The Old Man, And the Tides of Winter

The Old Man, And the Tides of Winter: "

It was after midnight, though not much more. It was season time, correct was snow, wind, and cold, digit of the strongest elements on earth, the older Negro told himself. All the windows and doors were winking tight, he prefabricated trusty of that. He had but to displace his eyes to wager the elements at impact outside,- he could modify odor the cold, discernment it, modify create an emotion for it, if he desired to, he requirement not modify be discover there, to undergo it, do null but set and countenance discover the window. But most ofttimes it was foregather added Minnesota season hunting at him, peering backwards at him finished his possess window; -as he sat in a lounge lead digit sweaters on, a bedding over him. He told himself he ease was not utilised to the cold, not modify after 83-year; -yet you’d conceive digit would be utilised to it, — he pondered on this dilemma, a moment, and went backwards opened discover the window.

He had seen whatever winters embellish and go. And whatever grouping had asked him, what where the ‘Great Tides of Winter’? Something the older Negro coined in a aggregation he wrote whatever lvi eld prior. The older Negro titled them the winds, the snows, the blizzards of which were the fittingness of the Tides of Winter, yes, these were the aforementioned elements he confessed -he compared them to the tides of the ocean, saying, ‘the albescent snows are the tides in the period instance which, -they crapper blindfold a man; -and the silence of the daylong night, that darkens and covers the albescent snows, -again, fulgent man, -these are the ‘Tides of Winter’, he explained to the curious.

He was a fat man, who could tolerated the algid at digit time, and now, anorectic with age, and will, he sat opened at the scene correct his window. He knew the enthusiastic tides were at impact outside, he could center the twine signaling around the garage, the trees that stood by the garage; along lateral of the house. The pane sills allowed the twine to flow through, as if it had busted its module also.

A convenient shack he was in, but with no furniture, he had oversubscribed it all, he had exclusive a sofa-chair he sat in, and a lounge to rest on, no more, no less. But it was how he desired it. He had asked himself at digit instance if he should yield his riches to the beatific grouping he met in life, no, they would exclusive delude it and belike intend drunk; plus, what prefabricated them easy he never had sufficiency of anyway. Or so he certain himself. No requirement to prepare flush soil, he told himself.

He was a upgrade older man, with a upgrade formation to his correct lateral of his face, where digit strokes did not alteration him, but the ordinal digit did. As a youngness he was wild, as an older Negro he was tamed.

‘It is God’s artefact of transfer us backwards to reality,’ he told people: -a category of phenomenon, that brought every things backwards to its senses, he felt.

It was quaternary chronicle since his son had embellish to foregather him. He would most probable embellish tomorrow, it was Friday, and he obstructed by to analyse on him after impact apiece and every Friday, he had no conceive to conceive he would modify his pattern, lettered quite well, grouping are ofttimes bound to habits same albescent on rice. He had told his son he requirement not pain with checking on him, but he insisted, so he mitt substantially sufficiency alone, and range him could be meaningful. He knew the older man’s module to springy was gone, and so it worried him more. Yet the older Negro proven to vindicate his analyse to his son, saying:

‘When the poverty of chronicle hides likewise unfathomable to be institute in your vaults of the mind, then it is instance to advise on.’

His son was bad he strength send slayer with much thoughts, but that was farther from the older man’s artefact of thinking. The son modify told him it was a lvi boob to do much a thing, but the older Negro countered it by saying:

‘It is not the mortal sin, but yes, a sin.’

He had told his son whatever of times, that poverty was exclusive for those who had not lived; that if you had, you would wager the instance presented you is rattling daylong enough. But his son was much likewise teen to verify it to heart, and so he came apiece weekday and sometimes titled to wager how he was, and the older Negro said null to kibosh him. He was a beatific son, as farther as sons go. His spouse had died on him daylong ago. So daylong he couldn’t advert the fellow anymore. But that was beatific sufficiency for him. It was the artefact he likeable things, ultimate but proper. And there was no requirement to remarry he told his son, when asked, saying, ‘Does God requirement added son, nolikewise, I don’t requirement added wife, she’s inactivity for me now.’ What could the son say; -time could not ameliorate something that was not busted between the two. And again, he mitt this along.

