchard jes’
Like he owned the premises!

James Wiutcomb Riley.

“Clad in blue with snow-white trimmings,
Clean and smooth in every feather,
Plumed and crested like a dandy,

Keen of vision, strong of muscle,

Shrewd in mimicry and dodging,

Knowing every copse and thicket,

Warm in snow and cool in summer,

Is the bluejay still a villain?

Outlawed by all bird tribunals,

As a wretch disguised, he’s branded,

Shunned by every feathered creature;

Yet he prospers, man admires him.”
Frank Bolles.

169

THE MAGPIE

AGPIES are related to the crows and
jays, and have habits like theirs in many
m. respects. They are striking birds in irri-
descent blue-black and white uniforms
and have very long and expressive tails.

Magpies are social, and usually occur
in small flocks. They are noisy, their voices being
harsh and unmusical. They find much of their food
on the ground. It is interesting to watch a mag-
pie feed; it hops about with great agility, making
sudden leaps this way and that, when hunting
grubs, snails and grasshoppers.

The magpie nest is a complicated structure of
sticks and mud built in layers; it is lined with fine
roots, and over the whole is placed a roof of sticks,
leaving a door at one side. Around the door, and
over and above the whole nest is placed a covering
of thorns to discourage visitors. The nest is situat-
ed in a high tree, or in a dense bush.

The magpie which we buy of the bird-dealers is
usually the European species; but we have in our
Western states, from Arizona to Alaska, a magpie
which is considered a variety of the European spec-
ies. It builds a nest like the latter, except that it
has another opening opposite the door for the ac-
commodation of its long tail.

As apet, the magpie is as cunning and mischievous
as the crow or jay; and it can learn to talk better
than either. It is able to say whole sentences and
laugh hilariously. It loves to steal and hide glitter-
ing objects; it is especially inquisitive, and will in-

170

16a

From Country Life in Amer

MAGPIES AND THEIR NEST

Photo by Verne Morton

AMING A YOUNG CHICKADEE

The Magpie Birds

sist on taking part in everything that is going on,
unless confined. The annals of a pet magpie, if
faithfully kept, would prove a most amusing biog-
raphy.

HOUSE

If kept in a cage, a large one is necessary. A
packing box, about five feet square, with one side
wired, would give the bird ample room. However,
if it is reared in captivity, the bird should be given
the freedom of the house and grounds. One of its
wings should be clipped to prevent its straying.

FOOD

Raw meat, especially beef and mutton, should be
given, and to it should be added oatmeal mixed stiff,
and table-scraps. Itis very fond of picking the meat
from a bone, and eats mice, and insects with great
gusto. A drinking cup filled each day with fresh
water should be kept accessible.

CARE

The magpie should be given a chance to bathe
every day, and a protected, warm corner in which to
dry its plumage. If kept in a cage, the latter should
be cleaned often. If allowed to wander free, it
should be shut up nights to keep it away from cats.

171

THE OWL

WLS have long been considered the
wisest of birds, probably because
their great eyes look like spectacles,
and their crooked beak like an intel-
lectual nose. If the owl’s form were
the result of its thought, it would
indeed merit the reputation of wis-
dom for it is a bird marvelously adapted for its
life.

It is a creature of the night, and its great eyes
have an iris that opens wide in the dark, and shuts
to a little round pupil in daylight. The owl, like”
the cat, sees in the dark by using the light twice, and
this enables it to fly about avoiding branches and
obstacles; but it gains its knowledge of the where-
abouts of its prey largely through its acute hearing.
Its ear instead of being a mere opening in the head,
consists of a fold of skin, forming a channel which ex-
tends from above the eye around to the side of the
throat. It can detect the slightest rustle of mouse or
bird, and pounces in the direction from which the
sound comes. It seizes its prey in its sharp claws;
the outer toe can be moved back at will in order to
give it a better grasp. The curved beak is used to
tear its victim in pieces to be swallowed.

In order to secure its prey, the owl must move
silently; its plumage is very fluffy, and its wing
feathers instead of having stiff edges, like those of
other birds, are bordered with soft fringes which
cushion the stroke of the wing on the air, and
render the flight noiseless.

172

Photo oy Verne Morton
A SLEEPY YOUNG SCREECH OWL

From Country Life in America
A SCREECH OWL AND ITS BREAKFAST

The Owl Birds

Usually the plumage of the owl is brown and
speckled, and is very protective. During the day
these birds like to retreat into the thick foliage and
sit there humped upon the branches, and they look
more like great knots or broken branches than like
living creatures. The owls are devoted lovers, and
remain paired for life.

The cry of the owl is a blood-curdling sound, and
undoubtedly serves to startle timid little creatures
into activity, and thus give the owl information as
to their location. One morning before daylight, I
was lying awake in our summer camp in the woods,
when I heard a screech-owl hoot, and then a scamper
in the dry leaves followed; the owl came nearer and
perched on a stump and hooted again; there was
another rustle in the leaves, and the owl pounced
upon the spot, and I heard a squeak of terror on the
part of the mouse. I was convinced that the owl
hooted that time to make sure of the whereabouts of
its victim.

The digestive system of the owl is peculiar, and
needs to be, considering the bird’s table manners. It
swallows its prey as nearly whole as possible, and
lets the stomach do the work of selecting what is
nourishing and rejecting what is not. Thus the
hair of mice, and of other small animals, feathers of
birds and the bones of both are rolled together into
pellets in the stomach and are later thrown up.

As a pet, the owl is not an attractive cage bird. It
is very difficult to keep the cage clean, and almost
impossible to keep it from becoming smelly; more-
over, these birds eat so much that it requires a great
deal of time and attention to feed them. But of all
the owls, the little screech-owl is the most interesting
and the least trouble, since it will not attack grown
poultry if given freedom to fly about the premises.

173

Birds The Owl

The fubsy screech-owl fledglings usually climb out of
the home nest hole, about the last of May, and they
are the quaintest little creatures imaginable. It is
at this age that one may be captured, and will make
an interesting though always a snappy pet.

HOUSE

If kept in a cage, the latter should be dry, airy,
and easily cleaned, but it is better to give the bird
freedom. A large branch, or a section of a small log
should be hollowed out, leaving an entrance at the
side large enough to admit the bird. This should be
fastened in an evergreen tree, situated as near the
barn as possible. Introduce the bird into this nest
and feed it there every day, and it will soon accept
the place as home. It will serve to keep the barn
free from mice quite as effectually as a cat. Un-
fortunately the owl is not discriminating in its food,
and is as likely to take the beneficial swallow as it is
to take the disagreeable English sparrow, in fact, if
one wishes to coax birds to live about his premises,
it is not advisable to keep a pet owl. If one wishes
to keep a pet owl at home and harmless, one wing
should be clipped.

FOOD

The owls like raw animal food, such as rats, mice,
insects and heads and necks of poultry. The process
of throwing up the undigestible portions from the
stomach seems to be so necessary, that some people
purchase cheap meat and roll it in feathers or short
hair before giving it. The food should be given reg-
ularly, and the dietary should not include tough
meat.

174

The Owl Birds

CARE

A supply of fresh water in a large shallow vessel
should always be at the owl’s disposal to satisfy
thirst and for bathing. When handling the owl
avoid its claws, and it is best to use a cloth or strong
gloves to protect the hands, since a wound from the
strong claws is likely to be infected with poison
germs.

REFERENCES

Description of habits, in Brrps THaT HUNT AND ARE HUNTED,
Neltje Banchan.

“The Screech Owl,’”’ FamIt1ar WILD AnImaLs, W. J. Lottridge.

“Snowy Visitors,” in Ways or Woop Fotk and ‘‘Kookoo-
skoos,”’ in WILDERNEss Ways, W. J. Long.

“The Boy and Hushwing,’’ KINDRED OF THE WILD, C. G. D.
Roberis.

AUDUBON EpucaTIONAL LEAFLETS, Nos. 12, 14, 22.

THE AZIOLA

“Do you not hear the Aziola cry?
Methinks she must be nigh,”’
Said Mary, as we sate
In dusk, ere the stars were lit or candles brought.
And I, who thought
This Aziola was some tedious woman,
Asked, ‘‘Who is Aziola?’’ How elate
I felt to know that it was nothing human,
No mockery of myself to fear and hate!
And Mary saw my soul,
And laughed and said, “‘ Disquiet yourself not;
Tis nothing but a little downy owl.”

Sad Aziola! many an eventide
Thy music I had heard
By wood and stream, meadow and mountain-side
And fields and marshes wide,—
Such as no voice nor lute nor wind nor bird
The soul ever stirred;
Unlike and far sweeter than they all.
Sad Aziola! from that moment I
Loved thee and thy sad cry. —Percy B. Shelley.

175

PIGEONS

fi HE Pigeons are among the most ancient
of domesticated birds. We can imagine
the children of the Bible—Samuel, David,
or maybe Cain and Abel, playing with
these beautiful birds and feeding them, just
as the traveler sees the little long-gowned
boys of the Orient doing to-day. The
taming of the pigeon, and the breeding of different
varieties, began so long ago, that we have no record
of it. Charles Darwin believed that the Rock-pig-
eon of Europe was the ancestor of our common
domestic varieties. These blue Rock-pigeons build
in rocky caverns along the coast of the British
Isles, and of Europe and Asia bordering the Med-
iterranean. In color they are scarcely distinguishable
from common tame pigeons. Pigeon breeders have
never been able to produce a distinct type like
the Pouter from this species, although their records
cover two hundred years. However, there are
other authorities who believe that the stock-dove
of Europe was the original species. In all proba-
bility, the pigeons, like the dogs, were derived
from various wild ancestors. The ancestors of our
domestic varieties were probably not migratory,
and lived in caverns or trees.

There are to-day about one hundred and fifty
varieties of domestic pigeons, including fancy
breeds. London is the center of pigeons fanciers,
and there the best of the fancy varieties bring large
prices. Of these many varieties only four are recog-
nized by fanciers in America as having been bred

176

Photo by Verne Morton

PET PIGEONS

From Country Life in America
PET PIGEONS, A FAN-TAIL AND A HOMER

Pigeons Birds

to approximate perfection. These royal four are
Carrier, Pouter, Barb and the short-faced Tumbler.

Secondly, there are varieties which possess distinc-
tive qualities regardless of color, and have a strong
tendency to transmute them to their young; these
are Jacobins, Long-faced Tumbler, Owl, Oriental
Frill, Turbit, Fantail, Show-Antwerp and Runt.

Thirdly, there are the Toy pigeons, which depends
almost entirely upon color to distinguish them from
other pigeons, such as the Swallow, Helmet, Nun,
Archangel, Magpie and others.

Fourthly, is a bird lacking distinct color or shape,
but possessing the instinct of returning home, and
an endurance which causes it to rank as a fancy pig-
eon, this is called the Antwerp or Homer.

SOME PIGEON VARIETIES*

The Carrier does not, as its name would indicate,
carry messages, but is kept as a fancy pigeon valued
only for shape, size and color. It is a large, strongly
built bird, with long feathers and a rough appear-
ance. Its neck is stately, its shoulders broad. At
the base of the beak is the Carrier’s chief. glory, the
beak wattle, a bare fleshy growth; around the eye is
a bare circle of skin called the eye cere. The
Carrier was undoubtedly the pigeon that figured in
the Arabian Nights, for it came originally from
Bagdad.

The Pouter is a very tall bird, and stands nearly
perpendicularly on its long slender legs. It has won
its fame by being able while strutting to inflate its
breast with air. Its marking consists of a crescent of

*These notes on the breeds of pigeons were written for the author by

Professor H. Freeman Button, of Vincennes University, who has had con-
siderable experience in judging pigeons at various shows.

177

Birds Pigeons

white on the front of its crop. Its other colors may
be various. It is a popular pigeon in Europe and
Asia.

The Barb is a strong and large bird, with a plump
body, short legs, broad skull, and short beak. It
has a large thick, circular bright red wattle around
each eye. The Barb was a well-known bird in
Shakespeare’s time, for he alludes to it.

The Short-faced Tumbler was introduced into
England two-hundred years ago. It is a diminutive

THE CARRIER A POUTER

and sprightly bird, with a broad, well-curved head,
carried on a graceful neck. The beak is so short and
fine that many cannot feed their own young, and
they therefore must be cared for by plebian pigeon
nurses. When a tumbler flies, it turns very pretty
somersaults in the air. Some, called Parlor-Tum-
blers, can fly but a few feet from the floor, even,
tumbling within six inches of the floor, and alight-
ing on their feet. Others are high-flyers, tumbling
only occasionally, and are able to remain in the air
for hours at a time. The Tumblers have a strong

homing instinct.
178

Pigeons Birds

The Fantail has a broad, expanded tail which may
contain as many as fifty feathers. It is a small bird
with round body, and full
breast, the head being carried
so far back that it rests against
the tail. The points most
sought after in the ‘‘Fans’”’ are,
small size, large tail evenly
balanced, and not carried to one
side, and the head carried far
back against the tail. The

THE BARB Fantail is thought to have
originated in India, and no one
knows how long ago. .

The Jacobin is a medium sized, plump bird, with
a ring of inverted feathers back of the head, which
stand up like a feather boa, hiding the head up to
the eyes. It is not known in what country the
Jacobin originated, but it was mentioned by a writer
before the year 1600.

BALDHEAD TUMBLER SHORT-FACED TUMBLER

The Turbit is a small round bird, with full breast
and short legs and neck. The head is short and
round, the beak very short and stout, and the
eye large. The feathers on the back of the head are

179

Birds Pigeons

inverted, forming a pointed crest, which gives the
bird a surprised look. The neck and upper breast
have inverted, curled feathers
forming a dainty frill. This bird
has been known for more than
a century.

The Nun has the head and
primary wing feathers and tail
feathers of the same color, pref-
SS erably black, and the rest of the

THE JACOBIN body white. It is characterized
by a circle of inverted feathers

extending from ear to ear, which makes a shell crest
about the head, resembling a nun’s cap. The bird
has been known about one-hundred and fifty years.

The Archangel was introduced into Europe from
Asia about a century ago. Thehead, neck, breast and
under parts are copper bronze, with a sheen of ruby red.
The wing coverts and rump are black with green lus-
ter, and the tail is dark blue with a black bar at the end.

The Homer or Antwerp does not differ in color or
form from the common pigeon,
but has such powers of flight,
and such success in finding its
way home, that it is freely
accorded a place as a fancy
pigeon. Pigeons have been
used to convey news since his-
tory began, and probably long
before. They were used by all
nations in olden times, and
often now are used in war to THE TURBIT
carry messages.

The training of the Homer consists in taking a
young bird a short distance from home—say ten or

180

Pigeons Birds

twenty miles, and then liberating it. A second time
it is taken some forty or fifty miles away, and thus
it is trained in the geography of the home region,
until it will return five hundred, or even one thous-
and miles. It is now thought pigeons travel mostly
by sight, using river, lake and mountain as land-
marks. The Homer, as we know it, has been devel-
oped flargely since the siege of Paris, where it was
used most successfully to carry news from the un-
fortunate city.

THE NUN THE ARCHANGEL

Training pigeons for flight has been a favorite
pastime for ages past; At Modena, in Italy, this
sportiwas practiced as far back as 1327. There
were men whose business it was to train the pigeons
to execute complex manceuvres in the air, directing
their performances by loud whistling, and by means
of flags. There are also in India breeds of flying
pigeons, which are likewise trained and directed by
flags fastened to long bamboo rods.

HOUSE
Pigeons are willing to live almost anywhere. The
old way was to keep them in cotes, which is a pigeon
apartment house placed on a pillar so as to keep it
free from attacks of rats and mice. Often they are

181

Birds Pigeons

housed in the loft of a barn or shed; and while the
common breeds do fairly well if thus left to them-
selves, yet no pets respond to loving care better than
do the pigeons.

The first essential of the modern pigeon house is
that it shall be mice and rat-proof; this is often ac-
complished by interlining or covering all the walls
with wire netting. The house should be placed on
well-drained soil, and should face southward in our
northern climate. If built large like our chicken
houses, it should be well ventilated with windows
that may be opened or closed according to the
weather. The roof should be tight, and the holes
for exit should be arranged with a six inch alighting
board or threshold both inside and outside.

The following pigeon house is advised by Mr. J.
C. Long, who maintains that it can be built for
twenty dollars, and will accommodate twenty-five
pairs of birds. The house is 8 ft. square on the
ground plan, 4 ft. high at the back, and 6 ft. high at
the front, the roof to pitch from the front backward.
The floor is tight, and the whole house is supported
on piers or posts a foot high from the ground, and
capped with zinc projecting downwards to prevent
entrance of rats. The roof may be made of rough
boards covered with felt roofing paper, or it may be
shingled. In any case, it must be rain-proof. The
door for the entrance of the caretaker is placed at
one end of the house near the front. Along the
front of the house is a window, with eight panes of
glass, each pane being 8 x 10 inches. The bottom
of the window should be 18 inches above the floor.
The window-sill on the inside should be widened by
adding a board a foot wide, so the birds may
get a sun-bath, which is very necessary to their

182

Pigeons Birds

health. On either side the window is an exit 6 x 6
inches, with rounded top, and an alighting board 6
inches wide on the outside, and also on the inside
of each exit. There should be four rows of nests at
the back. The nest compartments should be made
of shelves a foot wide and spaced a foot apart.
These shelves should be partitioned with narrow
boards into spaces a foot wide. The shelves should
be removable so that they may be taken out to be
cleaned if necessary. The house is really kept much
cleaner if nesting bowls are used. These bowls are
made for the purpose, and are sold by the makers of
floral pottery for green-houses. However, they are
necessary only when squab-raising is planned.
There should be five rows of nests along the side.
The house completed, we next have to consider
the fly, or the gymnasium in front of it. This is not
necessary if the pigeons are allowed to fly about the
country freely; but it is always a good thing to have
in case it is desirable to confine the birds. To pre-
pare the ground for the fly, mark out a space in
front of the house 8 feet wide, or just the width of
the house, and 14 feet long. Take out all the earth
for a depth of 4 inches, and fill the place excavated
with clean sand and place at the corners four 2 x 3
inch hemlock posts, 8 feet above ground. These
posts should be held in place by I x 4 inch boards,
nailed to the top and connecting them. One board
should be nailed about mid-way the height of the
post, and another along the bottom. Space the mid-
dle board so that chicken wire 4 feet wide may be
used for the bottom section, and that 3 feet wide for
the upper section. On the inside of the board, at.
the middle of the post, should be a walking board 6
inches wide, on which the bird may take exercise.

183

Birds Pigeons

There should be a wire gate at the side and of course
the fly should be covered with chicken wire.

When all is ready, the inside of the house should
be thoroughly whitewashed with lime, to which car-
bolic acid is added in proportion of one teaspoonful
of acid to two gallons of wash. Then the floor
should be covered with sand; if sand is not to be
had, sawdust or chaff may be used.

FOOD

The food should be of good quality. Red wheat,
small Canada peas, buckwheat, hulled oats, Kaffir
corn, millet, are all used; and as a treat, a little hemp
or rape seed may be given. Neither barley or rye
should be fed. The grain should not be new, and
should be thoroughly dried. Large kerneled corn
is likely to choke the birds. Some advise the use
of stale bread soaked in water until soft, and then
add bran until the moisture is absorbed, and then
add a little cayenne pepper; this is used for a relish.
In the winter in our northern climates, the Kaffir
corn, buckwheat and peas should make up the bulk
of the food. The pigeons are always fond of a little
tender green food; lettuce or onion tops may be
given atany time. If fed only twice per day, the food
should be placed in hoppers, rather than scattered on
the ground. To make a feed hopper take two boards
2 feet long, 12 inches wide, and one-half inch thick,
take two pieces 10 inches wide at the top, and two
inches wide at the bottom, and nail them at the ends
of the boards. This will make a v-shaped trough
with a two inch slit at the bottom. Place below
this a trough 6 inches wide and 2 inches deep, with
standards at the ends. Fasten the hopper above

184

Pigeons Birds

the trough with its narrow bottom about 1% inches
above the bottom of the trough. The hopper
should have a hinged cover, to prevent the wast-
ing of the food. Wires about two inches apart
should extend from the edge of the trough to the
sides of the hopper. Food may be placed in this
hopper and it will fall below into the trough as fast
as it is eaten out.

Several of these filled hoppers and troughs should
be placed where the pigeons have access to them.
Care should be taken that mice do not get into the
food; placing the hopper upon the platforms 4 to 6
inches square, supported on zinc-covered posts is
one way to accomplish this.

It is necessary for the health of the birds to give
them plenty of salt; often a piece of dried codfish is
tacked to the wall, but more often a lump ofrocksalt
which is moistened occasionally, is placed near the
food troughs.

Gravel is necessary to the digestion of pigeons; if
they are allowed to fly freely they will get it for them-
selves, but in confinement we must supply this need.
Crushed oyster shells, mixed with coarse sand, and
some charcoal, seems often more acceptable to the
birds than the gravel.

NESTING

At this time coarse hay should be placed where
the birds may get it. This should be cut in pieces
about 4 inches long. Stems of tobacco, cut about
the same length should also be given, to assist in
warding off lice. The hen pigeon lays two eggs,
usually with one day between. She sits from three
or four o’clock in the afternoon until about ten the

185

Birds Pigeons

next day. Then her mate takes his turn, and sits
until afternoon. The period of incubation is seven-
teen days from the laying of the first egg. The
parents are very devoted during this period, and
remain near each other excepting when gathering
food.

The little squab chips its own way out of its shell.
It is covered with yellow down, and is blind and by
no means pretty. The parents begin to feed the
squabs about three or four hours after they are
hatched. To meet this need the stomachs of both
parents producea cheesey substance known as pigeon
milk. The parent takes the beak of the young bird
in its own, and pumps into the stomach of the young-
ster this very nutritious food. After about five days,
this food is replaced by grain, which is softened in
the stomach of the parent. The squabs do not grow
much until they are about five days old; when seven
days old the pin-feathers appear. When three
weeks old the squab can walk, but is not able to feed
itself until it is five weeks old.

CARE

The pigeon drinks differently from other birds.
It has throat muscles so that it can thrust its beak
down into the water, and suck it up, as does the
horse, while other birds take a mouthful of the
water, and lift the head and let gravity carry it to
the stomach. Pigeons must have plenty of clean
water. If they are allowed their liberty they usu-
ally find this in some pond or stream, but in confine-
ment fresh water in shallow zinc pans should be giv-
en twice a day. The best arrangement of all is to
pipe the water into the fly, so that it constantly drips

186

Pigeons Birds

into a shallow pan, which is drained at a certain
height. Some advise keeping pieces of iron in the
pan. When the pigeons are working hard, during
the breeding season, and seem run-down, the
Douglass mixture is put in the drinking water occas-
ionally. This is a tonic, and is often very beneficial.
It is made by dissolving in two quarts of soft
hot water, one-third ounce of sulphuric acid and five-
eights ounce of green vitriol. When cold, add two
quarts more of water, and place in a bottle or stone
jug. Use one tablespoonful of this mixture to one
pint of water given to the pigeons for drink.

REFERENCES

Description of habits, in Brrps THaT HUNT AND ARE HUNTED,
Neltje Banchan.

Tue Pouttry Boox, Harrison Weir.

SouaB-RaIsING, FARMER’s BuLLETIN, U. S. Dept. of Agri-
culture.

PIGEON-KEEPING FOR AMATEURS, James C. Lyell.

“Arnaux,” ANIMAL HEROES, Thompson-Seton.

Dappy Darwin’s Dovecote, Mrs. Ewing.

“T HAD A DOVE”

I had a dove, and the sweet dove died;

And I have thought it died of grieving;
O, what could it grieve for? Its feet were tied

With a ribbon thread of my own hand’s weaving.
Sweet little red feet! why should you die?

Why would you leave me, sweet bird! Why?
You lived alone in the forest tree:

Why, pretty thing! would you not live with me?
I kissed you oft and gave you white peas;

Why not live sweetly, as in the green trees?

John Keats.

187

CHICKENS

OWNY little chickens make very de-

voted pets. I once knew a gentleman
whose home was in the country
who always made pets of his chick-
ens; and in the summer when he sat
smoking on the piazza, the chickens
would gather in a circle about him,
and whenever he went walking across
the fields, they would follow him in a long pro-
cession.

Chickens do best if allowed their freedom. If this
is not always possible, they should at least have the
advantage of a good sized yard in which to take their
exercise.

The chicken, when it is first hatched from the egg,
is a fluffy little creature with bright, questioning
eyes, and is so active that it very soon is able to fol-
low its clucking mother into the field and there take
the food which she finds for it. The conversation
of chickens is particularly interesting, and should be
understood by everyone who cares for them. The
hen clucks when she is leading her chickens out for
food, so that they will know where she is, even if she
is hidden in the tall grass, and the chicks keep up a
constant peeping so that she knows where they are;
if a chick gets lost its peep becomes loud and com-
plaining; but when it cuddles under its mother’s
wing, its little note is one of utter contentment.
Scientists have discovered that there are twenty-
three different notes made by the chickens and their
parents, and at least ten of these are easily under-
stood by us.

188

;

From Country Life in America

IT’S A QUEER WORLD WE HAVE BEEN HATCHED INTO!

FRIENDLY BIDDY AND HER MASTER

Chickens Birds

The chicken’s feet are fitted for scratching, be-
cause it finds much of its food on or in the ground.
Its beak is sharp and horny, and fitted for picking
up seeds and insects. For this reason it is best for
the chicken to scratch about in the dirt, and live as
naturally as possible.

HOUSE

The coop should be warm, clean and well venti-
lated. It should contain low perches, for when the
chicken is no longer protected by its brooding moth-
er, it naturally goes to roost at night. The perches
should be movable so that they can be taken out
and cleaned. The coop should have windows, which
may be covered with muslin instead of glass, as this
will admit the air and prevent a draft. The house
should be constructed so thatit may becleaned often.
When the chicken is small, the bed must be of
finely cut straw or chaff, and must always be dry.
Later rye straw may be used. Clean and dry quar-
ters are absolutely necessary for the health of the
chicken.

FOOD

A young chicken should not be fed until at least
twenty-four hours after it comes from the egg, for it
is provided with food by the yolk which it is then
absorbing. For the first meal, bread-crumbs moist-
ened with sweet milk is recommended. Hard boiled
egg minced fine and mixed with an equal amount of
bread-crumbs forms an excellent food for the first
day. After that, give oatmeal, or rolled oats, crack-
ed wheat and cracked corn, with a little millet.
Grit is necessary to help the chicken digest its food.
We chew our food until it is soft and fine before

189

Birds Chickens

swallowing; but the givicleert swallows ite cael hole:
and after it is softened by juices from the stom-
ach, it passes into a little mill called the gizzard, in
which the gravel or grit helps in grinding the food
fine. Small, finely broken eggshells may be used
instead of grit at first. The chickens must also have
fresh green food. If they are where they can get fresh
grass this will suffice, otherwise they should have
lettuce, or other vegetable tops cut rather fine. Pro-
fessor James E. Rice gives small chickens chopped
onions for green food with the best of results. They
should be fed from five to seven times per day for
the first week; after this it will not be necessary to
feed more than three times a day, if they have con-
stant access to some dry food. The following are
rations recommended for young chickens by the
Cornell University Poultry Department:

Mixture No. 1 Lbs.
Rolled: Oats? is dinsow ote a keke Rae wie es 8
Bread-crumbs or cracker waste.............. 8
Sifted beef scrap (best grade)............. Sas
Bore meal. ogc asnysetoiae kare mainder Ble Ras I

Mixture No. 2
Wheat (cracked) acaccsoxd Hue sees Sa eee ee 3
Cracked corn (fine)......0 22.0... c eee eee 2
Pinhead meal... ......... 2.00.2 e eee eee eee I

Mixture No. 3
Wheat Dratiscc25.4 ose cde obey Sateen hate 3
Cort meal jiu jek Kes ie eed EAL RARE oan 8 3
Wheat middlings............... 0.0 eee cues 3
Beef scrap (best grade)...............00005. 3
Bone Mealy casein eciee eyes ea eee es I

Mixture No. 1 should be moistened with sour
skimmed milk and will prove a most satisfactory
food for the first five or six days. Mixture No. 3

190

From Handbook of Nature-Study
PLAYING HORSE

Photo by Verne Morton

A PET ROOSTER

Chickens Birds

is best fed as a dry mash in a hopper and is suitable
food to keep constantly before the chicks until they
are pretty well grown. Mixture No. 2 is suitable
for feeding in light litter after the first week.

CARE

Chickens should have access continually to pure,
clean water. Perhaps the easiest way to accomplish
this is to fill a milk bottle, or a quart Mason jar to
the very brim with water, and invert it in a little pan
or saucer. The water should be changed in this
every day and the saucer cleaned. By this arrange-
ment water only comes into the saucer for drinking
purposes, and the chickens do not get wet, as when a
pan of water is given them. Watch the water dish
in the winter, and see that it does not become frozen.
It is absolutely necessary that the chickens take a
great deal of exercise, and this should be in a dry
place. A movable coop with a run, which may be
made by fastening chicken wire above and along the
sides of a framework of two-inch material, works
well. In this case the coop itself and the runway
may be moved about to fresh ground. The food for
little chickens should be thrown into the litter, so as
to teach them to scratch for it, and thus be sure that
they will take exercise. A dust bath is necessary
for the health of the chickens. This is best made of
equal parts of land plaster and coal ashes. Fine dust
from the road is good. Dust should be kept in a dry
portion of the yard in boxes, so that it will not be-
come too much scattered.

REFERENCES

Tue Pouttry Book, Harrison Weir.

“On Domesticated Birds,’ DomeEstTicaTeD ANIMALS, N. S.
Shaler.

Ovurtpoor Work, M. R. Miller.

191

BANTAMS

HERE was once only one kind of

bantam. If we should ask our grand-

parents what they knew about ban-

tams in their childhood, they would
tell us many stories of the ‘‘Banties’’ which were
their pets; they were reddish in color with tufted legs,
and with tails so up in the air that they almost touched
the neck, and were possessed of a fighting spirit
big enough for an ostrich. In fact, these ‘‘Banties’’
usually were kept apart from the other poultry
because the little rooster had so much more valor
than judgment that he did not hesitate to attack a
Shanghai cock, and would fight until he had not
strength enough left to peck. Those Bantams
were probably of the original race which were ship-
ped to Europe it is said, from Bantam, in the west
of the Island of Java. But Mrs. Skidmore assures
us that in Bantam they have fowls so tall that
they can take food off the dinner table standing and
that the spirited little fowls called Bantams were
introduced into Java from a trading junk probably
from Japan or China. But strange to say, this
breed is practically lost, although it was once well
scattered over Europe and America.

The Bantams we have to-day are pigmies of large
fowls for the most part, bred true to color and form
in many instances. Smallness in a Bantam is a de-
sirable quality. The Standard of Perfection recog-
nizeseight or nine game Bantams, and about eighteen
ornamental varieties. While the keeping of Ban-
tams for eggs is scarcely possible so far as markets

192

Bantams Birds

are concerned, yet the home table may thus be pro-
vided with small and excellent eggs. The females of
most breeds of Bantams are good sitters and rear
their chicks well, and are often used for hatching
pheasants’ eggs.

HOUSE

The coop should be made with a tight floor. Many
cover the floor to a depth of several inches with sand
and scatter over this a layer of chaff, cut hay, or any
kind of drylitter. The coop should be well ventilated,
with windows covered with muslin sheeting. If it
is impossible to allow the fowls to run about freely,
they should have a run enclosed in chicken wire.
They should have plenty of fresh air, and their
quarters be kept extremely clean.

FOOD

Chopped hard boiled egg and bread-crumbs or
table-scraps minced fine make an excellent meal for
Bantam chicks, later give small rations as advised
for chickens. Cracked corn may be given in the
winter and hemp seed is always relished. Green
food should always be provided; cabbage, turnips
cut in small pieces, and mangel-wurzel beets may be
given in the winter. In the summer the fowls can
forage for themselves, if left free. If confined to
coop and run, they should be given a half ounce per
day per fowl of finely ground, green bone, or meat
scraps in addition to their other food.

Give the same care as given to ordinary chickens.

REFERENCES

Tue Pouttry Book, H. Weir.
Ovutpoor Work, M. R. Miller.

193

PHEASANTS

fag HESE birds did not originate in England.

~ We should need to go to the mountains of
Asia Minor if we were to seek the common
English pheasant in its native home. Here
s we should find mountain slopes covered
with forests of cedar, oak, walnut, cypress, and
many trees which we do not know at all; and
even the trees we do know would look strange to
us because vines with luxurious foliage and brilliant
flowers would be clambering over them. From these
wooded slopes we might see below us the fertile
valleys where villages were nestled among orange,
lemon, peach and quince trees.

In such natural surroundings as these, the pheas-
ant needs to be a brilliant and beautiful bird to fit
its environment. Its head and neck of peacock-blue,
its scarlet cheeks, and orange and coppery plumage,
matches the foliage under which it hides during the
day. The beauty of this pheasant was appreciated
early, for it has been bred in domestication at least
1600 years. The Romans are said to have taken
these birds with them during their invasion and con-
quest of England, and there established them in the
English forests. In southern Europe this pheas-
ant takes care of itself very well; but in northern
Europe and England it needs care and feeding in
the winter.

In the wild state, the birds live separately except
during the breeding season. Then the father bird,
very proud of his beautiful feathers, wins by his beau-
ty several wives, and with them forms a band for

194

Verne Morton

FINDING A PHEASANT’S NEST

SMOIHD INVSVadHd

0D Q aig ‘kppaiqnog fo ksajanoD

Pheasants Birds

offense and defense. They occupy a certain territory
upon which no other pheasants are allowed tointrude.
The cock pheasant is a fierce fighter, and by his cun-
ning tactics can defeat a bird much larger than him-
self. When fighting with a rooster, for instance, he
will fight fiercely for a few moments, then fly up into
a tree and take a little rest, and then dash down
again upon his bewildered adversary.

In a wild state the pheasant mother makes her
rude nest of leaves and grass upon the ground, and
there lays about a dozen eggs, which are olive brown
in color. She is a patient sitter, and vigilant in pro-
tecting her nest; but when domesticated she is likely
to shirk her responsibilities, and usually the eggs are
hatched by hens, especially by the motherly little
Bantams.

The wild pheasants roost in trees nights, and hide
in the under-brush during the daytime, coming
forth into the fields in the evening to feed. Their
food consists largely of insects, grain, seeds, acorns
and fresh herbage, like young clover. These birds
only take flight when hard-pressed.

Although the pheasant, described above, was the
original species introduced into Europe, another
species has been interbred with it, until it is difficult
to secure a pure blooded English bird.

This is another popular pheasant, the Ring-neck
species, which is a native of China, and Eastern
Siberia and has been bred there in captivity for cen-
turies. It resembles the English bird, except that it
has a white ring encircling the neck. The Ring-neck
pheasant was brought into Oregon about thirty years
ago, and was strongly protected for ten years; it has
now become thoroughly established there.

195

Birds Pheasants

The bird which we call the English pheasant,
which the National Government and several of our
States have introduced into America, is a bird of the
mixed English and Ring-necked species. It has now
become established in Massachusetts, Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Pennsyl-
vania and Kansas.

There are some beautiful species of pheasants,
fitted for life in an aviary, although they may not be
trusted to look after themselves. The best of these
for a beginner are the Golden and Silver pheasants.
The cocks of the Golden pheasants have a luxuriant
crest, their colors are brilliant and dull yellow above
and scarlet below. The Silver pheasant is well-
named, for the feathers of its back are white striped
with black; its crest, throat and under parts are
purplish black. The young of both of these species
are hardy and easily reared.

Mr. Homer Davenport had 38 species of pheasants
which he succeeded in keeping successfully on his
New Jersey farm. Many of them were the Reeves
species, which is a native of the mountains of China.
The Reeves cocks are rich yellow and black in color,
and often measure seven feet from beak to tip of tail.

The most wonderful of all the pheasants is prob-
ably the famed Argus species from the Malay Penin-
sula and Sumatra; the cock has the secondary quills
in the wings developed immensely, even to two feet
in length; each one of these is striped and spotted
in leopard pattern, with as many as seventeen eye-
spots along the outside of the quill. When the
wings are closed the eye-spots do not show. Mr.
Davenport noted that when this bird goes wooing
he elevates his wonderful wings and spreads them
wide, like a great fan, in front of his lady-love,

196

From Country Life in America

ENGLISH PHEASANTS

Photo by Verne Morton

SILVER PHEASANTS

Pheasants Birds

meanwhile he hides his head coyly behind the right
one, sometimes peeping out between the flight-
feathers to see if he is making an impression. This
pheasant barks like a dog.

HOUSE

Although pheasants when grown should be given
freedom in the fields, it is necessary to house and
care for them during the breeding season.

The house should be put on well-drained ground,
and on a gentle slope facing south but where it will
be comparatively cool in mid-summer. Sandy loam
is the best soil, and clay the poorest for the pheasant
pen. Each pen should cover at least one hundred
feet square, and it should be from six to eight feet
high, and enclosed above with wire. If only one
cock and four or five hens are kept, the pen need not
be larger than thirty feet square. A small open shed
should be placed at the upper side of the pen for a
shelter in wet or stormy weather. The floor of this
shed should be natural soil, so as to furnish dust
baths for the birds; for it is absolutely necessary
for their: health that they be able to dust them-
selves. Mortar, cinders and plenty of grit should
be kept in the shed. Wire netting should be set
down into the ground for about two feet to shut out
burrowing animals that prey upon the birds. There
should be perches in the shed and also in the open
pen. Both sheds and pens should be kept very
clean. The earth of each pen should be spaded
and limed every two or three years, and the pen
may be sowed with clover and grass to provide the
green food.

197

Birds Pheasants

FOOD

Pheasants are light feeders, and should not be over-
fed. To guard against the over-feeding, sprinkle
a little food on the ground and wait for that to be
eaten; repeat this until the birds lose interest,
then do not give any more. In this way may be
estimated how much the birds really need. Wheat,
buckwheat, Kaffir corn, a few oats and a little barley
may be fed. During the winter a little hemp seed
and cracked corn may be given. When in good
condition in the summer, the birds should be fasted
every other day; during the breeding and laying
season the birds should be fed twice a day a mixture
of alfalfa meal, middlings, meat scrap, a little corn
meal and a little bran. A very good substitute for
this is Spratt’s patent game food. Green food
must be given each day, unless there is plenty of
grass in the aviary. Cabbage, lettuce, small rape
and beet roots may be suspended about the pens.
Lawn mowings may be thrown in, or finely chopped
onion tops, beet leaves or other succulent green food.
The dishes in which the food is placed should be
scalded, and plenty of fresh water must be furnished
daily. A trough of running water is the most
desirable arrangement, otherwise the drinking
trough must be cleaned and replenished each
day.

CARE

The same person should take care of the pheasants
each day, and should wear the same clothes, for
the pheasants are timid birds, and it is not desirable
that they should be frightened. When the hens are
laying, the eggs should be gathered every day, and
placed in bran, and should be set as soon as possible.

198

Pheasants Birds

They will not hatch after more than two weeks old,
and they must be turned daily. The eggs should
be hatched by hens, preferably Bantams. The
young chicks must be kept with their mother in a
special pen, which must be kept very clean and dry.
They should be fed first on hard boiled egg, grated
fine and mixed with browned bread crumbs, cracked
wheat, finely cut onion tops or lettuce. Canary,
millet or hemp seed may be added for variety.
After two or three weeks the following is a good
ration:

1 quart of milk

x “of bone flour

2 ‘* of corn meal.

2 “ of wheat middlings

1 pint of beef scrap ground fine

After three weeks the coarser ground food may
be given until the fifth week, when the grains given
the adults may be fed. The chicks should not be
fed for twenty-four hours after hatching, and then
should be fed every two hours for the first and
second weeks, every three hours for the third week,
and every four hours until about the tenth week.

The Ring-neck and English species require 24
days, the Golden-pheasant only twenty-two or
three days, and the Silver species twenty-seven or
eight days, for incubating.

REFERENCES

Tue Pouttry Book, H. Weir.

Outpoor Work, M. R. Miller.

PHEASANT RAISING IN THE UNITED States, H. Oldys. Farm-
er’s Bulletin No. 390, U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Pueasant Cutture, J. S. Niven (Spratt’s Co.)

199

THE QUAIL, BOBWHITE

[, HE boy so fortunate as to live in the
44 country should have a flock of pet quail.
These are most interesting and valuable

are during the winter season they become
so tame that they will stay on the farm
like poultry.

The Bobwhite likes open fields, with
brushy fence-corners, or other low bushes near at hand
for protection fromstorm,andenemies. Inthematter
of their food, quail are wholly beneficial to the farmer;
in the spring and summer they feed upon insects,
and in the fall and winter on the seeds of weeds and
waste grain. The pretty song—‘‘Bobwhite,’”’ or
““More-wet,”’ or ““Buckwheat,”’ variously translated,
is the courting note of the male. He sends it out
over the fields from some fence post, or other high
point, and the song is appreciated by the little
quail hen hiding in the grass, and soon the pair set
up housekeeping. The nest is made upon the
ground, under a bunch of grass, or some bush,
especially a briery one. It is a rather simple nest
made of grasses, and in it are laid from ten to eighteen
pure white eggs, very pointed at the small end.
The father quail helps the mother in the incubation.
In about twenty-four days the young quails hatch;
they are fluffy little things, and after a day or two
are quite able to follow their parents about in quest
of food. They are obedient creatures,—the moment
the mother gives a warning note that the enemy is
near, they lie flat, hidden among the grass and

200

A FLOCK OF TAME QUAIL

From Country Life in America
A QUAIL CHICK

The Quail, Bobwhite Birds

leaves, and never wink an eyelid or stir a foot until
the danger is past.

The family remains together until the following
spring, and it is very delightful to see them get
ready for bed They gather in a little circle, each
one facing outward, so as to be able to detect the
enemy in any direction; and when the enemy is
upon them, each springs in the direction towards
which it is faced, and flies off swiftly. Thus it is
that the enemy, however cunning, rarely gets more
than one of the family at a time.

The quail have a hard time in the winters, and
usually spring finds but few of the family left in our
northern countries. Their enemies are, especially,
cats, dogs, the Cooper and the Sharp-shinned hawk,
and the Goshawk.

CARE

If in a city or town, the quail may be kept in a
large wire coop, which should include a convenient
drinking and bathing place. If an attempt is made
to establish the quail on a farm, we must first get
rid of all stray cats; we must provide a field in
which there are clumps of sumac, wild-rose, black-
berry bushes, or young pine woods. The ideal
shelter, with food combined, is made by laying down
upon the ground for several yards square, first a pile
of weeds and chaff, or hayloft sweepings; over this
should be placed a layer of stiff brush; and over all
should be piled a layer of coarse weeds, cut before
the seeds drop; these may be rag-weed, pig-weed,
dock, wild-sunflower and the like. The brush should
be left exposed on the south side. Fresh supplies
of screenings should be thrown into the brush at
frequent intervals during the winter.

201

Birds The Quail, Bobwhite

In case the quail live naturally upon the farm,
they may be encouraged by winter feeding. There
should be a regular feeding place near the house
or barn, a place protected by brush is the best.

Quail like almost any kind of grain. It is a good
plan to plant buckwheat in the late fall in a field near
the Bobwhite coverts, so as to give an abundance
of food to the young birds.

REFERENCES

Description of habits, in Birps THAT HUNT AND ARE HUNTED,
Neltje Banchan.

UsEFUL BIRDS AND THEIR PROTECTION, Forbush.

Bob and Some Other Birds, Witp LiFe IN THE ROCKIEs,
Enos A. Mulls.

One Touch of Nature, Ways or Woop Fox, W. J. Long.

Birps oF New York, Eaton and Fuertes.

THE BOY AND BOBWHITE

“Dear little Bobwhite, where do you live?”
“At the edge of the wood where it borders the wheat.
I eat all the weed seeds and my energies give
To helping the farmers, who pay in deceit
And shoot me to death,—my dear chicks they eat.”

“Dear little Bobwhite, where do you sleep?’’
“Down there in the fence-corner close to the hay.
My wife and chicks seven so cosily peep
As we nestle together, heads pointing away
To watch for the foe, come whence he may.”

“Dear little Bobwhite, I’ll care for you good;
I will make you a brush pile where blackberries grow,
I will feed you and all of your quaint little brood,
With buckwheat and screenings spread over the snow,
And I’ll chase off the cats and every fierce foe.”’

202

From Country Life in America
A PEACOCK IN ALL HIS GLORY

MOOOVAd ALIHM V
Doda py Ut afry S4juno) Mos

THE PEACOCK

ERHAPS you like Kipling’s Jungle stories
and have read in the wonderful story of
Tomai of the Elephants, the following:

“What little Tomai liked was to scramble up
the bridle paths that only an elephant could take;
a dip into the valley below; the glimpses of the
wild elephants browsing miles away; the rush of
the frightened pig and peacock under Kala Nag’s
feet.”

—Tomai of the Elephants, Rupyarp KIp.inc.

Thus we see that Tomai saw the peacock as a wild
bird, and if we should see it thus, and study its
habits, we too must go to those jungles of India which
border on streams; for the peacock is a thirsty bird,
and must always live near water, and with enough
cover to protect it from the rays of the hot sun. It
also likes to be near cultivated land, where it often
becomes a nuisance, because of its love for the ripen-
ing grains.

At the breeding season the peacock is a bird of
much responsibility, for he has several families to
look after, usually having four or five admiring
wives. The peahen chooses a bank above the com-
mon level, and there upon the ground builds her
nest of leaves and small sticks. She lays about a
dozen or fifteen eggs and sits on them very steadily.
The eggs hatch usually about the first of November,
and the chicks feed upon the young grain, and become
so juicy and tender that they are often hunted for food.

The jackals, wild cats and tigers are the especial
enemies of the peafowls in their native home. If

203

Birds The Peacock

he sees any of these enemies the peacock will give a
peculiar hoarse cry, and all of his fellows within
range of the sound will answer, and all of them will
fly into the trees out of harm’s way. The tiger
hunters in India know this note of the peacock, and
often thus discover the dreaded beast’s hiding place.
Although in the wild state the peafowls nest on the
ground, they always roost in trees. Their native
food consists of land snails, lizards, small frogs and
insects of all kinds. They feed to some extent
upon lush grass and buds, but prefer grain to all
else.

The peacock’s glorious plumage is merely a matter
of pleasing and attracting to himself his wives, and
so he is arrayed in his gorgeous feathers only from
June to December, when they are shed. They are
ordinarily called tail feathers, but they are really
the feathers of the tail coverts, which grow out so
long as to completely hide the tail. Even one of
these wonderful feathers is worthy the study of an
artist, so exquisite is it in form and color.

It is because of his beautiful plumage that the
peacock became early associated with man, and was
a domesticated bird in the time of Solomon. Alex-
ander brought it to Greece when he returned from
his expedition to India more than 300 years B. C.
From Greece it was taken to Rome. During ancient
times the peacock appeared in royal parades, and
its feathers decorated thrones and shrines. It was
considered the bird of Juno by the Greeks and
Romans. The early Christians rejected the heathen
goddess but retained the bird as an emblem of the
glorified body. In the days of Rome’s degeneracy,
the brains and tongues of these birds were served at
‘feasts.

204

The Peacock Birds

The white peacock, and those that are pied, are
sports of the common species. However, there is
another species found in Java which is called the
green Java peafowl, since its feathers are green
instead of blue. It also has a crest of feathers that
have barbs for the entire length, instead of the fan-
shaped crest feathers of the common species, which
have the naked quill below. These Java fowls are
really the more beautiful birds, especially since the
hen is almost as gorgeous as the cock. There is
also a black-winged species from Cochin China,
which is called the Japan peafowl. In this species
the male is the darkest of all the peacocks, while the
hen is almost white.

HOUSE

Peafowls will roost out of doors the year round,
but they should be provided with a shed in which
to retire, and of course this should be fitted with
perches. It is rather difficult to keep them with
other fowls, since the male is likely to kill the chicks,
and indeed, is a very disagreeable member of the
poultry yard. A peacock and four hens should be
kept together, and apart from the other poultry;
as a matter of fact, the males live peaceably with
each other, so that several of them may be kept in
the same yard. They are hard to confine in an
enclosure, for even with clipped wings, they can
manage to get over a six-foot fence. The peafowls
do better when they are allowed to wander far and
wide, for they have never become fully domesticated
despite their long association with man. They
resemble turkeys in their habits and they will thrive
on the treatment given to turkeys.

205

Birds The Peacock

FOOD

The peafowls should be fed the same as pheasants.
They may also be given scraps from the table. The
pea-chicks should be given more animal food than
ordinary chickens. Even if allowed to range over
the fields with the mother, the chicks should be fed
at least once a day.

REFERENCES

Tue Pouttry Boor, H. Weir.
DomeEsTIcATED ANIMALS, N. S. Shaler.
JuncLE Stories, Kipling.

THE PEACOCK

Amy’s home was in the city.
Every June she was a guest

Of her dearest Auntie Mary,
On a large farm in the West.

Amy loved the pigs and chickens,
And oft in the barnyard played.

One day the peacock trailed his plumes
Near to the little maid.

And then he spread his splendid tail
And strutted round about.

“Oh, Auntie, see,” cried Amy,

“The old hen blossomed out!”

206

From Country; Life in America
CANADIAN OR WILD GEESE

ASHdD ASANIHO JO MOOTA YFH GNV TAID ASOOD ATWLIIT V
09 Q a8ng ‘Kppaqnog fo XsajanoD

THE GOOSE
“Te goose was a common pet in ancient Greece,

where objects of beauty were much prized. On

Grecian tombs are figures carved in relief of
the dead boy or girl in company with a pet goose;
so much was this pet loved that it was madethe child’s
companion even in death; and, indeed, there is no
bird which is more interesting as a pet than the goose,
because of its great intelligence. No other denizen
of the farmyard learns obedience so readily as the
goose. It obeys quickly and perfectly the spoken
word of its master or mistress, and a pet goose is as
devoted and as affectionate asa dog. In one instance
known to Miss Ada Georgia, a little boy had a pet
gander that would obey his every command, and
would never willingly let his little master out of
sight. Ifa playmate attacked the boy, the gander
would rush to his rescue, and whip his assailant with
his wings. Once when the boy was ill in bed, the
gander wandered about disconsolately honking, and
refused to eat; he was then taken to the side of the
house where the sick room was situated, and where
his beloved master could look at him from the
window, and he immediately became contented; he
now ate his food, but refused to leave his post
beneath the window until the boy was well.