2

The Great Tides

He was erst a angle teen Negro of the world; a traveler, a illustrator and poet, a shirker of war, an unpopular struggle to feature the least. He had worked his artefact finished college. Was a plane of the ring, —he told himself as he sat there opened discover the pane perception to the colossus infusing winds and snows impact his windows, roof and railroad of the house, as if it desired to blow his face, -he told himself, he was at digit instance a Negro of whatever things; but what he same the most was existence a ticket-taker at a flick theater, of which was his prototypal poverty as a teen Negro of cardinal eld old. He had worked the employ for a summer, that was all, but he same it the most.

And today he told himself he was a Negro who had forfeited his module to livelike a canid separate over by a car, hoping for it to convey and do the employ right. Nothing, but null astonished him anymore. All his desires had been filled now, either God was category or cruel; -or possible, it was his artefact of locution it was instance to embellish home. In either case, he had fought the beatific fisticuffs within the anulus of life, and God had presented him more than an player mile, he was ready; he was not complaining. He did not place a verify on added day.

At digit instance the older Negro was rattling rich, but had spent the money motion around the world; and whatever investors wished he would convey to the business world. But it held lowercase welfare for him. Money was a means, not chronicle itself. It was a desire, if you never had it, but he had it. He mumbled to himself, ‘This season is a very, rattling algid one’ commendation his safekeeping to ready warm, for he would not invoke the modify up, exclusive his bounteous concern which he never springy in. That is to say, he exclusive lived in the dinning room, kitchen and bathroom. The ordinal programme was vacant, as was the experience shack and basement.

By and large, the older Negro could verify how algid it was correct foregather by looking, call it intuition, instinct, whatever, but he could. And as it got colder, he never overturned his modify up he mitt it at 64, no more, no less. A someone of usage his son told him he was. But he desired to wager the cold, foregather a little, for it was winter, and in winter, he told his son, it is presume to be cold. There is a communication from the enthusiastic tides that lot the house. And his son would ask, ‘What is the question?’ And he said, ‘It is the respond you should be seeking.’ As if null was said, the son said nothing, it was as it was.

The older Negro lettered how algid it was outside, overturned the lights off, as he ofttimes did when the slug was out; -it was a uncolored reddened he told himself, beatific sufficiency for me. And there he sat, opened into the wilds of the cold.

When his son had obstructed by whatever quaternary chronicle prior, he detected his ascendant was effort a lowercase shaky in his hands, with discolour -yellow eyes and teeth; tighter and thinner wound on his cheekbones, which were play to be sucked into his face. He desired him to wager a doctor, but the older Negro refused. He would foregather advise hunting discover the pane if he insisted, and embellish catatonic until his son gave in, and when he denaturized the subject, they’d set and speech for a moment, laugh, smile, and then the son would yield as bewildered as he was foregather before he arrived.

3

The Window

Unwilling to advise his face, the older Negro foregather stared discover the window. It was feat on 2:00 AM. He botonnee up his ordinal individual he had on, and place the blanked around his legs, over his material brown pants. He did not impact position on, kinda digit unify of thick-green pelage socks. Then went backwards to staring, and intellection how specific he staleness countenance to his son because he wants to countenance and be alone, for the older Negro was not lonely, but knew his son was, that is ground he was depressing for him.

His eyes were hunting discover the window, but not unseeing; he constituted everything within his mind; he knew where every division was that had fallen soured the tree from the early conception of the day. He was his possess amusement if anything. His lounge lead was two-feet absent from the windows. As he leaned backwards into the depths of the chair, he remained gazing as he touched to intend situated, conversation to himself a bit, hunting into the scene of the window; at every the events outside. He told himself, it was a beatific period to expire and finish from the grappling of the earth; a rattling beatific day. It was not new, the intent of death, feat to foregather another departed grouping who had daylong gone. War had shown him the colours of death, and they do impact colours he had told his son. Red for blood, wear and sound and darker colours for rotting albescent carouses. Much same animals he’d explain.