Wild geese have interesting habits, which are well
illustrated by those of the Canada goose. This
bird is a superb creature, brown above and gray
beneath, with head, neck, tail, bill and feet of black;
and as if to emphasize this black ornamentation,
there is a white crescent-shaped ‘‘bib,’”’ extending

207

Birds The Goose

from just back of the eyes underneath the head.
These geese nest at the far North, and spend the
winters in the South. There is no more interesting
sight anywhere in the autumn landscape than the
wedge-shaped flock of these long-necked birds with
their leader at the front angle. The honking which
reveals the passing flock, before our eyes can discern
the birds against the sky, is the call of the wise old
gander leader to those following him, and their
return salute. He knows his way on this thousand-
mile journey by the looks of the country. If a fog
or storm hides the earth from his view, he is likely
to become confused, and the flock will drop to earth
with many distressful cries. The migration north-
ward takes place in April and May, and the south-
ward migration from October to December. The
journey is made with stops for rest and refreshment,
usually in secluded ponds or lakes. The food of
wild geese consists of water-plants, seeds and corn,
and some small animals living in water. The nests
made of sticks, are lined with down, and are usually
on the ground along the shores of streams; they are
sometimes built on tree-stumps. There are only
four or five eggs laid, and both parents are devoted
to the young, the gander bravely defending his nest
and family from the attacks of enemies.

Our domestic geese are naturally monogamous in
habits, and loyal to their mates. Old fashioned
people declare that they choose their mates on
Saint Valentine’s Day, but this is probably a pretty
myth; when once mated, the two live together
year after year until one dies; an interesting instance
of this is one of the traditions in my own family.
A fine pair of geese belonging to my pioneer grand-
father had mated for several years and had reared

208

The Goose Birds

handsome families; but one spring a conceited young
gander fell in love with the old goose; and as he was
young and lusty, he whipped her legitimate lord and
master and triumphantly carried her away, although
she was manifestly disgusted with this change in
her domestic fortunes. The old gander sulked and
refused to be comforted by the company of any
young goose whatever. Later the old pair dis-
appeared from the farmyard and the upstart gander
was left wifeless. It was inferred that the old
couple had run away with each other into the encom-
passing wilderness and much sympathy was felt for
them because of this sacrifice of their lives for
loyalty. However, this was misplaced sentiment,
for later in the summer the happy pair was dis-
covered in a distant “‘slashing’’ with a fine family
of goslings and were all brought home in triumph.
The old gander, while not able to cope with his
rival, was still able to trounce any of the animal
marauders which approached his home and family.
The goose lines her nest with down and the soft
feathers which she plucks from her breast. The
gander is very devoted to his goose while she is
setting; he talks to her in gentle tones and is fierce
in her defence. The eggs are about twice as large
as those of the hen and have the ends more rounded.
The period of incubation is about four weeks. The
goslings are beautiful little creatures, covered with
soft down, and with large, bright eyes. The parents
give them most careful attention from the first.
The gander and goose always show suspicion and
resentment by opening the mouth wide, emitting a
hissing noise, and showing the whole round tongue
in mocking defiance. When the gander attacks, he
thrusts his head forward, even with or below the

209

Birds The Goose

level of his back, and seizes his victim firmly with
his hard-toothed bill so that it cannot get away, and
then with his strong wings beats the life out of it.
I remember vividly a whipping which a gander gave
me when I was a child, holding me fast by my blouse
while he laid on the blows.

Geese feed much more largely upon land plants
than do ducks; a good growth of clover and grass
make excellent pasture for them; they feed upon
water plants but do not eat aquatic insects and
animals to any extent. The goose is long-lived, it
often being profitably kept until twenty-five years
old. There are recorded instances of geese having
reached the age of fifty years, and one authentic
instance is given of a goose which was the property
of one family for 101 years, and was then killed by
the kick of a horse.

In Europe the geese are driven to market in large
flocks; there may be several hundreds in a flock,
and they will remain in good condition if driven eight
miles per day.

There are seven varieties of geese used commonly
as domestic fowls: The Toulouse, which is grey;
the Embden, which is white; the African, which
has beak and knob black, the head black and the
body dark grey; the Brown Chinese, which are
brown in color, and have the knob and bill dark
brown or black; the White Chinese, which are white
with the knob and beak orange; the Egyptian,
which are gray and black, with purple or bluish red
beak and orange eyes, set in a chestnut patch; the
wild, or Canadian geese are also domesticated.

210

The Goose Birds

HOUSE

The house may be as small and as inexpensive a
coop as will give shelter from storm and predatory
animals; but it should be large enough to give
plenty of air, and should be well ventilated, and
should be placed where the geese can have access
to pasturage and to water. They are very fond of
grazing, and are particularly good for weed-infested
land. To make them happy, they should have
constant access to a pond or stream; although they
can live away from water, it is not natural for them
to do so. At least they must have plenty of fresh
water to drink each day.

FOOD

Geese should be given plenty of grass in their
pasture. Cooked vegetables may be fed in the
form of a mash. An excellent mixture consists of
bran, middlings, and corn meal, with cooked vege-
tables. Animal meal mixed with moistened corn
meal is recommended for young geese. If the geese
are allowed to roam they will supply themselves
with animal food in the form of insects, snails, etc.
If they are not allowed to roam, they should be
given animal meal or meat scrap. Goslings should
not be given sloppy food. They should be fed four
times daily until they are fourteen days old, and after
that three times daily. For the first eight days,
the food should be stale bread crumbs mixed with
avery little corn meal and bran, all slightly moistened
so as to becrumbly. Goslings should not be allowed
to swim until they have a new coat of feathers, so
drinking water must be given them in an inverted
bottle, as described for chickens, at first.

2rI

Birds The Goose

CARE

The goose that is laying should be given a quiet
and safe nesting place for incubating. From ten
to sixteen eggs are laid. The nest should be bedded
with oat straw or other short, dry litter. The
period of incubation is about thirty days.

REFERENCES

THE Pouttry Boor, H. Weir.

Descriptions of geese, Binps THatT Hunt AND ARE HUNTED,
Neltje Banchan.

OvutTpooR Work, M. R. Miller.

2 In Quest of Waptonk, the Wild, NorrHERN Traits, W. J.
ong.

The Decoy, in WaTCHERS OF THE TRAIL, and The Home-
sickness of Kehonka, KINDRED OF THE WILD, C. G. D. Roberts.
Pies Goose Ways, WHOosE Hog Is THE WILDERNESS, W. J.

I hear the wild geese honking
From out the misty night,

A sound of moving armies,
On-sweeping in their might;

The river ice is drifting
Beneath their northward flight.

—John Burroughs.

WILD GEESE

November fields are brown below, the tattered clouds are gray,
A stream of sunlight rifting through, as if affrighted fails.

From high above, a leader’s call, that thrills the heart this day,
A wild geese V, unequal armed, across the wild sky trails.

212

From Country Life in America

A PAIR OF MALLARD DUCKS

Photo by Verne Morton

FEEDING THE DUCKLINGS

DUCKS

PLASHING, waddling ducklings
make pretty pets, although they
have not the intelligence of geese.
Those used merely for pets are the
Call, and the East India ducks, which
are the bantams in the duck family.
The Mallards arevery often used for pets because this
species is still wild, and therefore, more interesting.
The Mallards are beautiful creatures; thedrake’shead
is irridescent green, which matches the broad wing
bar, bordered with white. There is a ring of white
also about the neck, which contrasts strongly with
the chestnut and red breast. The female is also
beautiful, but her brown, grey and penciled feathers
are fitted to render her quite invisible when on her
nest. The young are speckled like their mother.

The wild Mallard is still rather plentiful in
America, and may be seen on most of our inland
waters during the migrating season. It nests chiefly
from Labrador northward. When wild, these ducks
are said to pair as do the geese. The nest is built
on the ground usually, and rarely in trees. It is
made of grass and leaves and other rubbish, and is
lined with down which the mother plucks from her
own breast. This duck lays from six to twelve pale
grey eggs tinged with blue-green. When she leaves
the nest, she carefully pulls over the eggs a coverlet
of down and leaves. She sits for twenty-eight days;
her downy little ducklings start for the water soon
after they break through the shell; sometimes the
mother has to help them on this journey by carrying

213

Birds Ducks

them in her bill. Her devotion to her brood is full
of self-sacrifice; it is fully six weeks before the young
develop wings to fly, and meanwhile she has many
enemies to fight. The mink, otter, large fish, like
the pike, and hawks, all prey upon these ducklings.
In August and September the families of a region
unite and come southward in flocks, where they
visit our grassy ponds and sluggish streams, or
reedy marshes around lakes, where they feed on the
seeds of wild rice and rushes. In the winter they
stay from the Chesapeake Bay southward to Central
America.

The most beautiful of our wild ducks, which have
been domesticated for parks and ponds, is the Wood-
duck. Its colors are brilliant and-beautiful. It has
a bonnet of irridescent purple and green, white
throat and chestnut breast spotted with white.
Its wings are glossed with purple and green and
tipped with white. These birds nest in the United
States, and have a most peculiar habit of building
their nests in holes in trees, usually taking a hole
already made by woodpecker or owl. They can
also walk about on the branches of trees, although
their feet are webbed. Their note is musical, and
not. a “quack.”

The Mandarin duck is a near relative to the
Wood-duck. It lives in eastern. Asia. Both the
Mandarin and Wood-duck have been domesticated
and may be purchased of dealers; but with both of
these species it is necessary to consult the tastes of
the individuals in mating. It has to be a love-match
with these birds, and the two remain paired for life;
usually if one is lost the other remains single. Ifa
pairis kept isolated the two will rear their own brcod;
but they must have opportunity for perching, and

214

Ducks Birds

should have nesting boxes placed high up. Their
yard should be covered with wire netting, as well as
fenced, for these birds can scale a wire fence with
perfect ease, and thus escape. Both species are
active at night. It is more usual to hatch the eggs
of these ducks under a Bantam; if this is done, other
eggs should be given to the Wood-duck mother.

HOUSE

Ducks are hardy, but they should be protected
from storm. A low shed does very well; the floor
should be covered with chaff or shavings. It must
be borne in mind that ducks squat upon the ground
when resting, and therefore the floor of their shelter
must be dry and clean, and should be changed often
enough so that it is kept fresh and wholesome.
There should be plenty of shade in the yard, and
the house itself should be shaded from the hot sun,
for the heat is dangerous to ducks, especially to
ducklings.

FOOD

The natural food of ducks is largely insects, and
all of the animal life that swarms about the aquatic
plants in the ponds and still waters in which the
ducks live. Thus, if raised where there is a pond
which contains much duckweed and other vegeta-
tion the birds will not need much other food, in
summer, but if kept in an enclosure, the older ducks
should be fed grain which has been moistened with
water or milk. Plenty of green food, such as rye,
clover, alfalfa or corn should be given, but it should
first be cut fine in a feed-cutter; this may be fed
alone or mixed with the grain. The food should
never be placed on the ground where it may be soon

215

Birds Ducks

trampled in the dirt, but should always be placed
in a shallow feeding trough. It is best, when pos-
sible, to change the ducks from one yard to another,
and plant the yard just vacated with some quick-
growing crop, like rye. If this is not possible,
sawdust or sifted coal-ashes should be scattered
freely over the most frequented portions of the yard.

Young ducklings should be fed green material as
described above, and also wheat bran, corn meal and
ground oats, from which the hulls have been removed,
moistened with water or milk. From ten to twenty
per cent. of animal meal is often added to the ration
of the growing ducklings. When the ducklings are
first hatched, equal parts of corn meal and wheat-
bran, mixed to a crumbly mass with water or milk,
should be given every two hours. For the next five
weeks they should be fed four times daily. Five
per cent grit should be added to the food.

CARE

Cleanliness, although difficult to attain, must be
the rule in the duck-yard, and there should be plenty
of pure water. Since water is the natural element
of ducks, it surely makes them much happier if they
have access to ponds or flowing streams.

The duck is an excellent mother. Care must be
taken not to allow the small ducklings to become
wet or chilled; when small, they must be carefully
shut up at night, for there are many creatures that
feed upon them.

The duck is a rapid swimmer, and its natural
means of progress is either swimming in the water,
or flying through the air. To walk on land is un-
natural and difficult for the duck, for its legs are

216

Ducks Birds

placed far back and wide apart, and the creature is
under a constant strain to keep the body balanced
when walking. For this reason, ducks should never
be chased; they will often fall dead when they are
obliged to run rapidly, especially in the summer.

REFERENCES

Tue Pouttry Book, H. Weir.

OutTpoor Work, Miller.

Habits of Mallards, Brrps THat Hunt anp arE HunrtreD,
Neltje Banchan.

“Strange Creatures with Strange Voices,’’ FIELD AND Forest,
N. S. Mathews.

‘Birds’ Winter Beds,’’ A WatTcHER IN THE Woops, Dallas
Lore Sharp.

“Merganser,” and “A Wild Duck,” in Ways or Woop
Foitx, W. J. Long.

DUCKS

When first the grass grows green in spring,
And from bare boughs the robins sing,

Before the orioles come back,

I hear the ducks go, ‘‘Quack! quack! quack!’

They paddle round and dive and float
Just where I like to sail my boat,
And when IJ run, from school set free,
They make such funny eyes at me.

They never cry, nor fuss, nor fret,
About the springtime rain and wet,
And have no heed of sheltering roofs
Because they all wear “‘waterproofs.”’

—Clinton Scollard.

217

THE GULL

HE seagull would seem to be a quite
impossible pet, and yet there are
records of many being kept as such.
Usually the pet is a young bird, or
an injured one which has been res-
cued and fed. The gull is naturally
gluttonous and fond of its food,

and therefore learns soon to greet with pleasure
the one who feeds it. It will eat almost anything,
and likes especially the leavings from the table,
eating greedily the scraps of meat. Although this
bird is only beautiful when on the wing, when it
is the most graceful and interesting of sea-birds,
yet there is something rather attractive about a
tame gull waddling about the garden diligently
searching for slugs, grubs and mice. It has the
advantage of being a very hardy bird, and requires
no shelter. The gull has more mind than its looks
would imply, and can be trained to a degree of
intelligence.

CARE

If there is no pond near at hand, a large shallow
tub of water should be provided in which the gull
may bathe. The long quills on one wing should
be clipped so that it cannot escape by flight. In
case a young bird should be captured, it should be
fed on raw meat chopped, and on raw fish.

REFERENCES
Description of Gulls, Birps THat Hunt anp are Huntep,
Neltje Banchan.
“Gull Dick,” THE Wir or THE WILD, Ernest Ingersoll.
“Gulls teach themselves to fly,’ WILDERNESS PETS aT Camp
BucksHuaw, Edward Breck.
“Gull Habits,’ American Birps, W. T. Finlay.

218

From Country Life in America

GULLS

SLHNODAD UIAHL UNV SNVMS dO UlVd V

DILIUMY Ut afr'yT KaunoD wWoly

SWANS

O properly appreciate swans we should have
lived in the time of Queen Elizabeth, for
Aat that period there were 900 swanneries in
* England; and each owner of a swannery had
his own brand, which was cut into the beaks

of the cygnets. The first Monday of August
was the date when the Crown, and also the Dyers
& Vinters Co. did their branding in the swanneries
on the Thames.

There were plenty of swanherds to take care of
the birds, and there was a Royal Swanherd who was
a great personage in the royal establishment. The
first Monday in August must have been exciting, if
the catching of the cygnets for branding was as
greatly resented by the parent birds as was the case
when I simply tried to examine a little more closely
the cygnets of a swan family on the Thames one
August day not long ago. I.shall never forget the
fierce aspect of the male swan. He advanced
toward me hissing like a snake; his short legs and
awkward gait only made his long neck and threaten-
ing wings seem more formidable. I quickly in-
formed him, in swan esperanto, that I did not think
his smutty down-covered darlings were worth look-
ing at anyway, meanwhile I beat a discreet retreat.

In England, during the reign of Edward IV (1483),
the swan was declared a royal bird, and a law was
enacted that ‘‘No person who did not possess a
freehold of a clear yearly rental of five marks”
was permitted to keep swans. During the reign of
Henry the VII, a year’s imprisonment and a fine,
at the king’s will, was the punishment for stealing a

219

Birds Swans

swan’s egg. In very early times the swanherds
called the male swan a ‘“‘cob,’’ and the female a
“pen,” and the young were called cygnets, as they
are today.

The swan was also much prized in ancient times.
It was the bird of Apollo, and especially belonged
to the muses. Through literature, from the times
of the Greeks down to today, we find the story of the
song of the swan; how it lifted its graceful neckand
poured forth its beautiful melody, its first and last
song, and then hid its head beneath its wing and
dying, floated away upon the waters. This beauti-
ful story could only have happened in those days
when everything was true. The swan’s voice is
harsh, and its note is a repeated “hoop, hoop,
hoop,”’ and it is only musical when heard from afar.

There are less than a dozen species of swans, all
told. We have two noble species in America, the
Trumpeter and the Whistler. These are both
western birds, and breed from the Dakotas north-
ward to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Both
species have a peculiar development of the wind-
pipe, which penetrates the keel of the breast-bone
to its hind-portion, and then is bent forward again
to the front of this bone before going to the lungs.
No wonder that swans can “hoop” with such an
apparatus as this. The Whistling swan of Europe
is likewise equipped, and the Greeks named it
“Ferus,’’ because they thought its voice musical.

In the wild state, swans are great flyers; they fly
very high, beyond our sight, and when flying form
in two lines which converge to a point occupied by
the leader, as do the wild geese. Swans are tre-
mendous swimmers, being able to swim faster than
aman can walk.

220

Swans Birds

Although all species of swans have been domesti-
cated, the swan usually seen in our parks is an
European species, domesticated for at least 800
years. It is called the Mute swan because it is
silent in captivity; but naturalists say that when
wild, it trumpets loudly during the breeding season,
although it has no special convolution of the wind-
pipe to aid it. The Black swan of Australia is also
often seen in parks. The beauty of the swan lies
in its long and graceful neck, which includes from
twenty-three to twenty-five vertebrae, thus giving
it all of the grace of the serpent.

As pets, swans are better to look at than to be
familiar with; their attitude is often hostile toward
us, and occasionally they persecute all the smaller
birds of a pond. I knew one that drove out or
killed all the fancy ducks in a park pond.

The male swan is larger than the female, and a
pair remain mated for life. At pairing age the male
swans fight each other fiercely; each tries to drown
his rival by holding his head under water.

The swan builds a nest of straw and twigs, and
during the incubating season the setting parent,
usually the female, amuses herself by reaching
out her long neck and seizing anything that is
movable and heaping it up around her, thus walling
up her nest until it is as private as an English garden.
The nests are thus often six feet across, and two
feet high. The eggs are from five to nine, usually
seven, in number, and are grayish olive in color.
The swan incubates six weeks. The cygnets do
not leave the nest for at least twenty-four hours
after hatching; then the parents take them to the
water. The mother is very tender of her young-
sters, and will lower herself under the little creatures

221

Birds Swans

when in the water, so that they may rest on her
back, and not become too tired. The father swan will
often do this also. Each pair, with its family, owns
a certain region, and resents intrusion from other
birds and animals. The parents are especially
fierce in the defence of the nest and young; they
cannot inflict much of a wound with the beak, but
they thresh the enemy with their powerful wings.
The cygnets are covered with gray down at first;
they get their white plumage the second year, and
breed the year after. Swans are very long-lived,
some specimens are known to have attained the age
of fifty years, and there is a current belief that they
may live to be eighty or a hundred years old.

The swan has always appealed to the imagination,
because of its stately grace and beautiful plumage.
It appears often in fairy stories and folk lore, from
the Ugly Duckling to Lohengrun. Once young
swans were an article of food for luxurious tables.
Swansdown, used for boas and for trimming gar-
ments is made from the skin of the breast of the
swan. Formerly the swan’s wing quills were much
esteemed for pens.

HOUSE
Swans are hardy. All the protection they need is
a small shed, open to the south on the border of a

pond. They are decidedly aquatic, and must al-
ways have access to the water.

FOOD

The natural food of the swan consists of seeds,
leaves and roots of aquatic plants; and if the pond
is well stocked with these, the birds will thrive.
However, they will do well when kept on grain of

222

From Country Life in America
A SWAN TURNING HER EGGS
Scene in a swannery

Swans Birds

various sorts, which should always be given to them
in shallow water. The cuttings from the mowings
of the lawn are especially appreciated. We often
see the swans in parks feeding upon the grass and
clover upon the margins of the ponds. They also
relish the animal food which they find in the water,
and greedily eat aquatic worms, insects and small
fish. When rearing their young they should be
given bread or dog-biscuit soaked, and also lettuce.
Stale bread thrown in the water is always relished.
A mixture of wheat, buckwheat, barley and cracked
corn may be given as a regular food. Oats may be
used instead of one of the other grains occasionally.

REFERENCES

DomeEsticaTED AnImALs, N. S. Shaler.
THE Pouttry Book, H. Wer.

THE SWAN UP TO DATE

Oh, Swan, you are a living boat,
Your deep breast is a keel,

To guide you as you swiftly float,
Driven by your strong webbed heel.

But when I see you lift and fly,

Your great white wings wide spread,
You seem, as you sail in the sky,

An aeroplane instead.

Then when I see you circling ‘round,
Back to the waves again,

You slide so gracefully adown,
You seem a hydroplane.

223

Fish

AQUARIA

LENTIFUL are the kinds of aquaria, from
those made in jelly glasses and fruit jars,
for the caging and rearing of water insects,
to the larger aquaria for fishes. The
aquarium may be a tank or a glass jar,
but it should always have straight sides.
The curved sides of the globe do not allow
water to come sufficiently in contact with
the air. If we have only water in the
aquarium, we then need to change it quite often to
keep our pets alive. But if we can plant in our
aquarium the weeds which grow in ponds, through
them, and the oxygen they give off, the water remains
pure, and does not need to be replaced. This is
called a balanced aquarium.

To make a balanced aquarium we place in our jar,
of whatever size or shape, a layer of sand, and from
the nearest pond, or quiet pool in a stream, we bring,
carefully, in a pail of water, such plants as we find
living entirely beneath the surface. We select
some of these and plant them in the sand at the
bottom of our jar; after they are planted we put
a few small stones upon them so as to hold them fast
in the sand. Now our aquarium is planted, and we
must add the water very gently, by letting it run
down the side of the jar so as not to tear up the
plants we have just put in place. Such an aquarium

224

Photo by Verne Morton
GETTING MATERIAL FOR HIS AQUARIUM

Aquaria Fish

should not be kept in the strong sunlight or it will
become filled with green slime, which is a low form of
vegetation.

Now our aquarium is ready for fish, or any other
water creatures, and all the attention it needs is to
replace the water as fast as it evaporates.

Many people like to make fancy aquaria by placing
in the bottom stones, volcanic rock or sea shells.
This can be done according to the owner’s taste, but
renders the aquarium more difficult to clean.

For cleaning waste matter from the aquarium,
we should be provided with a glass dip-tube or pipette
of a length to reach to the bottom. A shallow, flat-
bottomed dip-net is useful in removing the fish when
the aquarium is to be cleaned. This net need not
be more than four to six inches across, depending
upon the size of the aquarium and fish.

AQUARIA AND FISH REFERENCES

THE FRESH-WATER AguarRium, Eggeling and Ehrenberg.

Aquaria, C. N. Page.

THE Home Aguarium, Smith.

Description of habits of Fishes, AMERICAN Foop AND GAME
Fisues, Jordan and Evermann.

Fisu Stories, Holder and Jordan.

“The Story of a Salmon,” TRUE TaLes oF Birps AND BEasts,
Jordan.

Harr Hours witu Fisues, REPTILES AND Birps, Holder.

NEIGHBORS WITH WINGS AND Fins, /Johonnot.

RELIABLE FISH FOODS

Green River Fish and Baby Fish, made by Harry P. Peters,
1210 N. Warusch St., Philadelphia, Pa.

Paullins Hatching Fish Food, composed of 40 per cent.
Dapheria and 10 per cent. mosquito larvae, 425 Wolf St.,
Philadelphia, Pa.

Spratt’s Aquarium Fish Food, Spratt’s Co., Newark, N. J.

225

GOLDFISH

NE of the most interesting journeys
Jimaginable would be to travel in
# Ancient China where the ancestors of
the goldfish in our aquarium lived.
3 For it might take us back into
~ ancient China and along the streams
which flow into those magnificent
rivers which sweep from the high
mountains in eastern China to the great rich plains
of the coast. And we should pass strange cities
beset with beautiful temples, and we should see
Chinese men dressed in their robes of silk, the color
of peach blossoms or apple blossoms or blue like
the sky or purple as the violets. And we should find
playing by the banks of the stream little children
dressed in every color of the rainbow, and the little
girls might perhaps be toddling about on their tiny
bandaged feet.

And if we should find this ancestral fish we would
find with it many companions in the picturesque
stream, because the Chinese have been the best
managers of fish in the world. We in America are
thousands of years behind the Chinese in intelli-
gence in the preserving of fish. From times too
ancient to be recorded in history, the Chinese have
yearly taken loads of water in which there is spawn
of fish, and have carried them to safe ponds where
the newly hatched fry could be fed, usually with
lentils or yolks of eggs. The result is that although
China is over-populated, having at least three
hundred persons to the square mile, while there are

226

Goldfish Fish

only about twenty to each square mile in America,
yet the rivers of China are full of fish of all kinds,
while we, with our scant population, have almost
exhausted the supply of fish in our rivers and lakes.

And this ancestor of our goldfish in its native
stream is not gold at all, but is olive green above
and yellow below. For a gold colored fish could
not have lived long in a stream or lake; it would
have been seen and swallowed by some wild duck,
goose or swan, which birds occur in great numbers
on Chinese streams; or a pelican would have gob-
bled it up into its great fish-basket. But its safe
green color saved it, and its descendants were taken
by the skillful Chinese and through much breeding
and careful selection were changed in color to gold
and silver. And if by chance we raise goldfish in our
aquaria we find when they are small they have dull
colors like their ancient ancestors; and if our gold-
fish in the ponds escape into the streams, by some
helpful magic they soon regain their safe dull brown-
ish-green color. Numbers of these fish are found in
our rivers and the only way we know that they are
goldfish is by their form, for we should never suspect
it from their color.

While the Chinese originated the goldfish and
developed it into many grotesque forms, it has re-
mained for the Japanese to develop it into fish of
the most graceful form and the most delicate colors.
There are ten well-marked varieties of Japanese
goldfish, each with graceful flowing fins and colors
that range from black and gold and silver to pale
blue and green. Americans are always surprised
to discover how large a part goldfish play in the lives
of the Japanese people, especially of the children.
It is estimated that in Japan twenty million gold-

227

Fish Goldfish

fish are sold each year at a value of half a million
dollars. Even the humblest homes have their
goldfish in little aquaria, while the wealthy have
these brilliant little water pets in the ponds and
fountains of their wonderful gardens.

Goldfish belong to the carp family, and are called
by some the green carp. They may attain a length
of eighteen inches. It is said that they may live
to be a hundred years old, but probably this is an
exaggeration. But there are instances on record
where specimens have been kept in an aquarium
and in good condition from ten to sixteen years.

The first goldfish seen in France were those im-
ported for the famous Madame Pompadour. They
were early established in Portugal, the streams near
Lisbon swarmed with them, and from this source all
Europe became stocked; and today in Portugal
they are considered a delicacy for the table. From
Europe they were brought to America and have
become thoroughly acclimated. The annual sale
of goldfish in this country is estimated at two
millions.

Goldfish need and enjoy a warm temperature in
still waters. Ponds are best for them, but they
thrive in streams and multiply rapidly. They sleep
in the broad sunlight at noon, and they also sleep
at midnight.

Goldfish have good memories, and soon learn to
recognize their master. It is therefore very im-
portant that only one person give them food and
care, and these should be given with great regularity. '
In China, goldfish have been known to become so
devoted to their master, that they would follow his
boat, and seem to invite caresses from his hand.
The famous goldfish breeder, Mr. Hugo Mulertt,

228

Goldfish Fish

states that he had a Comet goldfish that formed a
friendship with a little spaniel, and the two would
play together through the glass of the tank, or even
on the surface of the water for a time each day, as
long as the fish lived.

If a little bell is struck every time the goldfish are
fed, they will soon learn that it is the dinner call.
Mr. Mulertt trained some of his goldfish to call for
food by ringing a little bell arranged with a lever
and string attached extending down into the water.
At first, food was attached to the string, until the
fish learned that when they rang the bell more food
would come. Later they rang the bell so often
that the string was only lowered into the water
at meal time.

HOUSE

The best kind of an aquarium for goldfish is the
balanced aquarium described. on page 224. But the
custom of keeping goldfish in globes is so firmly
established that we must make the best of it, and
lay down some rules for the use of these ‘Black
holes of Calcutta’? as someone calls them. The
reason a globe is not fit for an aquarium is that its
curved sides allow but a small portion of the surface
of the water to come in contact with the air, if it is
filled to the brim. Therefore if the globe is used, it
should not be filled more than half or three-quarters
full, so as to leave as large an area of surface of water
as possible in contact with the air; the water should
be changed twice a week, and the globes thoroughly
cleaned, or the fish may suffocate. When the fish
come often to the surface of the water, it is a sign
that they are suffering for the want of air, and the
water should be immediately changed, or dipped

229

Fish Goldfish

out and poured back from the height of a foot or
two, so as to become aerated. It is a good plan to
have two globes, and so transfer the fish with the
hands, or with a shallow dip-net from the one in
which the water is stale, to the one containing fresh
water; but the water in the two globes should be
of nearly the same temperature. The globes should
never be placed where they will receive sufficient
direct sunlight to heat the temperature of the water
appreciably.

If a balanced aquarium is used, there will need to
be some tadpoles introduced to keep down the
growth of low vegetation. Frog tadpoles are especi-
ally excellent for this purpose, since they remain in
the tadpole stage for so long a period. There should
be one tadpole for every two or three fish in the :
aquarium.

A north window gives the best light for the
aquarium; it should stand at least six inches from
the window, and a window shade should be used
to regulate the light. Next to a north window
an east window is best. In winter the aquarium
should have all of the sunlight possible in our north-
ern climate.

Placing the aquarium in too much light causes a
prolific growth of fine green slime, which is a low
form of vegetation. This should be cleaned, at
least once a week, from the sides of the aquarium
by the use of a small sponge, or a cloth, fastened
to the end of a stick. A large glass pipette or dip-
tube should be used to remove any foul material
settling on the bottom. Once or twice a year the
balanced aquarium should be thoroughly cleaned.
The rocks, pebbles, sand and shells should be well
washed and scalded with salt water. The sides

230

Goldfish Fish

of the aquarium should be cleaned with salt. The
best plants may be replanted.

In removing the fish to clean the aquarium, use
a shallow dip-net, and place them in water of the
temperature of that from which they are taken.
Fish should be handled as little as possible.

FOOD

People are likely to overfeed goldfish. The
dietary should consist of ant’s eggs, given a few at a
time, alternated with any of the standard fish foods,
like Mulertt’s IX L, or Spratt’s Aquarium and
Fibrin Fish Foods. Mr. L. S. Crandall, of the New
York Zoological Gardens, advises the feeding of
Spratt’s Crissel in small quantities. | Professor
George Embody, who has charge of the Cornell
University Fish Hatcheries, uses ground fish bought
of Darling & Co., Union Stock Yards, of Chicago;
he scatters a little of this in finely pulverized condi-
tion in the goldfish tank occasionally. But goldfish
are essentially vegetable feeders, and ant eggs,
crissel or ground fish should not be fed exclusively.
Vermicelli, oat meal or rice wafer should be given
also.

Many authorities object to feeding the rice wafer
because it makes the water milky. This is not so
objectionable in a globe as in a balanced aquarium,
since the water in a globe may be changed often.
Bread, or anything with yeast in it, should not be
given to goldfish.

Drop a few flies on the water occasionally to afford
the fish entertainment as well as change of diet.

Feed once a day in the morning at a regular hour,
watch carefully, and feed only what the fish eat at

231

Fish Goldfish

once, since waste food contaminates the water.
The excreta of the fish should be dark-colored, and
brownish or greenish; if it is whitish, or yellowish,
the fish are being over-fed, and no food should be
given for two days.

CARE

The following creatures should not be kept in the
aquarium with the goldfish: Common pond snails,
water boatmen, the young of water beetles and
dragon flies, crayfish, salamanders, newts and turtles.

The following fish may be kept in the goldfish
aquarium: Shiners, dace and suckers. Of course
these fish should not be too large.

Suffocation is the most common ailment of gold-
fish. The symptoms are fading of the colors and
loss of appetite. The remedy is to place the fish in
freshly aerated water, to which add a teaspoonful
of salt. Keep in a warm situation, and give no
food for a few days. Give small quantities of food
when feeding is commenced again.

REFERENCES
GoLpFisH BREEDS AND OTHER AQuarium Fisues, Herman T.

Wolf.
THE GOLDFISH AND Its CuLtuRE, Hugo Mulertt.
OutTpoor Work, M. R. Miller.

232

Drawing by Margaret Kephart

GOLDFISH

Drawn by Margaret Kephart
AQUARIA AND A PARADISE FISH

THE PARADISE FISH

ARADISE fish also come from China: its
, colors are as exquisite as those of the butter-
. fly. The sides of the body are ornamented
with cross-bars of alternating bluish green
and brilliant orange; it is gray above,
spotted with darker; the fins are orange, bordered
with blue, and the ventral fins are mere bright
orange threads. The male can always be distin-
guished by the spot on his cheek of dark blue bor-
dered with orange. The dorsal, anal and tail fins
are prolonged until they are as graceful as wings.
The fins of the female are not so long as those of
the male, nor does she have the cheek spot.

The Paradise fish has habits of breathing most
convenient for lifein an aquarium. It has a peculiar
convoluted organ beneath its gill covers, which
enables it to utilize the oxygen from the atmosphere.
Thus these fishes will live in aquaria where no other
fish could live since, when the water becomes stale,
they come to the surface for air.

The Paradise fish are also convenient in their
breeding habits for they will build their nests, lay
their eggs and hatch their young before our admir-
ing eyes. The mating season is naturally during
June and July. However, when the aquarium is
kept in a warm sunny place, they breed at other
times of year. At this period the color of the male
becomes peculiarly brilliant; he begins his courting
by spreading his fins and swimming around and
around his mate, to show her his graceful form and
glowing tints; he often comes close to her, and seems

233

Fish The Paradise Fish

almost to kiss her, for he often touches her with his
mouth. Once he is sure he has awakened an interest
in her, he begins to build a nest of air-bubbles. He
makes these exactly as does a blubbering child, but
the saliva with which he clothes the bubbles as they
leave his lips is strong, and holds the bubbles firm
and fastens them together.

He likes to nestle his bubble raft down among the
pond weeds of the aquarium, but it naturally floats
and often appears on the surface of the water. In
this nest the female lays her eggs; often she seems
careless and allows some of the eggs to fall to the
bottom of the aquarium, at which her watchful
mate promptly gathers them up in his mouth and
replaces them in the nest.

As soon as the eggs are laid the female should be
removed to another aquarium since this frivolous
mother is likely to eat her own eggs and young.
The father is the responsible parent.

FOOD

Paradise fish should be fed once a day on animal
food, for they naturally live upon the small creatures
in the water. They take ants’ eggs, mosquito
larvae, water fleas, ground fish and crissel. Scraps
of raw beef may be given occasionally, or an earth
worm cut in small sections. Do not overfeed.

CARE

The water in the aquarium should never fall
below 50° F. and may reach the temperature of 90°
without doing damage to the fish.

These fish are so delicate they should never be
lifted in the hands, or with a dip net. If necessary
to catch one, place a dipper beneath it and lift it
out water and all.

234

CHUB, SHINER AND DACE

OW much fun it is to fish for these little

fishes of the brook and pond. They are

near relatives, and have much the same

= habits, and all of them make attractive
= aquarium pets.

As an example of these, the shiner is
typical. It is a fish which is ideal in form for slipping
through the water. Seen from above, it is a narrow
wedge rounded in front, and tapering to a point behind.
From the side it is long, oval, lance-shaped. The
scales are large and beautiful, and shimmer with
exquisite colors along the sides. The minnows are
darker than the shiners. The horned-dace develop
little tubercules on the head during the breeding
season, which are lost later. These fish live in our
brooks and small streams, although they are found
in large bodies of water. They lead a precarious
existence, for the large fish eat them in all their
stages. They only hold their own by laying great
numbers of eggs. They get even with their big
fish enemies by eating their eggs, but their usual
food is water insects. They are pretty and graceful
little creatures, and often may be seen swimming up
the current in the middle of the brook. They often
occur in schools or flocks, especially when young.

CARE

These fish do not need running water, but will
live comfortably in a balanced aquarium if the tem-
perature of the water can be kept cool. They are

235

Fish Chub, Shiner and Dace

very fond of earth worms, and other small water
creatures. Meal worms also may be given; and
ground fish food and crissel will be eaten in small
quantities; only the larger scraps of these foods
should be given.

MINNOWS

How silent comes the water round that bend;
Not the minutest whisper does it send

To the o’er hanging sallows; blades of grass
Slowly across the chequer ’d shadows pass,

Why, you might read two sonnets, ere they reach
‘To where the hurrying freshnesses aye preach

A natural sermon o’er their pebbly beds;

Where swarms of minnows show their little heads,
Staying their wavy bodies ’gainst the streams,

To taste the luxury of sunny beams

Tempered with coolness. How they ever wrestle
With their own sweet delight, and ever nestle
Their silver bellies on the pebbly sand!

If you but scantily hold out the hand,

That very instant not one will remain;

But turn your eye, and there they are again.

The ripples seem right glad to reach those cresses,
And cool themselves among the em’rald tresses;
The while they cool themselves, they freshness give,
And moisture, that the bowery green may live.

—John Keats.

236

THE STICKLEBACK

HE sticklebacks are small fish, but
they have the ferocity of sharks.
The stickleback is well named, for
along the ridge of his back are
sharp, strong spines, five of them
in our tiny brook species. These
spines may be laid flat, or erected
stiffly, and used to saw the scales
off of his enemies. When we find
the minnows in the aquarium los-
efi} ing their scales, we may be sure they are

y) being raked off by this sawback.

i I have often kept in the aquarium several
five-spined sticklebacks. This species is
scarcely morethan 114 inches in length when
fully grown. It is a slender, graceful fish, pointed
like an arrow in front, and with the body behind
the dorsal fin forming a long stem to support the
rounded tail-fin. Its eyes are large and gem-like,
and it has a wicked little mouth that opens upward.

If in April we take the dip-net and go to some
stagnant pond full of pond weed, we may be able
to capture a stickleback guarding his nest; and by
lifting carefully, and placing the contents of the net
in water at once, we may be able to study this
marvelous structure. It is built by the father
stickleback, and we find the algae called frog-
spittle is the building material. With this plant
he builds a hollow sphere, about the size of a glass
marble; he cements the walls with a water-proof
glue, which he furnishes from his body. At one side

237

Fish The Stickleback

of the pretty structure is a circular door. When
finished, the nest is like a little green bubble.

When the nest is made, the stickleback goes
wooing, and conducts his gay wife to his home.
She enters the nest and lays her eggs within it, and
then flits off with no further interest in home or
young. However, if he feels equal to a family of
large size, he goes wooing again, until his little green
home contains as many eggs as he thinks he can care
for. He then stands guard by the door, and by
constantly fanning with his pectoral fins, sets up a
current which flows over the eggs so that they do
not smother. He drives off all intruders by the
most ferocious attacks, and he will be taken in the
net rather than desert his post.

CARE

Since the stickleback lives in stagnant water, the
aquarium well stocked with pond weed gives it
fitting habitation, and it will find its food among the
tiny creatures which naturally live among the pond
weeds. However, it is well to feed the sticklebacks
occasionally with earthworms cut into bits small
enough so that they may be swallowed. Small
meal worms also may be given. The glass pipette
must be used to remove from the aquarium the
remains of the food.

REFERENCE
Hanpgsook or Nature-Stupy, A. B. Comstock.

238

Photo by Eugene Barker
A STICKLEBACK GUARDING HIS NEST

THE JOHNNY DARTERS

m ARTERS they are by name and habit; and
% it is the boy who spends some of his time
“a> studying the bottoms of swift brooks who
makes the acquaintance of johnny darters,
for they like to rest, head up-stream, on
the bottom of swift, clear brooks. They are well-
called ‘‘darters,”’ since their movements are so rapid
when they are frightened that the eye can scarcely
follow them. There is something comical in the
appearance of a darter, with his alert eyes, placed
almost on the top of his head; no wonder he is called
“Johnny.” A johnny will look at you with one eye,
and then turn as quick as a flash and look you over
with the other eye in a manner that shows how curi-
ous and interested he is.

The johnny darter has a queer shaped body;
for his head and shoulders seem to be the largest
part of him. The astonished and anxious look on
his face is the result of the peculiar position of the
eyes; the short snout and the wide mouth, give the
johnny a face that is frog-like.

We are told that the pectoral fins of fish corre-
spond to the front legs of animals; and the ventral
fins to the hind legs. We can well believe this, if
we watch the johnny darter in the aquarium, where
he seems in a fair way to develop his fins into legs.
The pectoral fins are large and strong, and are very
close to the ventrals; when he rests upon the gravel,
he supports himself upon one or both of these pairs
of fins. Dr. Jordan says that the darters can climb
up a water weed with their paired fins. I have even

239

Fish The Johnny Darters

seen one walk around the aquaruim on his fins as if
they were little fan-shaped feet; and when swim-
ming, the fins are used as a bird uses its wings.

There are many species of darters, some of them
the most brilliantly colored of any of our fresh water
fishes. In the breeding season the male is especi-
ally brilliantly colored.

SAL) MOSM ie
hee

CARE

Since the darters live in swift streams, they thrive
best in an aquarium which has running water;
however, if the aquarium is well-balanced, shallow
and broad, and contains good oxygen-producing
plants, the darter will live in it for a time. The
aquarium should be kept cool for the darters cannot
stand hot weather nor warm water.

Their natural food consists of the small creatures
of the water, but they thrive when fed with small
earthworms, and meal worms, and will learn to eat
crissel and the fish foods.

REFERENCES

ScIENCE SKETCHES, D. S. Jordan.
FisH STORIES, Jordan and Holder.
240

THE SUNFISH

HE boy who pulls a gamey, fighting pumpkin
seed from the water should put him in the
aquarium, instead of eating him, for he is a most
interesting fish. First of all, he is beautiful;
his body is cross-striped with dark, dull, green-
ish or purplish bands, worked out in fish-scale
embroidery; and alternated with these bands are
others of gleaming pale green, beset with black-edged
orange spots, while the body below is brassy yellow.
As he swims about, shimmering blue, green and
purple tints play over him.

The sunfish has large and prominent eyes, the
black pupil being surrounded by an iris of lavender
and bronze. There is an ear-like flap extending
back above the gill-opening, which is as great an
ornament as a brooch, or an eardrop. It is greenish
black in color, bordered by shining blue-green, with
a prominent orange spot in its hind edge.

The sunfish is often called ‘‘Pumpkin-seed,” or
“Tobacco-box,” but he really ought to be called
“Indian Chief,’’ for when his dorsal fin is raised,
it looks like the headdress of a chieftan.

The male sunfish is especially beautiful in the
spring; it is then he goes wooing, and needs his gay
clothes in order to win his mate. First of all he
builds him a charming little nest in shallow water
near the shore, well hidden by pond plants. He
digs out the pebbles and sand, making a saucer-
like basin; sometimes the nest is lined with the natural
sand, and sometimes with the rootlets of water
plants. In diameter the nest is about twice the
length of the fish.

241

Fish The Sunfish

Having thus prepared the home, he goes court-
ing, and when trying to persuade his chosen one to
come to his nest and there deposit her eggs, he faces
her with his gill-covers puffed out, so as to show the
scarlet spot on the ‘‘ear-flap.’”” He may not be the
only wooer, and he may have to take part in a sun-
fish duel before he wins. This is not a duel unto
death, but is a spiteful attempt on the part of the
rivals to mutilate each other’s fins. The fellow
with a torn fin seems to be ashamed of himself and
retires from the field. After the eggs are laid, the
father fish remains on guard and defends his nest
with great valor until the young are hatched and
swim away.

CARE

Since the sunfish is usually found in ponds or
streams where there is dense vegetation, we at once
take the hint as to the arrangement of its aquarium.
It. should be put into a balanced aquarium, with
plenty of pond weeds of different kinds. Its natural
food is small crustaceans, mosquito larvae, wrig-
glers or other small water creatures: if such can
be procured, the sunfish will be very comfortable
indeed. However, earthworms, meal worms, and
raw lean meat, cut fine, may be substituted. All
food that has not been eaten should be removed by
a pipette to keep the water pure. The larger lumps
of ground fish will be eaten. But with this and the
cut meat—the bits will not be eaten after they have
sunk to the bottom of the aquarium, and so should
be removed soon.

I have kept one of these beautiful shimmering
pumpkin-seeds for nearly a year in my aquarium,
feeding him every alternate day with an earth-

242

A SUNFISH

The Sunfish Fish

worm. I kept a store of earthworms in soil ina
gallon jar in a cool place all winter. I found it
necessary to keep each sunfish by himself, as they
are fierce of disposition, and attack almost any small
fishes in the aquarium.

REFERENCES

AMERICAN Foop anpD GAME Fisues, Jordan and Everman.
Fisx Stories, Jordan and Holder.

TO THE SUNFISH

“Little flat pumpkin seed, why do you hover
The roots of this willow so near?
And why did you chase that big bass to cover,
As if you knew nothing of fear?

“*Little boy with a fish line, did you see me making
The nice little nest at the foot of this tree?
I have spent a long time quite busily raking
Back pebbles and rootlets,—like a saucer you see.
And in it are eggs, to dear fishlings awaking,
And none to take care or protect them but me.”’

243

THE CATFISH OR BULLHEAD

HEN we study fish, we should try to
understand how they are adapted by
form and color for the peculiar place
where they live. Any of the catfish
are good examples of adaptation
of form to life. The most com-
mon of the catfish is, probably, the bullhead, and
it illustrates this principle well. It is mud-colored,
and has no scales; since it lives in the mud it does
not need scales to protect it. The skin is very thick
and leathery, and not easily broken. The general
shape of the front of the body is flat, and the bull-
head is thus fitted for groping about the muddy bot-
toms of streams. The pectoral fins open out on the
same plane as the body, and are weapons of defense,
since the sharp tips of their spines punish whatever
touches them.

Bullheads’ eyes are oval, and rimmed with a nar-
row band of pale yellow; they are prominent; so
that when moved backward and forward they com-
mand a view of the enemy in the rear or at the front,
while the fish remains motionless; but after all, eyes
are not much good to a fish that gropes in the mud
for food, and the bullhead has developed barbels
or feelers about the mouth, which assist in searching
for food. Two of these barbels stand upright and
give news of anything above; the large ones, one on
either side of the mouth, are the most useful of all,
and are kept constantly moving for new sensations.
The barbels below the mouth give information as to
the nature of things below them. The bullhead

244

GVHHT1INA V

ASaJANOD

‘OD Q a8ng ‘Kvpajqnog {o

FISHING FOR MINNOWS

The Catfish or Bullhead Fish

burrows deep in the mud in the fall, and remains
there all winter, and undoubtedly these barbels are
used in testing his surroundings in thick mud.

The bullheads build nests beneath logs or other
protecting objects in shallow water. The nest is
made by removing stones and gravel from a circular
area on sandy or gravelly ground. Both parents
work at removing the pebbles. After the eggs are
laid, the father watches over and guards the nest,
and both parents take care of the fry by stirring the
eggs about so that they will not be smothered in the
mass. After the young hatch, they are still cared
for by the parents until they are old enough to take
care of themselves. Thoreau says ‘‘ The catfish
spawn in the spring, and old fishes lead the young in
great schools near the shore, caring for them as a
hen cares for her chickens.”’

CARE

The bullhead can be kept in almost any kind of an
aquarium, and does not need to have the water
changed as often as do most fish; though to make
the bullhead feel at home there should be fine gravel
in the bottom of the aquarium, and many water
plants on which it seems to browse. It may be fed
with earthworms, tadpoles, and meal worms. Bits
of raw meat or ground fish food may be given
occasionally.

In handling the catfishes, gloves should be worn,
for the spines of the pectoral fins are capable of
inflicting a stinging wound.

REFERENCES
AmeErRIcAN Foop anp GAME Fisues, Jordan and Everman.

245

Amphibians

THE TOAD

E have found that a pet toad in a little
moss garden is far more entertaining than
a goldfish in an aquarium. I shall never
M forget the actions of one of my toad pets

P after he had swallowed a Junebug; his

2 face wore a surprised and pained expres-

sion, meanwhile he patted and rubbed his
stomach with his little pudgy hands, as ‘if to quiet
its uneasy contents.

The toad’s eyes have a beautiful golden iris.
The ear is a flat, oval spot behind and below the eye.
The mouth is wide, and the jaws are horny, with no
teeth. The tongue is attached to the front of the
lower jaw. It is covered with a sticky secretion,
and may be darted out for a long distance; its aim is
excellent, and any insect that it touches sticks fast
and is brought back to the mouth and swallowed
whole.

The warty back of the toad protects it from the
sight of its enemies, for its color and roughness make
it appear like the soil. The toad also has the power
to change color more or less to match any soil it
happens to be in. The toad’s warts do not make
warts on the hands that handle him; but many of
them, especially the big ones just behind the head,
are glands which secrete a poisonous, milky sub-
stance when the toad is seized; this is evidently

246

SHUNLId UIAHL XOX ONILLAS

0) Q a3ng ‘Kppajqnog fo Ksaj4noD

Photo by H. D. Bailey

TOADS DO NOT MAKE WARTS

The Toad Amphibians

meant to discourage its enemy from swallowing it,
but snakes do not seem to be affected by it. The
toad is not slimy, but is perfectly dry and pleasant
to handle. It especially likes to have its back
scratched gently.

The way to enjoy a pet toad is to have him estab-
lished in your garden, and then watch him. He has
an interesting way of working himself down into the
soil backwards, thus making himself a hiding place
during the day; but he will come out in the late
afternoons and evenings, and catch any insects that
may be feeding upon the garden plants. In the
winter he burrows deep in the ground and goes to
sleep. He is a great jumper, and a rapid, graceful
swimmer. He is fond of music, especially if it is
sweet and melodious. Perhaps this is because he.
is such a good singer himself; his crooning trill
forms one of the most pleasing notes of the pond
chorus in the spring.

The mother toad places her eggs at the bottom of
pools and quiet streams; she lays them in long
jelly-like strings during May and June. The develop-
ment of the little tadpoles from the eggs is most
interesting to observe. The tadpole is a creature
fitted to live in the water. Its long, flat tail, sur-
rounded by a fin forms an effective swimming organ.
At first it breathes by gills, but in its later stages.
develops air-breathing lungs. When the tadpole
is a month or so old, the hind legs begin to show.
Two weeks later the arms may be seen, the left.
one pushing out through the breathing pore. Mean-
while, the tail is being absorbed and becomes shorter
and shorter. At last, some warm, rainy day, we
find the tadpole changed’ to a tiny toad, with a big
head, thin body and stumpy tail; it swims ashore,

247

Amphibians The Toad

lifts itself on its bow-legs, and walks off, toeing in,
with a very grown-up air.