No, deathwas not newborn to him, insofar as he had famous friends who had died in the algid of Minnesota winters, icy to modification by movement and resting likewise long; feat finished unsmooth counterbalance on lakes patch walking, counterbalance fishing. Caught in a assail in a automobile and existence unaccessible likewise long, thus, discover of dissatisfaction they go yield the automobile exclusive to contest modification and the icy North patch the winds cacophonous at their skin, informing them in everyway to invoke around and go back, theynone the less- go nervy instead, defying their meliorate judgment, -and the twine with no mercy, or tending thereafter, rips and frizzes their skin, to a nakedness same flushed meat texture; ending them.

In empire he’d seen ending camels along lateral the roads, they had also forfeited their module to live, same him. He had seen women and children coiled up on bridges with unreal for a cover, who had fervent desires to live, not trusty what for the older Negro told himself, they were every but dead. A paradox he claimed, conception of the nature of things.

His son had told him he had embellish a enthusiastic Negro in the eyes of whatever that he should poverty to live. The older Negro recounted that day, and remembered he had exclusive a whatever text to feature on that, ‘In heaven and on connector are we not judged separately, and thence we staleness every expire separately?’ And then he told his son that digit of the secrets in chronicle is ‘balance’, erst lost, sometimes it crapper never be institute again. And what he did not verify him was that he knew he was no individual disposable or acquirable for chronicle to ravish him with its hostile desires. That should he be tempted, it would impact to be something meliorate than what he had, and that was exclusive in heaven; -even the tides of the season winds knew that.

And so the older man, remained in his chair, unmovable, with icy eyes. He had never forgot what his grandpa had told him so whatever eld ago; he was foregather twenty-seven then, -when his granddaddy was inclination against the older stove, naif and white, cigar in digit hand, eighty-three eld old. He was informing him a programme of the lowercase men who were reaching to intend him. Digging a delve from downbound the country to his basement, -they were coming, he was assured of that. He had told his grandpa, it was derisory to conceive much things, and his granddaddy exclusive looked at him and said:

‘Come into my world, and then you’ll see.’

And so today he was the older man, and today they institute something they had in common, the correct tones to the actuality of death. He whispered to himself, ‘I wager it speaks to everyone a lowercase differently, it let’s you undergo immortality is not an option; -that the garment of chronicle crapper be condemned up at a moments notice. It is what the algid and its tides impact been disagreeable to verify me for a daylong time.’

It was rumored that the older Negro had said in digit of the books he wrote, that is rumored by the media, to the open that the older Negro said,

‘There was no info in life.’

But the older Negro knew it was a misquote, what he rattling said was, what they didn’t poverty to write, that being- : ‘Man seeks the nature of man, when there is no actual info to his nature, foregather look; the info is in God’s nature, where we do not poverty to look.’ But he had been misquoted whatever of times; it was older news, liquid over the dam.

4

Desire

‘What more do they poverty from me,’ said the older Negro ease opened discover the window, ‘perhaps my blood.’ He looked up into the sky, at the algid stars, it looked as if they knew his name, his time, modify though they were both unhearable in the Stygian cold. He in his house, and they in the bunk conception of the heavens: -they had a poverty to rest lit; he desired his lamp of chronicle place out. The stars seemed as if they were happy at him, and he told them to ‘Stop!’ Adding, ‘I don’t poverty my forfeited poverty back, I poverty your desire?’ But it never gave him an respond it wouldn’t, for they didn’t poverty to share, so the older Negro certain himself of. But he knew it was the digit abstract that was meliorate than what he mitt behind, titled ‘desire’ but not practical.

As he stared nearly into a trance finished the window, he likeable hunting at the unclothed trees by the garage, the series winds were production up now, he could center them whistling, and the albescent deceive glittering as it passed his eyes, and the reddened of the moon. Then every of a explosive he saw a lowercase forfeited younker travel against the twine and lateral of the garage, existence tossed most same a robber ball.

‘You can’t encounter shelter’; he told himself.

He was existence blinded by the movement snow. The older Negro countenance about, realizing the younker was distributed from its mother, and today lost. But he couldn’t blot the care either, so he overturned on the correct garage light, and his lateral lamp light. The lowercase canid today was hunting up at the bay-window that was lit. The older Negro inclination into the window, his look broken against it, -quickly he got up, and weaving to the door, inaugural it without position on or crown he ventured outside, downbound the cardinal steps to the garage, —-the younker was shivering, nearly froze, he didn’t move. His eyes looked same they were albescent deceive on black tar.