HOUSE—THE MOSS GARDEN

This should be an aquarium jar, either square or
circular, covered by wire netting, with a bottom of
gravel sloping up to dry land on one side, and with
about three inches of water above the shallower
gravel. A flat stone may be used as a landing place,
or moss may be planted to make the shore for our
toad to bask upon. The water needs to be changed
once a week; it may be either siphoned out, and two
or three rinsings also siphoned out, or it may be
emptied entirely and cleaned and refilled. Water
to bathe in is necessary to the toad, since it does not
drink through its mouth, but absorbs the water
which its system needs through the skin, when lying
spread out in the water. If a toad is kept without
water in a dry room, it will dry up and die.

FOOD

All kinds of insects, from the hairy caterpillars
to squash-bugs, are relished by the toad. It is
especially fond of meal worms. It is a good plan
during the summer to catch flies in a wire netting
fly-trap, dip the trap, flies and all, in water for a
moment, then empty into the toad’s cage. It will
also take bits of raw beef or liver from forceps, or
the tip of a broom-straw which is wiggled before
its eyes. A large meal once a week is sufficient for
a toad in captivity.

A TADPOLE AQUARIUM

Professor S. H. Gage, an eminent authority, gives
the following directions:
248

The Toad Amphibians

Take a tin or agate pan or a deep earthenware
washbowl to some pond where tadpoles live.

Take some of the small stones from the bottom
and at the sides of the pond, lifting them very
gently so as not to disturb what is growing on their
surface. Place these stones on the bottom of the
pan, building up one side higher than the other,
so that the water will be more shallow on one side
than on the other; a stone or two should project
above the water.

Take some of the mud and leaves from the bottom
of the pond, being careful not to disturb them, and
place upon the stones.

Take some of the plants found growing under
water in the pond and plant them among the stones.

Carry the pan thus prepared back to the house
and place it where the sun will not shine directly
upon it.

Bring a pail of water from the pond and pour it
very gently in at one side of the pan, so as not to
disarrange the plants; fill the pan nearly to the brim.

After the mud has settled and the water is per-
fectly clear, place in it some of the tadpoles which
should be hatched in a glass aquarium. Not more
than a dozen should be put in a pan of this size, since
the amount of food and microscopic plants which
are on the stones in the mud, will afford food for
only a few tadpoles.

Every week add a little more mud from the bottom
of the pond or another stone covered with slime,
which is probably some plant growth. More water
from the pond should be added to replace that
evaporated.

Care should be taken that the tadpole aquarium
be kept where the sun will not shine directly upon it

249

Amphibians The Toad

for any length of time, because if the water becomes.
too warm the tadpoles will die.

Remove the ‘‘skin’”’ from one side of a tulip leaf, so
as to expose the pulp of the leaf, and give to the tad-
poles every day or two. Bits of hard-boiled egg may
be given now and then, or a little of the ground fish.

REFERENCES

Tue Froc Boox, Mary Dickerson.

Early Voices of Spring, FAMILIAR LirE In FIELD AND ForEst,,
F. S. Mathews.

THE USEFULNESS OF THE AMERICAN TOAD, FARMERS’ BUL-
LETIN 196, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

“K’' dunk, the Fat One,” A LitTLE BROTHER OF THE BEaR,
W. J. Long.

Hanpsook or Nature-Stupy, A. B. Comstock.

A TOAD STORY

In early spring, I was a little egg
In a long jelly string with pond mud dim;
I hatched to a tadpole with never a leg,
But with a long tail fin so I could swim,
And with nice little gills on the sides of my head
Which after a while I thought best to hide;
Then I swallowed the water to breathe, instead,—
It flowed out through a hole in my side.
I ate little things, too small to see,
I ate a great many and I grew with vim,
My hind legs came with webbed toes free
And they soon learned to kick and help me to swim.
My tail shortened up and my eyes bulged out
And my two legs in front soon began to grow.
Before the children guessed what I was about,
I was a nice little hop-toad you know.
And now I live here under a seat,
In a garden where the fern fronds shade;
And here I find things jolly good to eat,
For my tongue is just like tangle-foot made;
It is fastened to the front of my jaw;
When a beetle, a fly or a bug comes along
I aim and I swoop them into my maw.
I sleep in a cave the cold winter long.
In spring I come out and sing a sweet song.
250

From Country Life in America
A TOAD SINGING

Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.
A FROG SWIMMING

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THE FROG

HE FROG is not so easily tamed as the
toad, but it makes an attractive inhabi-
tant of the aquarium. It is slimmer
than the toad, and is not covered with
warts. It is slippery to the touch, and,
like the toad is cold, for both of them
are cold-blooded creatures, which means

their blood is the temperature of the surrounding

atmosphere. The blood of a warm-blooded animal
maintains a certain temperature whether the sur-
rounding air is cold or hot.

The frog is quite as good a jumper as the toad, and
is a far more powerful swimmer, since it lives most
of the time in or very near the water. The frog
shows its relation to the water by being the color of
the brook bottom, or of the water-plants, green and
yellow being its prevailing hues. The frogs, like the
toads, have the power of changing color more or less
to match their surroundings.

The common green frog, the leopard and pickerel
frogs are those most commonly kept in the aquarium.
These species like to stay in the water, but they find
most of their food in the rushes, or other vegetation
along the banks of streams or ponds. ,, These frogs
are all attractive singers.

The bullfrog is also a common aquarium pet, but
he cannot be trusted in the same tank with any frogs
or other creatures less huge than himself. He is the
most aquatic of all our frogs, and can remain beneath
water for a longer period than any. Nevertheless, he
likes to come out on a flat stone and enjoy the air and

251

Amphibians The Frog

sunshine. He is an omnivorous eater of living
creatures, and has small teeth on his upper jaw. He
feeds upon minnows, crayfish and tadpoles, and any-
thing else that he can entice into his capacious mouth.

Frog’s eggs are laid in masses of gelatine-like sub-
stance, but they are never laid in strings, like the
toad’s. The frog tadpoles require a longer time to
mature than do toad tadpoles, usually about four
months. However, the great tadpoles of the bull-
frog do not attain frogship until the second, and
sometimes the third season.

HOUSING, FOOD AND CARE

An aquarium built as described for the toads does
as well for frogs. Food should be given but once a
week, but this meal should be a large one. Frogs
like all kinds of insects, and meal worms may be
given during the season when other insects are not
available. The bullfrogs may be fed minnows,
earthworms, and even mice. All frogs are fond of
raw liver and this may be used constantly for food
during the winter.

The water in the aquarium should be completely
changed each week, the day after feeding.

Frog tadpoles may be kept in an aquarium similar
to that described for the toad tadpoles. The young
ones are especially fond of the tulip leaves prepared
as described.

REFERENCES

THE Froc Boox, Mary Dickerson.

Fresh Water Aquarium, Eggeling and Ehrenberg.

The Croaker, Famitiar Lire in Fiz_p anp Forgst, F.
Mathews.

“Chigwoltz,”” WILDERNESS Ways, W. /. Long.

HanpBook oF Nature-Stupy, A. B. Comstock.

252

Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.
A FROG AT HOME

Es aes eC pa
Photo by H. D. Bailey
FROGGIE’S HAND IS DIFFERENT FROM HIS FOOT

THE TREE-FROG

for a long time very ieee st in a moss
garden. Dr. Samuel Henshaw, of the Cam-
bridge Museum of Natural History, writes:

“T have had for some years two of the
tamest, dearest tree-frogs (Hyla versicolor),
you can imagine. They sit on my finger
and take their meal worms, and they cuddle in the
most attractive manner. Their voice is delightful,
especially when unexpected and out of season.”

My own favorite is Pickering’s Hyla. I kept oneof
these for many months, and often in the night it
would startle the entire household by giving a long,
clear, melodious note, like that of some large bird.

The reason we see so little of tree-frogs is because
they can change color to suit their surroundings. I
have taken three of these peepers, all of them pale
yellowish brown with grey markings, and have
placed one upon a fern, one on dark soil, and one on
the purple. bud of a flower. Within a half hour each
matched its surroundings so closely that a casual
glance would not detect it.

The song of the spring peepers is loved by everyone
who dwells in the country. Howsuch small creatures
can make such a loud song is a mystery. It is
interesting to watch one of them singing; the thin
membrane beneath the throat swells out until it
looks like a little balloon with a froglet attached.

The tree-frogs have toes and fingers ending in little
circular disks, which secrete, at will, a sticky sub-
stance, by means of which they can cling to vertical

253

Amphibians The Tree-Frog

surfaces, even to glass; they thus cling to tree trunks.
The tree-frogs take in air and breathe by means of the
rapid pulsation of the throat membrane. The
nostrils are two tiny holes on either side of the tip of
the snout. The ears are a little below and just
behind the eyes, and are in the form of a circular slit.
The tongue is like that of other frogs, hinged to the
front of the lower jaw; it is sticky, and can be thrust
far out to capture insects, of which the tree-frogs eat
many.

The eggs of the spring peepers are laid in ponds
during April; each egg is at the center of a little
globe of jelly, which is fastened securely to stones or
to water plants.

The tadpoles are small and delicate, and differ
from those of other frogs in that they often leave the
water while yet the tail is quite long. In the winter
the tree-frogs sleep safely hidden in moss and leaves,
but awaken to give us the earliest news of spring.

HOUSE

Takeasmall aquarium jar and place in it sphagnum
moss, or other loose moss. This should be kept wet,
but not allowed to mould. Bits of small branches
covered with lichen may be placed in the cage for the
froglets to climb upon. The moss should be thor-
oughly washed occasionally.

FOOD

All peepers like flies the best of anything. Catch
these in a wire-meshed trap and partially drown them
and then empty the contents of the trap into the
peepers’ cage. Peepers also like meal worms and
other small worms and insects. They should be .

254

> + s Y x: erin
From Country Life in America
A TREE FROG

The Tree-Frog Amphibians

given a good meal once a week. They will take bits
of liver from forceps if it is wiggled in their faces and
some learn to take it as soon as offered.

REFERENCES

Description of habits, THz Froc Book, Mary Dickerson.

“From River Ooze to Tree-top,” Witp Lirz Near Home,
D. L. Sharp.

“Early Voices of Spring,” Famitiar Lir— In FIELD AND
Forest, F. S. Mathews.

“Animals that Set Traps,” and ‘A Turncoat of the Woods,”
WIT oF THE WiItp, Ernest Ingersoll.

THE SPRING PEEPERS

A thousand tints of living green
O’er hill and dale are flung;
Vague, verdant mists thread purple woods
With shadbush banners hung.
The still pools in the meadow-lands
Reflect the heaven’s own hue,
Where lark songs, soft and lonely,
Float upwards to the blue.

There wells up from the sodden swamp
The peepers’ chorus strong,

An orchestra of froglet throats,
Like bubbles filled with song,

Which brings sweet comfort to the hearts
That found the winter long;

For Hylas’ music to the Spring
Forever must belong.

255

SALAMANDERS AND NEWTS

SALAMANDER makes an unexpectedly in-
[\ teresting pet, for it seems to have a better
io% memory than most of its near relatives.
=-Se\ Mr. Deckert, of the New York Zoological
Gardens showed me with pride a cage of
salamanders, which as soon as he tapped the cover
immediately lifted up their heads in a most expectant
manner awaiting their food; and Dr. Samuel Henshaw
writes: ‘‘Among my pets, some large spotted sala-
manders are my especial favorites, (Amblystoma
punctatum) some of which I have had even longer
than the Hylas. They recognize the approach to
their home, and poke their heads out of the sphagnum
and take four or five meal worms from the forceps as
naturally as a dog takes its piece of meat.”

Various salamanders may be kept in aquaria or
moss gardens, but the most charming of them all is
the little orange-colored creature that we find spraw]l-
ing across woodland paths after summer showers.
These do not rain down, but they are obliged to do
their traveling when the ground is wet, otherwise
they would dry up and die. Thus, these newts make
a practice of never going out except when it rains.
The gay little creature (Diamyctylus viridescens) has
an orange body, ornamented with vermillion dots
along each side, each dot surrounded with tiny black
specks; black specks are also peppered along its
sides. Its greatest beauty lies in its eyes, which are
black, with elongated pupil, and surrounded with a
golden shiningiris. It has no eyelids, but the eyes can
be pulled back into the head, completely out of sight.

256

Photo by Verne Morton
NEWTS SWIMMING

A RED-SPOTTED NEWT STALKING PLANT LICE

Salamanders and Newts Amphibians

The following is the history of this species as sum-
marized from Mrs. S. H. Gage’s charming ‘‘Story of
Little Red Spot’’: The egg was laid in some fresh
water pond on the still borders of some stream where
there is a growth of water weed. The egg, which is
about the size of a small pea, is fastened to a water
plant. It is covered with a tough but translucent
envelope, and has at the center a little yellowish
globule. In a little less than a month the newt
hatches, but it looks very different from the form with
which we are most familiar. It has gray stripes upon
its sides and three tiny bunches of red gills on each
side, just back of its broad head. The tail is long and
very thin, surrounded by a fin; it is an expert
swimmer and breathes water as does a fish. After a
time, it becomes greenish above and buff below, and
by the middle of August it has developed legs and
changed its form so that it is able to live upon land;
it no longer has gills or fin; soon the coat changes to
the bright orange hue which makes the little creature
so conspicuous.

The newt usually keeps hidden among moss, or
under leaves, or in decaying wood, or other damp and
shady places; but after a rain, when the whole world
is damp, it feels confidence enough to go out in the
open, and hunt for food. For two and a half years it
lives upon land and then returns to the water. When
this impulse comes upon it, it may be far from any
stream; but it seems to know instinctively where to
go. Soon after it enters the water, it is again trans-
formed in color, becoming olive-green above and buff
below, although it still retains the red spots along the
back as mementoes of its land life; and it also retains
its pepper-like dots. Its tail develops a fin which
extends along its back and is somewhat ruffled. In

257

Amphibians Salamanders and Newts

some mysterious way it develops the power to again
breathe the air which is mixed with water.

The male has the hind legs very large and flat; the
female is lighter in color and has more delicate and
smaller legs. It is here in the water that the newts
find their mates and finish careers which must have
surely been hazardous. During its long and varied
life, the newt often sheds its skin like the snake; it
has a strange habit of swallowing its cast-off coat.

Thus we see the newt is sometimes fitted for life
in the aquarium, and sometimes for life in the moss-
garden; I confess I like it better in the latter place.
I kept one for a long time in a tiny moss-garden made
in an aquarium jar. He would not eat earthworms,
but he was very fond of plant-lice, and it was fun to
see him stalk them. As soon as he would catch sight
of a smug plant-louse on the leaf, he would show
excitement, and hold his breath so the throat ceased
pulsating; he would hold himself tense, and stretch
the neck out long and thin, until his snout was within
half an inch of the unsuspecting plant-louse, then his
tongue would shoot out and swoop in the aphid.
Sometimes when he first saw a plant-louse he would
sneeze and snort, like a dog eager for game.

HOUSE

Adult salamanders should be kept in a balanced
aquarium with plenty of pond-weeds; they will
spawn readily; the eggs will be placed on water
plants near the surface of the water; they hatch in
about two weeks.

For the newts that are found on land, the moss-
garden, or a fernery, is the place to keep them.
Dampness is essential to their existence.

258

Salamanders and Newts Amphibians

FOOD

Feed the full-grown newts in the water, worms,
flies, little tadpoles, small fishes, and snails. Shreds
of raw meat or liver may also be fed. The newts are
voracious, and will destroy each other, so all speci-
mens in the same aquarium should be about the same
size.

Feed the newt tadpoles as soon as hatched, finely
scraped beef, or small insects.

For the newts in the moss-garden small insects
must be provided, although they may be taught to
take scraped meat, bits of liver, minced earthworms,
or meal worms from the point of a wire, or in forceps,
if wiggled seductively before their eyes. All newts
become tame, and they will soon learn to follow the
one who feeds them, as far as their surroundings will
permit.

REFERENCE

HanpDBOOK oF NaturRe-Stupy, A. B. Comstock.

TO LITTLE RED-SPOT

You funny, little, orange elf,
Sprawling across my way,

What are you doing with yourself
This misty, rainy day?

He looked at me with golden eyes,
And as he onward sped,

“T am going where my home pond lies,
It’s a long way off,” he said.

“Within its green depths, cool and chaste,
My sweetheart waits this noon,

So please, kind sir, excuse my haste,
For I must get there soon.”

259

Reptiles

TURTLES

\ SMALL turtle in a properly fitted aquarium

jar, placed on one’s desk is a source of
much entertainment. Daniel is the name
of the baby painted terrapin which has thus
entertained me for months. Daniel is a
beauty, from his pink margined, two-inch shell to
his black, yellow-striped head, and yellow-irised
eyes; in fact, his eyes are particularly brilliant,
and with their aid he makes observations on my habits
for hours at a time. I place him on the bit of wood
which imitates a log at one side of his pond, meanwhile
he has drawn back his head, feet and tail, within the
protective shell. But very soon he protrudes his
head and looks me over; concluding that I am harm-
less, he puts out gingerly two pairs of bow-legs, the
hind pair ending with four, and the front with five
sprawly claws; and when he becomes entirely free
from fear, he unfolds in the rear a little triangular
striped tail.

Daniel’s accomplishments are many; he can sprint
surprisingly fast when I take him out to clean his
quarters; and if I place him on his back on the
table, he stretches out his head, and using his snout
as a pivot, he will soon claw himself right side up.
He can climb out of the water upon his little piece of
log with dexterity, and he can also scramble off the
log in a great hurry; when in the water he can swim

260

THE BABY TURTLE

From Country Life in America
A MOTHER TURTLE DIGGING A NEST FOR HER EGGS

From Country Life in America

TURTLE EGGS AND YOUNG JUST HATCHED

Turtles Reptiles

forwards or backwards, or balance himself with the
tip of his snout above the surface of the water. He
can also yawn in the sleepiest fashion, opening wide
his mouth and shutting his eyes. He has eyelids
like mufflers, and when he closes his eyes he pulls
them back into his head, and the mufflers close over
them. He loves to sprawl in the sunshine, and take
a sun bath with his legs, tail and head as far out of the
shell as possible. When he is disturbed he hisses.
The glass of his aquarium is too much for Daniel’s
comprehension, and he spends a deal of time trying
to decide why he cannot swim through it.

However, Daniel’s greatest accomplishment is his
interest in music. There was a dreamy look in his
eyes as he lay sprawled out in the sun one day that
gave me the idea. I straightway bought a harmon-
icum and each day before I fed him I played a few
strains. He was attentive to the music from the
first; but after the fourth day he associated it with
the joys of a dinner of liver minced finely with scis-
sors, for that is what he likes best. Ever since then
as soon as he hears the music he evinces the keenest
interest, often lifting himself up on his hind legs
against the side of the aquarium and stretching up
his head until he looks like a little snake in a box.
He also recognizes me as the source of his food supply,
and tells me that he is hungry by trying to swim
toward me through the side of the aquarium with
great persistence. If I move to the other side of the
room, he moves to the corresponding side of his
aquarium. He finally lost all fear of me and when I
lift him from his aquarium he does not take the
trouble to retire into his shell, not even pulling in his
tail, which is a supreme test of his confidence.

261

Reptiles Turtles

The turtle is an animal with an ancestry that dates
back to the time when strange monsters wandered
over our earth,—times when a turtle without a shell
would have soon been made into a dinner. The
turtle’s shell has been such a protection that it has
not needed to move swiftly, it therefore is a slow
walker. The upper part of the shell is called the
carapace, and the lower part the plastron. The
carapace is grown fast to the turtle’s back-bone; it
is made up of plates, and as the turtle grows, each
plate increases in size around its edges; this shows
very wellin the shell of the wood turtle, each ridge
around a plate representing a year’s growth.

Turtles are air-breathing creatures, and do not
have gills like fish; they are obliged to come to the
surface for air supply, but they can remain below
water without breathing for hours at a time. The
throbbing of the throat is a process of forcing air into
the lungs.

Turtles do not have teeth, but are provided with
sharp-edged, horny beaks. All turtles hatch from
eggs which are laid in the ground near the shores of
ponds and streams. The eggs are white, and are
round or oval; in some cases the eggshells are parch-
ment-like, in others they are hard like the shells of
birds’ eggs.

The different species of common turtles have such
different habits, that each has to be treated and fed
in its own especial manner.

THE SNAPPING TURTLE

This is rather a vicious pet, for it extends its neck
to a length nearly equal to that of its shell, and strikes
like a snake. The only way to lift a big snapper

262

Turtles Reptiles

safely is by the tail, but a small one may be lifted by
the rear portion of the shell. The snapper has a
great appetite, but it should not be fed from the
fingers, since it might inflict a wound incidentally.
It cannot swallow its food unless it is under water,
therefore there must be a sufficient depth of water in
its aquarium to cover it. It may be fed upon small
pieces of fish, and chopped raw meat or liver.

THE MUSK AND MUD TURTLE

These inhabit slow streams and ponds, and are
truly aquatic, since they only come to shore to
deposit their eggs. The musk turtle, when handled,
emits a very strong odor. These turtles may be
kept in a deep aquarium, and do not need an object
upon which they may climb upon out of the water.
They love to bask in the sunshine in shallow water.
They may be fed with fish and earthworms, or other
small-bodied creatures. There should be a place in
the aquarium where they can hide when they are
feeding.

THE PAINTED TERRAPIN OR POND TURTLE

This can be easily identified by the scarlet and
black ornamentations of the margins of the upper
shell. It makes a good pet if kept in an aquarium.
by itself, but will destroy other creatures. It also.
likes to eat the legs and the tails of its fellow terrapins..
It must have some object in the aquarium upon.
which it can climb above the surface of the water.
It will browse upon fresh lettuce, will eat of raw,
chopped fish, but is especially fond of raw chopped
beef or liver. It always feeds under water.

263

Reptiles Turtles

THE SPOTTED TURTLE

_ This has a black upper shell, ornamented with
numerous round yellow spots. It is common in
ponds and small streams, and likes to climb out upon
logs. It always feeds under water, and is not able
to swallow otherwise. Its natural food is dead fish
and aquatic insects. In captivity it will eat lettuce
leaves and chopped raw fish.

THE WOOD TERRAPIN

This is a very common turtle, and it lives mostly
on land in damp places, although it swims rapidly.
The plates of its upper shell are ornamented with
eoncentric ridges. All of the fleshy parts of the
creature, except the top of the head and the legs, are
brick red. It feeds upon tender vegetation, berries
and insects. It will also eat chopped fish and meal
worms. One that we had was particularly fond of
cherries, and soon learned to know the one person
who fed it, and seemed to like to be fed from the hand.
It should be kept in a garden. It needs: to have
access to water.

THE BOX TURTLE

This well-protected turtle lives entirely upon land,
and especially likes open grassy spots in open thickets.
Its natural food consists of berries, the larve of
‘insects, worms and snails. It is especially fond of
blackberries. The box turtle should be kept in a
garden, where it will spend its time hunting worms,
snails and slugs. It may be fed berries, bananas or
mushrooms, and it must have access to water,
although it does not need to live in an aquarium.

264.

Photos by Harry H. Knight and Verne Morjon
DANIEL, A PAINTED PET TERRAPIN
PUTTING DANIEL BACK IN HIS HOME STREAM

From Country Life in America

FEEDING A PET LAND TORTOISE IN CALIFORNIA

Turtles Reptiles

THE SOFT-SHELLED TURTLES

These look much like animated pancakes, and are
often kept in aquaria. They never leave the water
except to lay their eggs. They should be provided
with a deep tank, and some object upon which they
can crawl out of the water occasionally; this should
be of smooth wood. The bottom of the tank should
be covered with three or four inches of fine sand.
They may be fed with chopped fish, or minnows,
chopped raw beef or earthworms.

THE TORTOISE

The tortoises may be distinguished from the turtles
or terrapins by their webless feet and large clubby
nails. They live entirely upon the land, being fond
of sandy barrens; they make burrows in the ground
into which they retire. The gopher tortoise, well
known in our Southern States, is the best known of
the American tortoises. It thrives in captivity, but
must be kept in an atmosphere of from 70° to 80° F.,
and in absolutely dry quarters. It will soon learn to
eat from the hand of the master, and should be fed
upon tender vegetables, like celery, lettuce, and all
kinds of fruit. It will also eat raw meat. The
European tortoises are ordinarily kept in gardens.

HOUSE

For the water and pond turtles an aquarium, con-
taining a few inches of water, and a piece of log
projecting above the surface is necessary. Such an
aquarium should be placed in a sunny window, for
the turtles need the sun to keep them healthy and
happy. Specimens of different sizes should not be
kept in the same aquarium, for the large ones will

265

Reptiles Turtles

mutilate the smaller ones. The wood turtle and box
turtle may be kept in wired enclosures in the garden,
but they should have access to sunken basins of
water. The land tortoise must have an absolutely
dry situation.

FOOD

Turtles do not need to be fed but once a week when
in captivity. The day after feeding, the water in the
aquarium should be changed. All except the land
tortoise are fond of raw fish and liver, which must be
chopped. Care should be taken to prevent a turtle
from walking off a table, for if the shell is cracked the
creature is likely to die. Since the turtles every-
where, except in the extreme South, hibernate in
winter, they naturally become sluggish at this season,
and do not eat as freely as they do in the summer.

REFERENCES

THE ReEpTILE Boox, R. L. Ditmars.

FresH Water Aquarium, Eggeling and Ehrenberg.

DENIZENS OF THE DEEP, Frank P. Bullen.

Hanppook or Nature-Stupy, A. B. Comstock.

“Turtle Eggs for Agassiz,” THe Face or THE Fietps, D. L.
Sharp.

TO DANIEL

A pet painted terrapin who was fond of music.

You are a charming terrapin, with pink and scalloped shell,
You have your gold-rimmed eyes and accomplishments as well.
You are charming when you swim and when in sunshine warm
you sit

With legs and head and pointed tail all stretched out, every bit.
Amusing too you always are when on your back you lie

And right yourself on pivot nose,—it is fun to see you try.

But tell me, Daniel, honestly, when to music strains you come,
Do they appeal unto your soul or to your little “tum?”

266

Photo by H. D. Bailey

WILLIAM AND HIS PETS

Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.
A SNAKE IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO SPOTTED ADDERS
ON THE GROUND

PET SNAKES

awe TERE is many a boy, who would
scorn caring for a canary, finds a pet
snake absorbingly interesting. A
snake is not only a beautiful crea-
ture, but is wonderfully constructed.
The length of its back-bone is truly
astonishing, some snakes having three
hundred vertebre. We can tell how many our pet
snake has by counting the crosswise scales on
its lower side, as there is a pair to each scale.
These scales take hold upon the surface of the
ground and thus help the snake to glide. We
can feel the action of these scales if we let the
snake move over our hands; they are worked
by the action of the ribs, for each vertebra, except
the one directly behind the head, is equipped with
a pair of ribs. The snake has unwinking eyes
because it has no eyelids; but the eye is covered with
a transparent skin, like a watch-glass. When a
snake sheds its skin, it begins the process at the lips,
and the whole outer skin is turned inside out from
head to tail. If we examine one of these shed skins
we can see the covering of the eyes. Snakes can hear
very well although they have no outside ear. They
also have a keen sense of smell, some snakes hunting
their prey by scent, like a dog. The tongue, which
can be darted out so far, is an organ of touch; and
this act on the part of a frightened snake is not one of
defiance, but an attempt to discover the nature of its
surroundings.

267

Reptiles Pet Snakes

Snakes are the only creatures which are able to
swallow objects larger than themselves. This is
made possible because the body walls are elastic, and
because there is an extra bone hinging the upper to
the lower jaw allowing the jaws to spread widely; the
lower jaw also parts at the middle of its front edge,
and spreads sidewise. In order to force a creature
into a bag-so manifestly too small, a special mechan-
ism is needed; the teeth supply this by pointing
backward and thus assist in the swallowing. Some
species of snakes simply chase their prey, striking it
and catching it in the open mouth; while others, like
the black snake and the milk snake, wind themselves
about their victims and crush them to death. In our
northern climate snakes hibernate in winter, going to
sleep as soon as the weather becomes cold, and not
awaking until spring. Some species of snakes lay
eggs with shells like parchment, while with others
the young are born alive. Most snakes give off a
secretion when attacked and frightened, which smells
very disagreeable, and the odor persists on the hands
of the captor despite much washing.

The garter snakes are among the most common and
harmless of all our snakes. We once had a handsome
black, yellow-striped garter snake that lived under
our piazza for several years. He was unafraid of the
family, and loved to bask in the sun on the doorstep,
to the horror of callers who were not educated to
appreciate the beauty of snakes. However, the
children of the neighborhood made him frequent
visits, and were particularly interested when he
lifted his beautiful head and darted out his tongue, for
they knew that this was his way of trying to get
acquainted.

268

A PAIR OF GARTERS

32 aE y

SK.

From Country Life in America
PINE SNAKE

Photo by H. D. Bailey
THIS LITTLE CHILD LOVES LIVING PLAYTHINGS

Pet Snakes Reptiles

The garter snakes usually congregate in numbers in
the fall in rock ledges and stony hillsides, where each
snake finds a safe crevice or makes a burrow, which
may be extended a yard or more under ground.
After spring opens they scatter to banks of streams
and to edges of woods where they can find an abund-
ance of earthworms, insects, toads, salamanders and
frogs, which make up their natural diet. The young
are born late in July, and are nearly six inches long at
first; one mother may have a brood of from eleven to
fifty snakelings; she remains with them during the
fall to protect them, although the little snakes find
their own food directly after birth.

In addition to the garter snake, Mr. Karl Schmidt
recommends the pine snake and the blowing snake
for pets. Mr. Richard Deckert, of the New York
Zoological Gardens, recommends the king, the
gopher, the pine and the bull snakes for pets. He
also says that the milk snake is not a very hardy pet.
It can, however, be kept in a cage for one or two
months without food, provided it is supplied with
fresh drinking water. It will endure this fast and
then may be turned loose; although a beautifully
marked snake, Mr. Deckert finds it rather surly and
high tempered, and it should never be put in with the
garter snakes since it is a constrictor, and a small
milk snake will kill a garter much larger than it-
self.

Mr. Deckert says that water snakes may also be
kept in a vivarium; and that although they usually
offer to bite when first caught, and also emit a stench,
yet after a few days they are among the hardiest
snakes in captivity.

269

Reptiles Pet Snakes

HOUSE

I am indebted also to Mr. Deckert for the following
suggestions for a snake cage and for feeding these
pets: The cage or vivarium should be eighteen
inches long, eight inches wide and twelve inches high.
If a larger cage is desired these proportions should be
kept. The cage should have the bottom and three
sides of wood, and one side of glass. The bottom
should be covered with large pebbles, sphagnum moss
or slabs of bark. If pebbles are used, a slab of bark
should be laid on top of them, so that the snake will
find a retreat behind it. A small branch should be
firmly fixed in the cage to provide a basking place.
The cover of the box should be of wire screening, and
when in place it should be securely hooked to prevent
the snakes from prying it open. A cage of these
dimensions will do for four or five garters.

FOOD

Give the garters minnows, small frogs and toads
and large earthworms. They will subsist almost
entirely upon the earthworms. The frogs and toads
may be killed first and presented to the snake on the
end of a stick in a lively manner.

The milk snake must be fed a mouse or very young
rat, if possible, every week or ten days. Water
snakes should be fed fish, frogs and toads; they
refuse to take earthworms. Fresh, clean drinking
water is an absolute necessity for a snake’s well being.
It should be placed in a small enameled pan, like a
soap-dish, from four to six inches long, about three
inches wide, and one and one-half to two inches deep.
Fresh water must be given every day, although
reptiles need not be fed but once a week. Do not be

270

Pet Snakes Reptiles

worried if pet snakes refuse food for two or three
weeks; they often do this without harm.

CARE

When changing the water in the snake cage look
for the excreta and remove it with a dull knife, like a
putty knife, or wipe from the wood of the cage with a
damp cloth. The cage may be placed in a window,
but there should be some shade in the cage at all
times. During the hot summer months it is best to
keep the vivarium in a shady, cool place. However,
all snakes love to bask in the sunshine, so it is well to
have the cage where the sunlight may strike it during
a portion of the day.

REFERENCES

Description of habits, THE Reptitze Boos, R. L. Ditmars.

“Our Ancient Enemy,” FamItiar Lire InN FIELD AND ForEsT,
F. S. Mathews.

“The Snake-stick,”” THE Wit oF THE WILD, Ernest Ingersoll.

“Kaas Hunting,” THe First JuNcLE Boox, ‘Rikki-Tikki-
Tavi,” THE SEconp JUNGLE Book, Kipling.

TO A GARTER SNAKE

Living under the piazza

Graceful little tenant
Of a cell beneath my floor,

I admire your long black garment
Broidered with yellow o’er.

I like you when with forked tongue
You lift up to explore,

To find if we are friendly,
And willing to ignore

The presence of a stranger
Curling around our door.

271

THE ALLIGATOR

T is needless to say that the alligator is safe fora.
pet only when it is quite young. In fact, when it.
is less than a year old, for then it attains a length.

= of eighteen inches. When two years old it is two:
=~ feet in length, and too large for a pet. The baby

alligator, brought North for a pet, is too often
doomed to an early death, for it needs the heat of
the tropics to make it comfortable.

The pet alligator started life as an egg, not much
larger than a hen’s egg, but somewhat longer. This
egg, with from forty to sixty others, was laid in a nest
by. the mother alligator in the sand of the shore of
some stream. The nest with its many eggs she
covered with dead leaves and twigs, so that it made a
mound two feet high, and about eight feet in diame-
ter. Under these bed clothes, and with the heat of
the southern sun, the eggs hatched into tiny alligators
from six to eight inches long. The mother kept
watch of her nest, and when the young hatched, she
led them to shallow waters, where there were plenty
of small fish, and fewer of great creatures that fed
upon small alligators.

The alligator reaches maturity in four or five years
in its own hot lagoons of Florida. Some attain a
length of twelve to fifteen feet, but such specimens
are rarely found now, because the slaughter of these
creatures has been merciless. The alligator’s way of
fighting is to use its tail to knock down its prey, and
sweep it into its open jaws. The tail is about one-
half the length of the entire creature, and strikes a
stunning blow. The great jaws are armed with
272

ery a . an

Courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.

AN ALLIGATOR TAKING A NAP

The Alligator Reptiles

teeth for seizing and crushing the prey, but they are
not fitted for chewing, since the food is swallowed
whole. The full grown alligator can swallow a duck
at one gulp. There is a valve in the alligator’s
throat that keeps out water when he is below the
surface, no matter how widely he opens his jaws.
Alligators can bellow as loudly as bulls.

HOUSE

The baby alligator should be kept in an aquarium
one-half of which is built up into a solid landing place,
so that the little reptile can be in the water and out,
as it pleases; but a gradual slope is necessary so that
it can lie partly in the water and partly out. The
aquarium should be kept in a warm place and given
all the sunshine possible.

FOOD

Mr. Deckert advises that baby alligators, until
they reach about a foot in length, should be fed earth-
worms; after that, they will take any kind of fish cut
in small strips, about three inches long and a half an
inch wide. As the creatures grow larger they may be
fed larger strips. It is better to offer the strips of
fish with a pair of pincers or tongs, for the reptiles
have sharp teeth and might possibly injure the hand
that held the food. If crayfishes or minnows are
placed in the tank the creatures will eat them. The
food does not need to be given but oncea week. The
day after feeding the tank should be thoroughly
cleaned, all the water siphoned out and plenty of
fresh water put in and siphoned out again. The fresh
water should be the same warm temperature as that
siphoned out.

273

yg AFRICAN CAMELEON

HE chameleon of Europe is an absurd little
creature, looking more like a little tree-gnome

than a living animal. Its head is crowned
with a peaked hood, and its great globular eyes are
covered with lids with peep-holes at the centers; the
tail is quite as long as the body, a most convenient
tail that can be twisted about twigs, and thus help the
lizard in climbing about; the toes are also arranged
for grasping twigs. The tongue of this chameleon
shows a remarkable development; it is shaped like a
cylinder enlarged at the tip, and can be thrust out
several inches; it is covered witha viscid saliva, which
glues fast toit any unfortunateinsect which it touches.
These little lizards are such active fly-catchers that
from early times they have been kept about the
houses of the peoples living on the Mediterranean
coasts.

HOUSE

The house must be a box, covered with wire net-
ting; it should have sand in the bottom, and there
should be set within it a strong branching plant for
the little creature to climb about upon.

FOOD

Chameleons are very fond of insects, especially of
flies, and these should be let loose in the cage. They
should be well fed, and with live insects. If flies and
other insects fail, they may be fed meal worms with
forceps.

274

The African Chameleon Reptiles

CARE

The chameleon should always have plants or
branches to perch upon. It is necessary to keep this
almost tropical creature in a warm temperature,
which should not fall below 60°.

Especially must we take great care in giving this
chameleon a drink. It could never find a dish of
water, therefore water must be sprayed into the cage
with an atomizer, or a small spray pump, so that it
may drink the spray as it falls. It should be sprayed
at least once a day, at the same time care should be
taken not to make the cage too damp.

THE AFRICAN CHAMELEON

Flycatcher here from Afric’s shore,
You're a queer one I must say,

With scales and warts your’e covered o’er
In a very splendid way.

Your eyelid has a peep-hole in
Its very middle point.

You must be lazy not to wink!
Your tongue must have a joint!

The way you catch a buzzing fly
When you’re so far from him,

Is ’most as queer as the way you twist
Your tail around a limb.

275

THE AMERICAN CHAMELEON

IN the Coast region of the Southern United
= States we too have a chameleon, which is
often called the Green Lizard. But ours
lacks the grotesque form of the European
chameleon; its tail is about as long as
the body, but is not used to twist about twigs.
However, our chameleon lives also on trees and
bushes, where it catches insects by stalking them, as
a cat does its prey; and it also has the wonderful
ability to change its hue. This change is not a
matter of will, but is largely a result of temperatures,
light and emotion. When sleeping, our chameleon is
apple green; when angry or frightened, it is bright
green; in the sunlight it is likely to be dark brown,
and sometimes it is slate-colored, and sometimes
yellowish. There is a theory that this change of
color is for the purpose of rendering the creature
inconspicuous against its background, and we have
seen one of them lying partially upon a log, and
partially upon a vine, and the part on the vine was
green, and the part on the log was brown. However,
the scientific authorities seem to think that this may
be chance. It would be most interesting if those who
keep such lizards as pets would make careful observa-
tions upon this particular point, especially when the
chameleon is neither frightened nor excited.

The male chameleon has a peculiar pouch beneath
its throat, which is a means of expressing his emo-
tions. When trying to attract his mate he expands
this pouch and nods his head vigorously as if saying,
“Yes, yes, yes!’ But when he sees a rival male he

276

Photo by Elwin R. Sanborn
THE GREEN LIZARD, OR AMERICAN CHAMELEON

The American Chameleon Reptiles

acts the same way, and the two fight viciously, each
trying to bite off the other’s tail; when the victor
succeeds, he is so proud that he keeps on bowing
while he still holds in his mouth the tail of the
vanquished, which continues to wriggle wrathfully as
if it were still animated by the spirit of its owner.

HOUSE

The American chameleon will thrive in a moss
garden with ferns, since it lives naturally in damp
places. It should also have a plant or branches upon
which to crawl about.

FOOD

This chameleon likes flies best of all, but it will also
take meal worms presented at first on the point of a
wire; it will soon, however, learn to take food from
the fingers. It likes grasshoppers, cockroaches and
many insects, but will not eat earthworms.

CARE

These little pets are thirsty creatures, and require
much water; but they are in the habit of drinking
dew from the leaves, and they do not know how to
get water from a dish. Thus the leaves of the plant
on which they live must be thoroughly sprinkled at
least once a day. They will soon die unless they are
thus given water. Care should be taken in handling
the lizards, for their tails break off easily; however, a
chameleon thus abbreviated will grow another tail
after a time.

REFERENCE
Tur REPTILE Boox, Ditmars.

277

THE HORNED LIZARD

Hornykins, Hornykins, open your eye,

For close to your nose is a blue-bottle fly!
Toadykins ruffle your spines and your frills
And scurry away on the rocks to the hills!

Little squat goblin, all bristling with spikes,
Flattened-out lizard that nobody likes,
Stone-colored hermit of sagebrush and sand,
You're the drollest hobgoblin of no-baby’s land!”

Charles A. Keeler.*

LTHOUGH Hornykins looks like

itis not a toad at all, but alizard
despite its name. There are
several species of these living in
Southwestern United States,
and in Mexico. These spiny
little creatures are true deni-

“/ zens of the deserts, although
some tive also in pine and cedar belts.

The horned toad luxuriates in a heat that would
be fatal to us, and, in fact, it is only active during the
middle of the day, when the sun, shining through
cloudless skies, brings the sand up to 60° centigrade.
It then comes out and runs about as gay and happy
as any little lizard can be; but before the sun sets,
it again seeks its retreat, which it makes by ploughing
a little furrow in the sand with its short nose. Into
this furrow it settles, its body flattened out, and then,
with the spiny edges along each side of its body, it

*From “Elfin Songs of Sunland,” by permission of G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
278

a toad made into a pincushion, .

From Country Life in America
THE HORNED TOAD AT HOME

The Horned Lizard Reptiles

digs deeper until covered with sand, only the top of
the head remaining in sight.

The horned lizard is protected by its spines,
which should make a snake, or other fierce creature
think twice before trying to swallow such a prickly
morsel; and, too, it imitates the hue of the sand in
its colors, so that it is practically invisible until it
moves. It likes to clamber about on the cacti, agaves
and yuccas, and seek protection among their thorns.

Hornykins feeds entirely upon insects. He does
not dart about like the other lizards, but approaches
his prey more deliberately; and, when near to it, out
darts a sticky tongue, and the unfortunate insect
disappears. However, it shows its lizard relationship
by darting off with great rapidity when frightened.
When caught, it flattens out, closes its eyes, and acts
as if it were dead. When it is playing this little trick,
if we tickle its sides gently, it will swell up to almost
twice its natural size. Whether this is a sign of fear
or of appreciation, we do not know. Sometimes,
under great provocation, these lizards have been
known to throw a jet of blood from the eyelids.

The young horned toads occur in litters of from
six to a dozen, and each little fellow is encased in a
transparent membrane, like a gelatine capsule. It
usually breaks this membrane within an hour, and
although it is not so spiny as its parents, it is active,
and starts at once to earn its living by catching
insects.

HOUSE

A cage of wire netting or glass, at least two feet
square should be provided for the horned lizard.
The bottom of the cage should be covered with three
or four inches of clean building sand, which has been
thoroughly dried in the oven. A cactus should be

279

Reptiles The Horned Lizard

planted in the cage, or a potted cactus may be set
in the sand. The cage should stand where it will be
kept very warm, and where the sun can shine directly
on it at midday. In winter the cage may be placed
on top of the radiator, for it is almost impossible in
our cold northern climate to keep this little desert
inhabitant sufficiently warm to save its life.

FOOD

Hornykins likes to catch his food for himself,
therefore it is best to put into the cage, flies, roaches,
small grasshoppers, and other small insects. If
these cannot be caught, live meal worms do very well
for steady diet. It is well to set a wire trap for flies,
and then turn the contents loose in hornykins’ cage.
Feeding once a week is sufficient.

CARE

If the horned toad seems inclined to hibernate, let
him bury himself in the sand and do not disturb him,
although the cage should be kept in a fairly warm
room, it need not be kept on a radiator, nor in the
sunshine. Hornykins must drink now and then,
although it is a stupid little creature about finding a
dish of water. Why should it not be, for in its native
desert water does not occur in pools. Twice a week
spray the cactus in the cage with pure water, either
with an atomizer, or with the help of a whisk brush,
taking great care not to wet the sand. This spraying
should be done in the middle of the day, when the
lizard is active; for when it sees the sun shining on
the wet leaves, it will quench its thirst by drinking
the drops.

REFERENCE
Tue REPTILE Book, Diimars.

280

Invertebrates

Although the little creatures without backbones
are very different from those that have backbones,
yet their ways are no less interesting. They can
hardly be used as pets in the ordinary sense of the
word, since they do not learn to recognize persons.
However, there is no question but that honey-bees
recognize individuals, and like some much better
than they do others.

Although so different from us, and therefore more
difficult for us to understand, yet many insects and
their relatives are most interesting to us if we have
them in cages where we can see their wonderful ways.

THE CRAYFISH

4 HIS little creature that haunts the still
pools along the brook sides, or takes up
its abode in shallow ponds, seems to
have a great fascination for children, and
many a poor crayfish has been brought
in and placed in a pail of water, and
given no care, and consequently soon
died, while it would have been more
interesting if it could have been intro-
duced into an aquarium and there fed,
and its interesting ways observed.

In their native brooks and haunts, crayfish ‘hide
beneath sticks and stones, or in caves of their own

281

Invertebrates The Crayfish

making, the doors of which they guard with the big,
threatening nippers, which stand ready to grapple
with anybody that comes to inquire if there is any-
body at home. The upper surface of the crayfish’s
body is always so nearly the color of the brook bot-
tom, that the eye seldom detects the creature until
it moves; and if some enemy surprises one, it swims
off tail first with terrific jerks which roil all the water
around and thus cover its retreat. In the winter, our
brook forms hibernate in the muddy bottoms of their
summer haunts. There are many species; some in
our Southern States, when the dry season comes on,
live in little wells which they dig deep enough to
reach water. They heap up the soil which they
excavate around the mouth of the well, making well-
curbs of mud; these are ordinarily called ‘‘crawfish
chimnies.’’ The crayfishes find their food in the
flotsam and jetsam of the pool. They seem fond of
the flesh of dead fishes and are often trapped by its
use as bait.

Looking at the crayfish from below, we see on the
abdomen some very beautiful featherlike organs
called swimmerets. Each swimmeret consists of a
basal segment with twin paddles joined to its tip,
each paddle being narrow and long and fringed with
hairs. The mother crayfish has four pairs of these,
one pair on each of the second, third, fourth and fifth
segments; her mate has an additional larger pair on
the first segment. These swimmerets, when at rest,
lie close to the abdomen and are directed forward and
slightly inward. When in motion they paddle with a
backward, rythmic motion, the first pair setting the
stroke and the other pairs following in succession.
This motion sends the body forward, and the swim-
merets are chiefly used to aid the legs in forward

282

The Crayfish Invertebrates

locomotion. A crayfish, on the bottom of a pond,
seems to glide about with great ease; but place it on
land, and it is an awkward walker. The reason for
this difference lies, I believe, in the aid given by the
swimmerets when the creature is in water.

The mother crayfish has another use for her swim-
merets; in the spring, when she is ready to lay eggs,
she cleans off her swimmerets with her hind legs,
covers them with waterproof glue, and then plasters
her eggs on them in grapelike clusters of little dark
globules. What a nice way to look after her family!
The little ones hatch, but remain clinging thus to
their mother until they are large enough to scuttle
around on the brook bottom and look out for them-
selves.

Not only is the crayfish armed in the beginning
with a number of legs, antenne, etc., but if it happens
to lose any of these organs, they will grow again. It
is said that, when attacked, it can voluntarily throw
off one or more of its legs. We have often found one
of these creatures with one of the front claws much
larger than the other; it has probably lost its big
claw in a fight, and the new growth was not yet com-
pleted.

I have been greatly entertained by watching a
female crayfish make her nest in my aquarium which
has, for her comfort, a bottom of three inches of clean
gravel. She always commences at one side by
thrusting down her antennz and nippers between the
glass and stones; she seizes a pebble in each claw and
pulls it up and in this way starts her excavation; but
when she gets ready to carry off her load, she comes
to the task with her tail tucked under her body, as a
lady tucks up her skirts when she has something to
do that requires freedom of movement. Then with

283

Invertebrates The Crayfish

her great nippers and the two pairs of walking feet,
also armed with nippers, she loads up as much as she
can carry between her great claws and her breast.
She keeps her load from overflowing by holding it
down with her first pair of jaw-feet, just as I have seen
a schoolboy use his chin, when carrying a too large
load of books in his arms; and she keeps the load
from falling out by supporting it from beneath with
her first pair of walking legs. Thus, she starts off
with her ‘“‘apron’’ full, walking on three pairs of feet,
until she gets to the dumping place; then she sud-
denly lets go and at the same time her tail straightens
out with a gesture which says plainly, ‘‘There!”’
Sometimes when she gets a very large load, she uses
her second pair of walking legs to hold up the burden,
and crawls off successfully, if not with ease, on two
pairs of legs,—a most unnatural quadruped.

HOUSE

The aquarium in which the crayfish is kept should
have at least three inches of gravel at the bottom,
and there should be in it an abundance of pond weed.
However, the water should not be more than three or
four inches deep above the gravel, and at one side the
gravel should be slanted up until it is within an inch
or so of the surface of the water. Not more than two
or three crayfish should be kept in an ordinary
aquarium.

FOOD

Bits of meat, liver, or fish attached to a string, so
that they may be removed before too stale, should be
placed in the aquarium two or three times a week.
Professor George Embody has trained his crayfish to
eat various kinds of fish food made from meat scrap.

284

The Crayfish Invertebrates

CARE

The great point in keeping crayfish alive in an
aquarium is to give them a chance to breathe.
Having plant life in the water will help, but even
with this the aquarium must be arranged so that the
crayfish may reach the surface of the water, and thus
supplement the oxygen which it gets from the water.

THE CRAYFISH

Oh, Mr. Crayfish, you are, you know,
The color of the brook,

And I can never see you go,
Unless I “‘speshul” look.

You have so many legs
And fringing swimmerets,

That I should think you’d never know
Which pair forward sets.

Your big front fists in padded gloves
Give you a boxer’s fame,

But you do not strike, you always pinch;
Like a girl you play the game.

285

THE LUBBOCK ANT NEST

ERY interesting stories may be read
in the observation cage. Tomake
this ant nest we must have two
pieces of window-glass, ten inches
square; a sheet of tin, eleven
inches square; a piece of plank,
one and one-fourth inches thick,
twenty inches long and at least
sixteen inches wide; a sheet of

tin, or two thin, flat boards, five by ten inches in size.

Take the plank and on the upper side, a short dis-
tance from the edge, cut a deep furrow. This furrow
is to be filled with water, as a moat, to keep the ants
imprisoned. It is necessary, therefore, that the
plank should have no knot holes, and that it be
painted thoroughly to keep it from checking. Take
the sheet of tin eleven inches square, and make it into

a tray by turning up the edges three-eighths of an

inch. Place this tray in the middle of the plank.

Place within the tray one pane of glass. Lay around

the edges of this glass four strips of wood about half an

inch wide and a little thicker than the height of the
ants which are to live in the nest; burnt matches
serve very well for this. Cover the glass with a thin
layer of fine earth. Take the remaining pane of
glass and cut a triangular piece off of one corner, then
place the pane on top of the other, resting upon the
pieces of wood around the sides. The cover of the
nest may be two pieces of tin, with handles soldered
at the centers, or two boards with screw-eyes or
knobs at the centers, with which to lift them. There

286

Photo by Harry H. Knight
A LUBBOCK ANT’S NEST WITH ONE-HALF THE COVER LIFTED

ailey

Photo by H. D. Bi

CATERPILLAR

PRETTY

The Lubbock Ant Nest Invertebrates

should be a piece of blotter or of very thin sponge,
introduced into the nest between the two panes of
glass, in a position where it may be reached with a
pipette, without removing the upper glass, for it
must be kept always damp.

To establish a colony of ants in this nest we should
proceed as follows: Take a two quart glass fruit
jar and a garden trowel. Armed with these we visit
some pasture or meadow near by, and find under
some stone, a colony of ants which have plenty of
eggs and larve. We scoop up carefully eggs, ants.
dirt and all and place them in the jar, being as careful
as possible not to injure the little creatures. While
digging, we must search carefully for the queen,
which is a larger ant and is sometimes thus found.
But if we have plenty of eggs, larvee and pupe, the
ants will become very contented in their new nest
while taking care of them. After we have taken all
the ants desirable, we place the cover on the jar, and
thus carry them to the Lubbock nest and carefully
empty the contents of the jar on top of the cover of
the nest. Of course the furrow around the plank has
been filled with water, so the stragglers cannot escape.
The ants will soon find the way into the nest through
the cut corner of the upper pane of glass, and will
transfer their larve to it because it is dark there.
After they are in the nest, which should be within
two or three hours, we remove the dirt on the covers,
and the nest is ready for observation. But, since
light disturbs the little prisoners, only one cover
should be removed at a time and then for short
periods.

The Fielde nest is better adapted for a serious study
of ants, but it is not so well adapted as the Lubbock
nest for popular use, especially for the use of children.

287

Invertebrates The Lubbock Ant Nest

After the nest is made, and the ants are well-
established, we must be very careful to provide them
with fresh food every day. The following things
may be given: Bits of hard-boiled yolk of egg,
any dead insects or spiders that can be found, bits
of meat, raw or cooked, and bread, seeds of both
plants and grasses, berries and fruits of all kinds that
have been broken or injured.

WHAT MAY. BE SEEN WITHIN THE ANT NEST

After the ants’ nest has been made and a colony of
ants established within it, we may give closer atten-
tion to these little citizens, since now they are
dependent on our care. The ant is an especially good
runner. I once timed an ant that was going at a
moderate rate of speed, and yet she was making six-
teen yards per second, if calculated on a human basis,
comparing the size of the ant with the size of a man.
The ants’ eyes are rather dull, but she has a good
brain behind them; in fact, she does not need to see
very much, since so much of her life is passed in
darkness. But we must study her jaws with especial
interest because they are her chief utensils and weap-
ons. With them she carries home her heavy burden
of food; with them she gently lifts the youngsters in
her charge; with them she crushes and breaks up
food, and also carries out soil from her tunnel; and
they are also her weapons in battle. Of equal im-
portance with the jaws are the antenne, which are
always moving to receive new sensations. They are
far more delicate than the fingers of the blind when
used as organs of touch, and they are also possessed
of other sense organs, which may be compared with
our organs of smell. It is quite natural that the ant,

288

The Lubbock Ant Nest Invertebrates

depending so much on her antennz for impressions,
should be very particular to keep them clean. She
has a little natural brush on her wrist, which she uses
to clean them with, and we may watch this process
any day. She lifts her leg over one antenna, brushes
it downward, then licks the brush clean, as a cat
washes its face. As she runs about in the nest she
keeps her antennz always moving, to discover the
nature of her path. If she meets a sister ant their
antenne cross and pat each other, and occasionally we
see them thus holding quite lengthy conversations.
The ant is a good sister, and is always willing to feed
another member of her colony if there is need; she
will also help a sister at her toilet, and lick her with
her tongue, as one cow licks another. Sometimes we
will see an ant spend a half hour or more making her
own toilet.

But of all the interesting things to watch in an
ant’s nest is the care given to the young. The queen
ant, which is a mother of the colony, lays tiny eggs,
not larger than pin points, and these eggs have sticky
shells so that they cling together in bundles, and are
thus carried by the nurses. Also the tiny larve,
when they first hatch thus cling together. The
larve are odd looking little creatures, shaped like
crooked-necked gourds, the small end being the head
and neck. The ant nurses classify the youngsters in
groups of about the same size and age, so when we
look into an ant hill we find that the larve of different
ages are placed in different chambers, like a graded
school. When the larve are young, the nurse ant
feeds them on food which she has partially digested;
but as they grow older the food is brought to them,
or they are carried to the food, and they do their own
eating. In one of my nests I placed a bit of hard-

289

Invertebrates The Lubbock Ant Nest

boiled yolk of egg, and the ant nurses brought the
larve to this and dumped them down around the
edges of it; there they nibbled industriously until I
could see the yellow of the egg extending down the
centers of their little transparent bodies.

We should note how carefully an ant nurse lifts the
babies in her jaws. Later, when the larvee change to
pupz, and are hard-shelled, and are about the size of
a grain of wheat, the ant nurses take hold of the loose
outside skin, as we might carry a baby by its clothes.
The ant nurses spend much time in licking the larvee
and pupz, thus keeping them very clean; and when
the young ant comes forth from the pupa skin, quite
pale, and with cramped legs and antenne, the nurse
will take hold and straighten out the legs, and pat
the youngster, and lift it carrying it about if neces-
sary, and feed it from her own mouth, in fact, doing
everything that a tender mother nurse should do.

One of the things we must particularly notice is the
way the ants keep their nests clean. They pile all of
their refuse in one corner, and as far as possible from
the brood. We often see ants asleep. They seem as
motionless as if they were dead, but when they awake
they are lively enough. If we are lucky enough to
find a queen in the nest, we may be able to observe
the tender care given her by her ladies in waiting, who
feed her, and lick her clean, and show much interest
in her welfare.

In observing the ants we should remember that it
disturbs them very much to have the light let in upon
them, therefore we should remove one cover only, and
for a short time. If we simply leave one-half the
nest exposed, then we may see the ants lift the larve
and pupe and carry them safely to the dark side.

290

The Lubbock Ant Nest Invertebrates

REFERENCES

Ants, W. N. Wheeler.

Ant Communities, McCook.

“The Clever Little Brown Ant,” and {‘The Animated Honey
Jars,” Insect Stories, V. L. Kellogg.

“Meat of the Toothless,” UNDER THE Roor OF THE JUNGLE,
C. L. Buil.

“The Battle of the Ants,” Millard, TRuzE TaLes or Brrps
AND Beasts, Jordan.

Front Jeg of an ant and the antenna-comb

on the front leg, greatly enlaiged

291

THE OBSERVATION BEE HIVE

4a )HE observation hive is very simply con-

Roe... structed and can be made by anyone
who knows how to use ordinary carpen-
ter tools. Itis simply a small, ordinary
hive with a pane of glass on each side
which is covered by a hinged door. A
hive thus made is placed so that the front end rests
upon a window sill; the sash is lifted an inch or so, a
strip of wood, or a piece of wire netting being
inserted underneath the sash except in front of
the entrance of the hive, to hinder the bees from
coming back into the room. A covered passage-
way should extend from the entrance of the hive
to the outside of the window sill. This window
should be one which opens away from the most fre-
quented side of the house so that the bees coming
and going, will not come into collision with people.
The door covering the window in the hive should
be kept carefully shut, except when observations are
being made, since the bees object to light in their
home.

The A. I. Root Co. of Medina, Ohio, sell a pretty
observation hive which we have used successfully by
stocking it afresh each season, it being too small for a
self-sustaining colony. But it has the advantage of
smallness which enables us to see all that is going on
within it, which would be impossible in a larger hive.
This hive comes in several sizes, and will be shipped
from the makers stocked with bees at prices ranging
from $1.25 to $4.00.

292

The Observation Bee Hive Invertebrates

WHAT MAY BE SEEN IN THE OBSERVATION HIVE

It is very interesting to watch the bees build their
comb. When more comb is needed certain members
of the colony gorge themselves with honey and remain
suspended while it oozes out of the wax pockets on
the lower side of the abdomen. This wax is collected
and chewed to make it less brittle and then is carried
to the place where the comb is being built and is
molded into shape by the jaws of the workers. How-
ever, the bee that puts the wax in place is not always
the one that molds it into comb.

A bee comes into the live with her honey stomach
filled with nectar and disgorges this into a cell.
When a bee comes in loaded with pollen, she first
brushes it from the pollen baskets on her hind legs
into the cell; later another worker comes along and
packs the pollen grains into the cell with her head,
which is a comical sight.

The bee nurses run about on the comb feeding the
young bee grubs partially digested honey and pollen
regurgitated from their own stomachs. Whenever
the queen moves about on the comb she is followed
by a retinue of devoted attendants which feed her on
the rich and perfectly digested royal jelly and also
take care of her royal person and give her every atten-
tion possible. The queen, when laying, thrusts her
abdomen into the cell and glues a little white egg to
the bottom. The specially interesting thing about
this is that the queen always lays an egg that will
produce a female, or worker in the smaller cells and
will always lay an egg to produce a drone or male in
the larger cells.

If there is any foreign substance in the observation
hive it is interesting to see the bees go to work at

293

Invertebrates The Observation Bee Hive

once to remove it. They dump all of the debris out
in front of the hive. They close all crevices in the
hive; and they will always curtain the glass, if the
door is kept open too much, with propolis or bee glue,
which is a very sticky substance they collect from
leaf buds and other vegetable sources. When bees
fan to set up a current of air in the hive, they glide
back and forth, moving the wings so rapidly that we
can only see a blur about their bodies.

If drones are developed in the hive, it is interesting
to see how tenderly they are fed by their sister work-
ers, although they do not hesitate to help themselves
to the honey stored in the cells; and if the observa-
tion hive is working during September, undoubtedly
we may be able to see the murder of the drones by
their sisters. But we should understand that this
killing of the drones is necessary for the preservation
of the colony, as the workers cannot store enough
honey to keep the colony alive during the winter if
the drones were allowed to go on feeding.

If we see the worker bees fighting, it means that
robbers are attempting to get at the stores of the
observation hive. The entrance to the hive should
at once be contracted-by placing a block of wood in
front, so that there is room for only one bee at a time
to pass in and out.

REFERENCES

How To Krep Bess, Comstock.
“In Fuzzy’s Glass House,” Insect Stories, V. L. Kellogg.
THE BEE PEopLeE, Morley.

204

From Country Life in America
AN OBSERVATION BEE-HIVE
Note the covered passageway from the hive out under the window sash

Pa Uashun

oh
, \

MANY INTERESTING HAPPENINGS IN THE SCHOOL TERRARIUM

THE TERRARIUM

r¢ ANY little creatures brought in from
the fields may find a happy home
in the terrarium which is a box,
with its sides of glass or netting,
that is fitted in various ways to be
the home of its many inmates.

Miss Alice I. Kent has givena
most charming description of life
in a terrarium, which was published
in Nature-Study Quarterly No. 8,
of the Cornell University Teachers’
Leaflets, and permission has been
| obtained to republish it in this
book of pets for the benefit of many children.

“Here is a fragment of the drama, as written in one
terrarium.

This terrarium was made from an old berry crate.
When the children saw it first, last fall, this is what it
looked like: a large rectangular box, grass-green in
color, thirty-nine inches long, eighteen inches wide
and fifteen inches high. The long sides were of
glass, the short sides and top of green-wire netting.
The top could be removed like the lid of a box. It
stood upon a pedestal-table provided with castors.
In the bottom of the terrarium were three inches of
rich soil, covered with the delicate green of sprouting
grass seed. In one corner was a mossy nook, and in
another a mass of thistles and clover. At one end,
a small cabbage was planted and at the other lay
several sprays of glossy pin-oak. Suspended from
the top, was a large spray of purple thistles.

295

Invertebrates The-Terrarium

Among the thistles in the corner, ten pendents of
vivid green, bright with golden points, could be seen.
They were the chrysalids of the Monarch, or milk-
weed, butterfly. Among the cabbage leaves, were
many of the yellow green eggs and several of the
caterpillars of the cabbage butterfly. Among the
sprays of oak in the corner, several oak caterpillars
were feeding.

Before many days had passed, the drama of life
began. One by one, the chrysalids of the milkweed
butterfly paled in color and, becoming transparent,
showed through their whitened walls the orange-
colored wings of the developing butterflies within.
They then burst, freeing their gorgeous tenants.
This happened until there were seven butterflies in
the terrarium. As two of these proved discontented -
with their new home, they were set free. The five
others spent the little round of their aerial life seem-
ingly happy and satisfied. They lived from three
to six weeks and showed some individuality in their
tastes and habits. Sometimes they chose the mossy
corner for their resting place. On other occasions
they preferred the netting at the ends and top of the
terrarium. In fact, the netting at the ends of the
terrarium was a source of pleasure to these butterflies,
as it served as a,secure resting place and an agreeable
and convenient pathway to the top. One of them
spent nearly all its life on the thistles suspended from
the top. These thistles were kept fresh for a long
time by placing their stems in a large sponge which
was frequently drenched with water.

The butterflies showed some individuality in their
eating also. Thistle, clover, goldenrod, nasturtiums,
and honey-suckle were offered to them. The thistle
and goldenrod were most frequently visited, and next

296

The Terrarium ‘Invertebrates

to these the nasturtiums were most favored. Another
fact noted was that most of the butterflies continued
to visit the flower first chosen. When however, a
thick syrup of sugar and water was offered to them,
the flowers were much neglected, only one butterfly
persisted in flower-visiting. Goldenrod. was its
choice. If the syrup was fresh made every morning,
and was placed in a convenient spot, the butterflies
never failed to sip it. They generally slept clinging
to the wire netting at the ends or top of the terrarium.

In the meantime the cabbage began to attract the
watchful eyes of the wondering children. As it had
industriously sent out many tiny roots, it proved a
safe and satisfactory home for its hidden occupants.
Soon, one by one, the caterpillars began to appear at
the edges of the uppermost leaves. They began
small tours in the vicinage of the cabbage, and,
finally, as with the butterflies, the end wire nettings
proved to be an easy pathway to the top of the terra-
rium. Here several found good resting places, and
slowly changed to chrysalids.

One day a cabbage butterfly flew in at the open
window. It was caught and placed in the terrarium.
It, too, proved to be very fond of sugar syrup. One
morning the syrup was accidentally spilled on the
wooden ridge at the bottom of the terrarium outside
of the netting. The butterfly was so hungry that it
could not wait for food more conveniently placed; so
it stretched its tongue out, full length, through the
netting, and in that way obtained it. The children
were surprised to find its tongue somewhat longer
than its body.

At this time, the cabbage was removed so that the
eggs and the remaining young caterpillars could be
observed. The protecting coloring of the eggs and

297

Invertebrates The Terrarium

caterpillars was first noticed. One little boy at first
‘announced that the ‘caterpillars were green because
they were not ripe,’ a good example surely of the
danger of reasoning from analogy.

’ Very soon the inhabitants of this terrarium world
‘began to increase. -A father and two mother grass-
hoppers and a young one, with his “‘armor on,’’ came
to. live there; also a “woolly bear,” several other
‘species of caterpillars, several species of beetles, a big
horse-fly, some lady-bugs, and a cicada. About this
time too, some very unwelcome immigrants appeared.
‘These were the ichneumon flies. So numerous did
they become in a very short time that they threatened
desolation to this prosperous community. Nature’s
methods were then. scrutinized and the services of
two tree-toads-were: sought. Their response was..
immediate and cordial. Soon not an ichneumon fly
could be found.

The grasshoppers were partial to celery, over-ripe
bananas, and moisture. Three days after they
became inhabitants of this miniature world, the
mother grasshopper dug a hole in the ground and
laid eggs. The observing children then had before
them living illustrations of the three stages of grass-
hopper life. .

The tree-toads were both amusing and accommo-
dating. They, too, -liked the wire netting at the
ends of the terrarium, and delighted the children by
climbing up foot over foot, or hand over hand, like
odd four-handed : sailor © boys. This brought into
plain view the tiny suckers on their feet.

After the ichneumon flies had disappeared, a new
difficulty arose. The. ground became mouldy, and
the'grass died: down. . The terrarium was then placed
by an open window and left there several hours for a

298

The Terrarium Invertebrates

number of days, until it was thoroughly dried out.
Then bird-seed was planted and the ground was
watered thereafter with a small plant syringe. This
gave sufficient, but not excessive moisture, and it was
one of the pleasures of the children to imitate a rainy
day in the terrarium world. And it was a pleasing
experience, for there were splashes of water on the
glass sides and many shining drops on the netting and
verdure, which soon grew several inches tall; there
was the same delightful odor of rich, fresh earth that
one enjoys during summer rains, and the sunshine
touched with brilliancy the gay fall flowers and the
gorgeous outspread wings of the butterflies.

It was now early in November and each day found
one or more of the terrarium inhabitants missing.
One of the caterpillars disappeared and a cocoon
made of its own hair was found in its place; several
chrysalids were found on the top of the terrarium;
the butterflies and the grasshoppers, one by one, went
into that sleep from which there is no awakening;
and a number of other creatures disappeared. The
children finally concluded that the latter had gone to
sleep in the ground. ‘The grasshoppers and the tree-
toads were the last to take their rest, but just before
they answered Mother Nature’s call to slumber, a
large garden toad came to bear them company.

He was a very interesting toad for he bore signs
of having lived through what must have been almost
a tragedy. He had lost the lower half of one front
leg and had the scar of a long gash on his throat.
These disfigurements seemed not to cause him the
least unhappiness, for he had a very bright wide-
awake expression and was as plump and complacent
as a toad should be. The loss of his leg caused him
a little inconvenience, for he sometimes lost his

299

Invertebrates The Terrarium

balance when hopping and fell on his back. He
occasionally found it difficult to right himself at once,
but a few vigorous kicks and jumps generally placed
him right side up. Three days after he became a
member: of the terrarium community, he, too, heard
Mother Nature’s call to bed, and partially buried
himself. Each day he covered himself more com-
pletely, until finally only the top of his head and two
sleepy eyes were to be seen. One day, about a week
afterward, he disappeared entirely. He proved to be
a very restless sleeper, and frequently showed himself
during the sunniest parts of nearly every day all
winter, occasionally coming entirely out of his earthy
covering. He served as a sort of barometer all
winter, appearing in bright and disappearing in
gloomy weather. He never, however, left the spot
he had chosen for his bed.

“Winter is the night of the year,’’ and the little
terrarium world indoors exemplifies it as truly as the
great fields of Nature’s domain out of doors. The
soil is dry and hard in this miniature world and the
verdure has dried down to palest green and brown.
In its earthy bed, the caterpillars, beetles and other
creatures lie cosily asleep, and with the masses of tiny
eggs, await the vivifying touch of spring.

300

MEAL WORMS AS FOOD FOR PETS

ered worms are the young or larval stages of a
ie beetle (Tenebrio molitor), that luckily for pets
but unluckily for grain dealers, breeds con-
stantly and most prolifically. These insects
are eminently fitted to be made into beef-
steak for birds, toads, fish, and many other pets.
To breed meal worms it is necessary to buy a
hundred or so of a regular dealer in bird food.
These should be placed in a two-gallon jar, or a
tight box, containing a mixture of bran, corn-
meal, oat-meal, and graham flour, or almost
any uncooked breakfast food; bran alone will do, but
a more varied diet seems to make for more rapid
growth. There should be four or five inches of this
mixture in the bottom of the jar, and upon it should
be scattered a few shavings or bits of shingle for the
insects to hide under. After the meal worms have
been introduced to their new home, cover the jar with
a piece of very fine wire gauze. This will admit the
air, and if cloth is used instead of the wire gauze, the
beetles will eat their way through it and escape.
Place the jar in a dark, warm situation, for warmth is
very necessary to the rapid multiplication of these
‘insects. If these directions are followed, in the course
of a few weeks there will be produced an ample stock
of food for a reasonable number of pets.

More of the food mixture must be added as the
worms develop and devour it.

To capture the meal worms take out a handful of
the mixture, spread it out upon a paper, and pick up
the insects with forceps.

301

Courtesy Doubleday, Page & Co.
FULL MEASURE

INDEX

PAGE
Abraham ............0 00005 39
ACONIGE§ 3 cde naan caulpe tine & 157
AGOTHS) 62 pick doee ase 56-78-89
Africa 39-40-138-150—151-161-210
AQOutT iweb bx alow said nok we es 73
Alaska: ici ca gates omaawge es 170
DAUIBINIGS) oe) ascrsene wns anes ansts ate 67
Alexander ................5. 204,
Allen, Dr. Arthur A.......... 153
Alligator a2. aces. see ee dae yes 272
f00d FOP: 4 gaasandva ser iss 273
housing of..............-- 273
Ambylstoma punctatum...... 256
America.............. 99, 192, 213
AMPHIBIANS .........--.0005 246
Andes: onccxer 24 saw eae ek 72-150
Angora ............. 21-53-54-57
Ant Nests). ajccd dens qe gies ene
Bielde: 2: seve Maedov es gana 286
Lubbock .............0055 286
What may be seen within 288
Antlersiss.w03-o0 cannes oe bay Be 46
Antwerp, The............ 177-180
APONG 6.5 visiutvekiachane did aie ies 6 220
Aquarium ...............005 224
balanced .......... 224-230-242
PTA A os irra gateccsa ails eat dat ake ai 31
Arabian Nights............. 177
Archangel ........... 177-180-181
ATCC csgcevesecark ons aaads 32
Argentine ..............:... 182
Argus, species............... 196
ATIZONE paces. ce ied tee Satay eee 170
Armadillo ..............005. 123
ATMENIA. gos egal eae a Mins oh dene 39
ASIA wots ae eas au be oh 99-176-214
Asia Minor............ 40-53-1904.
Audubon ...........2...05.
Australia ........... 150-159-221
Badpers wie s sas gecne ac ae 8-9
Bagdad 0 ¢skinersian nay Re 177
Bandogs see ei weit sepied oe 8.
Bantam ga... eet eee nes 192-215
BOO fOP cists de erien sce sans 193
housing of................ 193
Banties: «i svcs aanaypaac aes 192

' PacE
Barb; THE vss ccd ees sues ey 178-179
Barker, Dr. Eugene......... 87-90
Bat, The little brown........ 114
CATECHOL niches dias Gosrlscoly Beds 118
food for’. css ese oy bene 118
housing of................ IE7
Bedell, Mrs. Frederick....... 144
Beechnuts ............... 56-103
Beetles...........02 cece eeee 298
Belgian hare................ 67
Belgium. ¢ 24 ae4s saree e432 140-143,
Benthassan ..............0..- 22
Birch-catkins ............... 89
Birps, CARE OF............ 135
Birdlice 0.0... .. cece eee eee 149
Bismuth 4. 2j-dinis so¢ayeue ve stage 137-146
Black swan.............040. 221
Blowing snake.............. 269
Blue-jays ............ 76-167-170
LOOd? LOR, «csr sas aca meets 168
housing of................ 168
Bob, Son of Battle........... 9
Bobwhite: .a¢ssssseas0sen 80% 200
Bone-dust ..........-020005 16
Box Turtle, The............. 264
TANAY? ct: wns ands Meee 137-146
PACA ooo, ease a kes ce eames 63-151
British America...... 9-33-45-176
Brown Chinese.............. 210
Buhach jeiss ae cayeuyssee ses 149
Ba 2S wauhient & ineabae ae eens oe 8
Bulldog na ontare pinalan een es 8
Bulltrog: ick acacnanexccteses 251
Bullhead ................05. 244.
Cale Orci wey ss Gp vere ees 245.
Bull snake...............0.. 269
Butterfly ............... 296-297
Butternuts .............00. 77-78
Cabbage butterfly........ 296-297
Caesar, Julius............... 33
Calf The wean tts seuies cee x 42
Care! Of. scvwacasamas eee 44.
£000 fOr i esse sii. save eats 43
housing of ................ 2
Cambridge Museum of Natural
THISCOLY. Halo ncedios sewage aa 25.

The Pet Book

PAGE
Canary, The................ 138
Breeds) guns sick) alias uthebnen 140
Cate OF eines came ee mee ace 144
food, fof i: ease eee saa ces 143
housing of................ 142
loss of voice in............ 147
MAKING oo.5 4s vein ea sae 148
nesting of................ 146
SOOC, 3c x vere aclu ateaays
Canary Islands..............
Caraway-seed-oil
Carbolie acids. gaden es see
Caribow 2a ice was aus eds an vee
Carrier, The.............
CaSCHd EO: oo. gies dccmnl a saya
Cashmere ............000005
Castor oil.......... ie Secagiee
Cat, The......... 5-6-21~-172-201
bresds Ofna. an xexede ed 21
Cate Of, ese whiskey aeons 27
F000) £68 sees ode ee ea ackes 26
housing of................- 25
Cat mummies.. ............ 22
Cathshi. is 5s soe Genes oe ak 244-245
CATCHOf by sn eehace nee tees 245
CATS! sates x aim dae scnoten to 9
Cay wate mata onan tone 72-73
Cayenne pepper............. 145
Ceylon sis je css sia s wee Pe I51
Chameleon .............. 274-276
PCAN ca hot ska gare Haste 274
American ................ 277
Care Of... acess cannes 275-277
food for.......... li shes 274-277
housing of............. 274-277
Cheek pouches.............. 85
Chestnuts ......0.0.0000.0006 78
Chickens: a see saies we aune ee 19-188
Care’ Obiociecnwxtersiey tes 2 191
food) fOr s..5..:5 sige sock Geena 189
housing of................ 189
Chickweed ...............05 144
China. 10-99-108—192~195-226-233
Chipmitink sc e..ogeie-gences ss 76-84
CATO: Ole dats alsan gue nee 86
£000, Lot ener: sae ses Bayes 86
housing of..............05 85
Chipsy eset haw ad fans ve ie 84
Christian Era............... 22
CHUB oles a ahaa torn gute ae aes 235
COLE OF oc. fannie eu eee ane 235

PAGE

“Chuckie”... 0.0... cee eee gI
Cicada a's is silent sin sueainns 3% 298
Cinnamon ..............04- 141
Cochin China............... 205
COCKATOOS ............. 159-160
CATS Obes. pdhs je wt oe @ diapaneies 160
food for...............00- 160
housing Obie ce sin ens tne oe 159

COM sn geiienre neds serene de S 154-164
Cornell University........... 231
Poultry Department....... 190
Teachers’ -Leaflets......... 295
Cottontail ............. 65-66-71
Coyotes ........... cece eee 97
Crandall, Mr. L. S........... 231
Crayfish, The............... 281
CALCU OF nace s ohana on 285
£000 fOr ss essigerarsres wees as us 284
housing of................ 284
Greolin. ine vec s t4 see can p05 14-149
Crosby, Mrs. CyrusR........ 108
Grow! 328 sses keane eee II9Q-I oa ie
CATE OF isi sega age anasto
FOOE. OF) ina. s acazconcectcisuse nade 166
housing of................ 165
Cuckoo .... cece eee eee 85
Cutler’s cavy....... ee eee eee
Cygnets ........ 219-220-221-222
CYDIESS a eseunexaiere ia cance 40
Date occsaeiieivaarcsaveerss 235
CATE Oleic nadada gad antiee: 235
Dachshund ................
DAG ec sccctog tue donde ds brastenea to 3 8
AD ANIC os ae odie, w2e wank vane Goneiness 260
Darwin, Charles............. 176
Davenport, Wm. Homer...... 196
Decker, Wm. Richard
256-269-27 1-272
Deel ices needs sae ae saaa ved 5
FAN OW cccsiecs sudan nwa ae cats 45
LOO: FO8 iors see yea daeeinsc ele 46
housing of................ 46
Vitgitian csc a awriy eaaerss 45

Index

The Pet Book

PaGE
Delaware. asics devevea tie aws 138
Deoter’s cream of parasites... 16
Detective, A little............ 131
Diamyctylus viridescens...... 256
Doe and young, Care of...... 70
DOB eos isiniaitys ovine 5-22-58-176-201
breeds of.............005: 7
biscuit isi cas oe vines cote 16
Care Ofc. co sececed dens Bata 13
LOO LOE ss ceiccny «iene toe Sooners II
housing of................- 10
Pomeranian .............. 10
Ee a acne nero areata Seals 10
AIG), ctecway wm recone nas Gee 5
Donkey, The............... 39
food for.............0005. 41
housing of................ 41
DIODES venice era sene oer hws 204
DU Ck6\s 3 eg arsiets coca mecca ees 213
CALL costa sedreye’ad mais oseatayl ia 213
Care: Ofs sc. gctieanesesae es 216
East Indian............... 213
food sft. oi:35.2 eng B eusde ee 215
housing of................ 215
Dutch-marked.... .......... 22
Dutch rabbit............... 67
East Indian Islands.......... 151
Edward, IV is wesc saaiyaneaes 219
Egypt isos asco e au ae 22-100-210
Elbay c2ciiee Gea.cauc maces 139
Embden geese............... 210
Embody, Prof. George... .231-248
Pngehalci, Mr. Ferdinand... 61
England...... 33-139-140-178-194.
Eskimo wees dessa e naa ie ature v4
Europe

40-45-52-99-1 1I-176-192-1 2
Exmoor

Fancy mice...............-5 ee
breeds of................. 105
the black................. 105
the black and brown....... 105
the blue and lilac.......... 106
the brown................ 105
Cate Ole cn Mecaceausied aaa 107
the cinnamon............. 105
the cream................ 106
the golden................ 105
housing of................ 106
the silver...........0..05. 106
the spotted............... 105

3095

PAGE
Fantail, The................ 179
awn; The: vssces sev ecasie wx 45
Care Of os .acacad age testes s 47
ROTTS irc ic ksilsenad <isvanecn eieceutins 126
WOR ETUS Ys cas weve da Seke osinmnces 220
Fielde Ant nest.............. 286
Binh, saetugidata cai ea ages 138
Fish 2 ce sos aw sence esas 119-224
foods... s..4¢8 seed yeahs 225
PI GASH oe iioteiirs se tquse he eae em apts 14-27
Flemish giant, The........... 68
PlOrida 5 taeda teaieuaavens 4 272
Flowers of Sulphur........... 16
Flying Squirrels............. 87
Care Of 4s segass mene scaled: 90
food for. wi cccsesaaees wens go
housing of................ 89
“Follow-my-leader” ......... 48
FOX acted Sneek es 8-9-10-97-I 1
£000 108s esirvek dee aay caw vs
housing of................ pe
Foxhound «i eas sicnen cence 8
Prance: soc se oes sees cas 55-228
Frog, The...........- I9Q-119-251
the green.............0065 251
Frill TAG: 2 aise ne ethan atauns tare 177
PUN ST. iii paras oa 4 idl Sar n ou eee 55
BMGrry: ova clniee se tees wed eae 79
oe Professor S. H......... 248
Gy Ae vexenieeiooais yeh ane 257
Genes i RS SHA RE RE BO 48-66
Garfield tea...........2.005- 28
Garter snake. ............ 268-269
Geese, Canadian......... 207-210
Georgia, Miss Ada........... 207
German song canaries........ 140
Germany .......--0-seeeeee 139
Glycerine ............44. 148-157
Goat, The... ..6 sce ssewes 5-9-51
CATE OL. nce cain Sa Be LOE 54
F000 £68 voce nee eed eas 54
housing of.........-....5- 53
Golden agouti.............4, 105
Goldfinches ................ 138
Goldfish « «secs s4 dee ies oe yeey 226
Care. Of: w.cascee sews wes 232
food for...........e eee eee 231
housing of............0065 229
Golden Pheasant......... 196-199
Goose, The............-0005 207
CATE: Obs ie een Garces eosee ann 212

The Pet Book

Index

PAGE
food for 22 aanceseaas cesses 21r
housing of................ 211
varieties of .............. 210

Gopher aise seed acieu'sa aig 129
Gopher snake............... 269
Goshawk ..............000. 201
Goslings ............0000005 211
Greshoopen: 19-13—1I35-298-299
Greece weawes Sawgee 4s Gees 204-207
Greene, Dr. W. T......... 157-158
Greels) giacinsaisgees oaasheen 204-220
pc BG abana ice vSaannante ees 8
sad dawehere ae UU ge aust mea a 143
Groundsei acids pinaai rata ih ce 144
Gulf Stream................ 33
Guiana aiisscedax sauediins as 63
Guin as 5 fins aarecn nes See Siok a 72
Guinea Pig, The............. 72
the Abyssinian............ 73
the Angora............... 73
breeds of... ..........20-. 73
CATO OL ane Cieesonnd in cae eIs 4 74
The English.............. 73
food for...............0005 74
housing of................ 73
The Peruvian............. 73
Gull, Bhes cabin seis ameaes yes 218
Care Ofeusanavess nays 218
Gum acacia..............005 157
Gum arabic................. 148
FIAT OSS job o:y gore gaa anne gcet ae 35
Hardy, Miss Irene... ........ 84
TAPES o oyces 5 av ten x ess oenets co 65-66
The Belgian.............. 67
Hartz Mountains............ 140
Hawke se ane acoase ene ee eee 9-97
Cooper's vis uayeaiwe ines 201
Sharp-shinned ............ 201
Hedgehog ............0..00. 123
Helmet Pigeon, The......... 177
GMD, hos chs yee ane adee sos 154
Henry VES sca cteen ed aia 219
Henshaw, Dr. Samuel..... 253-256
Hickory nuts.............. 78-86
Himalayan Mountains..... 67~150
rabbits 2.4 s0s ceseedand ews, « 67
Holden. ....... 0.00 c cece eee 157
Homer, The............. 177-180
Hopper .............0.-005- 185
Hornaday, Dr............... 47
HOI shes og) sining a viding oie 44

Pace
Hornykins............... ee

Hone ay ie ce ap caana Ie Beaune dar hytae
House mouse...............
Humboldt

Ichneumon flies

DMNCAG feo ces ticas ets. coid Sam Binsiaven Soe 73

India 39-59-108-150-151-152-179—
181-204

Tian iycoe ys cee eee: 2:
Indian Chief............... ae
Eslatid ri ye cies soa dantheew eens 9 159
Ingersoll, Mr.............. 88-89
Invertebrates .............., 281
Island of Java............ 192-205,
Pty? fo cacase insets ehen scons Wavennne 181
ZA ics isis cack aie Qa eh ebelat habs 14
Jackals 2 <p uaiaees 4teed aaa thes 203
Jacobin, The............. 179-180
DAM ss isacer ane! wide einer ghee Se 108~192
Japan peafowl.............. 205
Japanese....... 10-22-65-108-227
waltzing mice............ 108
food fote.< veian sas acct ane 110
housing of................ 109
PAVED, Seca seat esrateteentetilente & 192-205
Java peafowl................ 205
Jeyes fluid.................. 14
Jordan, Dr................. 239
Johnny Darter.............. 239
CATO OFS cies lndaands ran one 2.6. 240
JunebUe. ss vevmosre see tees 256
Jungle stories......... 4-5-58-203
MANO selivieusre Cecrwite 6 sigaioand tanec nae 204
Reaa DO! fs sce saan oak Gia hd + Rahs 152
FREATS ove a segue ele Ae aawaee cays 236
Keeler, CharlesA............ 278
Kennels ..............0000, 14
Kent, Miss Alice I........... 295
Kid, Aiea sake sso on ood 53
Cate Of csaeryva te. ee0 gure 54
King snake................. 269
Kipling .............. 58-152-203
TRAD ic beeen tenses 2 28-30-134
care of motherand......... 29
KC eas access d's eaipins sacerae es 136
Labrador .............00005 213

Index

The Pet Book

PAGE
Lady-bugs.............-0005 298
Lamb, The Cosset........... 48

food fOP. ec. cece eet eed 49
Meare Ghee oc eeiata 49
Leopard frog................ 251
Little cats. dcieiwes manta edie 128
Little Red Spot............. 257
Lizard, The.............. 141-280
CATE OL) icing dinar saun so 4% 280
fO0d, £6 5. csseg st cee deine 280
The Steet... ccasev ce saws 276
The horned............... 278
housing of................ 279
WO! ards ices St Sake a SEN oe ee 5
Lohengrin ................. 222
LLOnd OD seis eet pe Pad es 176
London Fancy, The....... 141-142
Long-faced Tumblers, The.... 177
Long; Mr. Js Gone wesarspenae t's 182
Lop-eared rabbit, The........ 67
Lorikeets..06 2.0080 seecea oes 152
Lottridge, Mr. Silas.......... 89
Love-birds.... .........-05- 161
The American............. 151
£000 POPs. sie eeepc ewan sei 162
housing of................ 162
Lubbock ant nest......... 286-287
MaCawS) sic arte nicidns Be RSG 152
IMAGES: 2 civic hcidae ais een es 139
Madagascar ................ 161
Magnesia ..........-..00005 137
mmilleOF 5 seo sdk may diaeresis 145
Magpie’ sac agus ¢dmox nars ales 170-177
CATO Of ss ess casas ee4 ee nee 171
fOCd 160 aie ieee Maw ties 171
housing of................ 171
Malay acini oe a Nees 152
Peninsula. . . ssa va wos seems 196
Mallards, The............... 213
Maltese, The............... 10
Mandarin Duck, The........ 214
Marix,. "Theiist-s seciecnig sce 22
Marmoset, The............. 63
COLE: Of feat civdeveeecreen 63
£00. T6P os sincattnaa-tak de 63
Maritias 2 is naieedtares dd shiek 151
Mayflower, The............. 99
Mealworms
78-90-100-336-242-301
Mediterranean ....52-67-176-274

Merriam, Dr. H.C. .87-97-132-135
307

PaGE
Mesozoic ...........0. ee eee III
Mexico ........ 31-40-97-153-278
MIC eg an se ante eds 102-128-135
CATE Of cin sani 25 ye ae aes 104,
£600) FOP 5 hada ck we yen 104
housing of................ 103
MOY! ae a cs since. s ad tae anasere 105
Breeds of Fancy........... 105
care of Fancy............. 107
housing of Fancy.......... 109
The Japanese waltzing ..... 108
care of Japanese waltzing.. 110
food for Japanese waltzing .. 110
housing of................ 109
the white-footed........... 76
meadow ............e00ee 19
Milkweed butterfly.......... 296
Milk snake................. 269
Milletiie cc ais4. us Sen een ses sere 144
MEE eeathe can fo oes eee 127
Minnows ...............00. 236
Mitchell, Miss Evelyn Groes-

Bache eas said cutrcatd nce tos I15-133

MEES 5 dio: cies ees's sal tiation sun's 149
Mixture No.I............... 190

No: Diyas 3 se esac alas 190

Nos TWD i os. gecsetaada cass 190
Modena .................... 181
Monarch butterfly erreur 296
Monkeys .................. 58

The ander or Rhesus...... 59

The Capuchins............ 59

CATS Olid: os new sama <4 He 61

food) fOf so sis ese eanes bone 60

housing of................ 59

Ring-tail.. ..........0.... 61
Moorish. ...........00000005 33
MOOSE) escrasicnte cits saots ana oot 45
Moss Garden, The........... 248
Mother Nature.............. 299
Moulting .................. 145
Mud Turtle, The............ 263
Mulertt, Mr. Hugo.......... 228
Mummies ..............000 73
IMIS pepe. Sashes see sai etek ws neers 263
Mustard seed............... 143
Mute swan.............0-55 221
Nadir Shah................. 39
Naples) o-i.c3 556 o4 elad icin bale 52
IN O80) -2iag) sors atelacece sande ee ata hee 150
New forest...............05 31

The Pet Book

PaGE
Newfoundland .............. 8
ING WES! scsi ase daa ober eae 256
LOGE: LOR oe i..5.8 ost acne euiarenns 259
housing of..............-+ 258
New York Zoological Gardens
. 14-61-137—-160-23 1-269
New Zealand............... 152
Nomad: ~ .h04 tenn sis Sagehe wale? 52
North America.............. III
NODway 2.3 cd 384m asen pes 33
Norwich, The............ 140-141
The Crested.............. 140
Nun, The........... 177-180-181
Observation Hive............ 292
what may be seen in the.... 293
Opposum, The.............. Ill
LOOG: fOr. a's dune de kel oak Oe 113
housing of................ 113
Ores On ieee iss snare nay yet ae Ace 195
Oriental, The............... 177
Owl, The............. 97-172-177
CAPE GOL pac iicaks cle ealir eek ae 175
food for..............000 174
housing of................ 174
Owl-parrot ............00005 152
Oxymel of Squills............ 157
Painted terrapin.......... 260-263
Panther 322: ase sedu ae eee bes 51
Paradise Fish, The........... 233
CALC OL as sasd coaiaucts Sug. ye tscnds 234
FOOD FOP ieee. tiaiesdecnxeucte ee deen 234
Paraguay. <cvinescadvnlade oie 151
Parrakeet, The. . .151-152-153-156
The rose-ringed........... 151
Parasites ...........00005 14-27
PAaregories e..c iia nis REE HS 148
Parlor-Tumbler, The......... 178
Parrots! vies sceie secs aves 150-160
Care Olsens: us @ tea ada 155
food for..............0008 154
housing of................ 154
PaSt@f is tex ceancd wane we ape 40
Patagonia ..+.. 0.0... eee 72
Peacock, The............... 203,
food fOrs 32: cmos ex were & 206
housing of................ 205
Peatowls ase ae xatecs sess aac ine 203
JAPAN sis ssid eels ere agees ais ved 205
JAVA. sci Se talked eeenigd tes 205
Pekinese, The............... 10
Peroxide: i 5-s-gsceyacn eeiteeen ed 146

Pace

Persia: .aiae vie wane eee daa ae 21-39
Per scwcevet a taeoae dans 40-73
Pet Notebook, The.......... 79
Pheasant, The........... 194-200
The Argus). .<.ccc as wale vies 196
breeds of...........00. 195-196
CATE: OF escalate cnageenrs 198
£600) fOre o soctsuvcuta nea 198
The Golden............ 196-199
housing of.............05. 197
The Ring-neck..... 195-196-199
The Silver................ 196
Philippines ................. 152
Phosphated lime............ 16
Pickerel frog..............-. 251
Pig) The agai sida vas isis es 55
Care: Of sec wee dest es a aee sean 57
food for little.............. 56
housing of................ 57
Pigeons, The................ 176
CATE “OF iacg. 3 sist iauts dress need ere 8 186
LOOP LOT occoc a coiwiale « snlgnne doe 184
housing of................ 181
Hestiig Of, oi. wccupengeeaes 185
varieties of............... 177
Pine. snake’, cacenesa me carss 269
Plantain sccspiawvas seo need 144
Pointers. sss auad cages ees 9
POISON! oe) gasiatasiie Ranis @erteeay acct 28
POLS 2G AB ive ielartioun oe aemiualairn ia 127
Polish rabbit, The........... 68
Pond Turtle, The............ 263
PONY TRE sacs co gities vga yeas 31-32
CATE OF siccs see -a. spate sted Mastcueees 34
food: fotcce son e0 is desses $ 33
housing of................ 33
The Shetland............. 35
Poodle, the.............000- 10
Porcupine, The.............. 123
fOGG. LOP ois cee awd nance es 325
HOUSING sreida Hea tegaciseea 124
Potky5 ME vices scence cpecca daa 125
Potash, permanganate of..... 137
Potash ssjc%s tame evauin neat 44
Pouter, The......... 176-177-178
Prairie Dog, The............ 96
LOO, TOP i. ssiin cdi wae dae’ 98
housing of................ 98
Pretty Joey........... 00 cece 152
Przhecvalski ............... 36
Pumpkin-seed .............. 241

Index

The Pet Book

PAGE
Puppy, The................ 16-28
Cate Off cox k nerds nosew aes 15
Quail, The.................. 200
CATE Of bile a cucesice eee 201
food. fOF 4 2.5 ce slew he 202
ari Elizabeth.............. 219
Tees se us tales la ete a 123
Rabbits, hes yan ved 8~-9-19-65-66
CATe Ofsuy saaevcas eeass oes
POO, LOL. fos esos diassoses baiowee § 69
POTTS ics. g us aves WOH 66
housing of..............0. 68
varieties of............... 67
Raccoon, The............ I1Q-164
Care: Ofieg cay ad bik Ried BARS 122
food forse ssi sev siamese au 121-122
housing of................ 121
DE cic snier sa. d anced holed ale 143-149
Rape seed...............-.. 144
Rat, The............. 99~-127-128
Whe: leila cae eras coed 99
food! forties «casa came sex gues 100
housing of................ 100
The Norway............ 99-100
Ration: ..cccsien vee eases amen 199
ReGVES) seca nda ianaees wach 196
REM CCE oi paoe gene eg ees 45
Rein, over-check............ 34
Reptiles: sss:3c8seeua vee oe ¢ 260
Reveley, Professor Ida....... gI
Rice, Professor James E...... 190
Ring-neck pheasants. Re
Rock-pigeons ............... 6:
Rocky Mountains.......... peat
Roller; De sacar iesshayie ai ageas 140
Rome: js sacs a wes as os 150-194-204
Roof Rat, The.............. 100
Root Co., The A.I........... 292
Rosella sos. coed a New de kine a 152
Rossetti, Christiana.......... 50
Royal Swanherd............. 219
Runt, Thess scuusves eevee sacs 277
RUSS i gev cs awessaeeees wet 31-99
Saane) vise cane veceecn snmaes 52
DANALA oes ie suece a panes ee aoe 39-151
Saint Andreas......,........ 140
Saint Bernard............... 8
Saint Helena................ 139
Saint Valentine’s day........ 208
Sakkara. wccces ea ac gee eevee 22
Salad: Othe scsiavsc darken o8s 137

PaGE
Salamander...............4- 256
food. fOr. sasccay eee cswensn 259
housing of..............05 258
AMIGAS: ce oy. Saag 30 ponies hab guard ae 14
Santonine ...............05- 27
Scandinavia ..............405 31
Seni Frank J.W...... 126-131
1G: Sea ener 126-269
sentland Clintons eec252 e0025 217
Scotch Fancy, MENG ttre cust 141-142
Scotland ..............00- 32-140
Screech-owl..............5.- 173
leeds: 6 kid tas kao semanas des 144
Settetind cx nau acuatens naam eee 9
Shakespeare ...............- 178
Sharp-shinned hawk......... 201
MHEG! a is: cdcapav ere iacannnss pees 5§-9-51-52
Sheep dogs..............+--
Shetland ............... 31-32-33
Shinen; TH v ise vsa:5 savers seen na 235
Short-faced Tumblers, The... 177
Show Antwerp, The.......... 177
Siamese ..........-.20 0000. 22
IDET isd ine bed wanties aes 195
DIETS. oe uina es aa barenin daa 32-84
Silver pheasants ............ 196
Silver Spot..............00- 164
Skidmore, Mrs.............. 192
Shunk: occa osenanaey senvase 132
Snake, The............ 19-97~267
CArEOL. cnc nanwalete acess ss 271
FOO, LORS. o:0 4 eoarieaives dae 270
housing of.............05- 270
varieties for pets........... 269
Snapping turtle, The......... 262
Soft-shelled Turtle, The...... 265
PAM, ge vine sew alee Se BEKELE S 40
Spain, King of.............. 40
Spainards: oc veces aves 33
PANIC cis cane ad cece a pees ero 9
SPAITOW -.os sha hae cease ee 174
Spratts: ise cnceukeacts 15-17-157
Spring peepers.............. 254
Spotted turtle............... 264
Squab ........ 0s eee eee eee 186
Squirrels ............... 75-76-96
GATESOF: ois nat vlan 78
£000) Of jes es gaeencienars dapat 78
housing of..............4. 77
The flying............005- 87
ETAY boa tor nos eee a es 76

The Pet Book

PAGE

TOUT. ie siics agenege uvatpadeds 84
Red isn cosh ease elas 76-79
Socrates....0... 0.00 cee ceca 51
Solomon .................0. 204.
South America......... 59-72-150
Southwest United States...... 97
Stacey, Mr. Stephen...... 137-160
Standard of Perfection, The... 192
Stickleback, The............ 237
CATE OF. owas ccneeg ne cs eee 238
UMMA LEAN. ce inlay ane wa aS 196
Summer rape............... 143
Sunfish ............. 154-241-242
Sure-shot...............0., 14-17
Swallows ............... 174-177
Swans, The.............. 219-222
FOO LOT ice a a ton. cute serials pita 222
housing of................ 222
varieties of............... 220
Swannery .................. 219
Sweet acorns................ 86
SWISS: 5 24 -des yc isindan sone ee 52
SY DIA: bat eis tel whan See ees 39
DAA POLE oases e saceiavgetesiess 230-254
aquarium ................ 248
Tenebrio molitor............ 301
Benenie spo siocame ap werawees 138

Terrapin, The Painted... .260-263

The Wood................ 264
Terrarium, The...... 295-297-299
Terriers, The............... 9

(><) a ee ee 97
EN GH GSI? 5.5 3 sated acdiann tis okla top 39
Thibeti.. (5 ana oe usadamatenees 36-39
Thompson-Seton ........... 5-164
THOTCAU dates 2% Hance eee eon 245
IBC scm siatgh ears cca ined sie 203-204
LAGO ates wale 52h anc oe te ten es
Toad, The... cece 246-299

(0c Oy 0) ea 248

housing of................ 248

young horned........ Sig ais 279
Tobacco-box
Toggenburg ...............,.
Tortoise, The
Tortoise-shells ..........0... 22

PAGE
Toulouse: <icinediceavea es aan as 210
Tree-frogs, The............. 253
fOOd TOT i eile cs ween es 254
housing of................ 254
Tree-toads ................. 298
PRUMES cn cine bea ke Aes 55
TLUMpP6ter 5.5 aaucauiecargsacmces 220
Tumbler, The............... 178
The Baldhead............. 179
The Short-faced........... 179
The long-faced............ 177
Turbit, The.............. 179-180
Turtle, The.............. 123-260
hiele\c hic) a ee ees 266
housing of................ 266
varieties of... .262—-263-264-265
Ugly Duckling.............. 222
United States.......... 31-40-278
Utah Basin................. 97
MGI OE) on sie torann GauaiSaeineincnaeneens 46
Vermifuge ............. 14-17-27
Vivaritim 2 cicce cies ss eves 269-271
Wealesis =< cis vies ea,rae ee seu 31-33
Walnuts. 2iscinawstecamean eae 77-78
Washington, George......... 40
Weasel. tei crsdiaseecenaams adoonts 127
Wristlet: i625 cénice lescanne ava tases 220
White Chinese, The ......... 210
White Peacock.............. 205
White Pine................. 14
Whittington ................ ai
Wild cats............0000. 97-203
WANES: os haces ecw woeva sb danscna ves
Wolf ies gee uardiice wes ould aus eae 5-6-7
Woodchuck, The........... 19-91
CATE: Ofc oaddea sexes neers anes 95
FOOE, LOR isos sha ce sie soe dns oe 95
housing of................ 94
Wood-duck ................ 214
Woodpecker ................ 87
Wood terrapin, The.......... 264
Wordsworth, William........ 30
Worm capsules.............. 17
Worms i. oie side ctaneeecounicad 15-17
Xenophon ................. 39
Yorkshire, The.............. 141

310

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