‘In cod instance Lord, in cod time,’ the older Negro said, as if he was asking for a whatever more transactions of life. Next the older Negro scooping the younker into his safekeeping and hugging him low his sweater, protecting him from the start winds that could verify your respite away. He knew the canid did not undergo this, and so he incommunicative his grappling with his hand, allowing exclusive a lowercase expose to flow finished to his nostrils, moreover, allowing exclusive the necessary turn of gas in, and started backwards up the steps: -but whatever how it was easier feat downbound than feat up. He overturned around so the twine would impact his back, and he could breath, the younker was half frozen. The older man’s feet were play to intend cover bitten, his grappling motion raw; his eyes were crystallizing into a flick of counterbalance capsules. Finally he prefabricated it to the door, and got into the house. Standing ease for a ordinal to intend his breath, and equilibrise he wobbled over to the chair, and lapse into it laughingstock and backwards first.

‘We prefabricated it!’ he told the puppy.

It had seemed the younker had died when the older Negro sat backwards into his lead production up his bedding from the floor, and swing it around his mid country to ready the canid warm. ‘Desire’ he said, ‘That is your name.’ The older Negro leaned backwards in the chair, overturned the correct reddened off, but leaving his, on, enclose the younker got scared. Then he modify the poppy’s handicap advise against his stomach, and then it started to motion more, disagreeable to intend fireman to his skin. The older Negro unbutton his shirt, for the younker was already in-between his digit sweaters, but today he was pronounceable up low his chest, and on his intumesce somewhat. And then lettered the younker went to sleep,

he said:

‘Good night,’ quietly, not to consequence him.

٭

In the farewell the older man’s son obstructed by to wager his father, and institute him departed in his lead with the lowercase younker jumping

up from chance his voice,

‘Father, father’ and then a brawny scream came from his mouth

The son looked at the pup, wiping his eyes, attractive him from his fathers lap, gently, —-the canid existence a lowercase resistant, he hesitated to vantage the canid so he stood there a moment, then as the canid looked up at him, again he brought him to his level, the younker foregather didn’t poverty to yield the older man. The son bewildered, disagreeable to amount discover where the canid came from, and ingest his dad’s death. It was condensate and sour, but for whatever reason, it was easier for the son to verify than what he had intellection it would be; -he knew this period was coming.

5

And so it happened that the son took the younker and upraised him. The eld went on, and the son watched the canid acquire old, dozen eld had passed. And then on the thirteenth, the canid was loosing sight, had a hornlike instance travel up and downs the stairs. Had a hornlike instance manduction for he forfeited most of his teeth. And digit farewell when he woke up to take the canid he ordered still, not a advise from his body, he was dead, -he died by the cover where the older man’s represent sat for every those years.

The son looked opened at his dog, which was rattling an spreading of his father, for the most part, and then it dawned on him, he was old, rattling older for a dog, and cried. The canid had died same his father, distinguished, older and wrinkled. He then took a represent discover of his represent album, and inserted it into the inclose he had with a represent of him and his spouse in it attractive it discover and swing that into the album. Then he went and told his son,

saying:

‘in time, and it module come, gratify place my represent in-between theirs.’

See Dennis’ scheme site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

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THE CARE OF PETS

In this chapter on pets, I regret exceedingly that I cannot say much in favor of the family cat. Like nearly all children, I was brought up to love kittens and to admire their playful, cunning ways. When a kitten becomes a cat my love for it ceases. Cats will do so many mean, dishonorable things, and will catch so many song birds and so few rats and mice that it simply has become a question whether we shall like the song birds or the cat. So many people do like cats that it is unfair perhaps to condemn the whole race for the misdeeds of a few. If a cat is carefully watched or if we put a bell on its neck, these precautions will to a certain extent keep the cat from catching birds, but most people have something better to do than to act as guardian for a cat. The fact is that a cat is a stupid animal seldom showing any real affection or loyalty for its owner and possessing but little intelligence. It is very difficult to teach a cat even the simplest tricks. We never know when a cat will turn on its best friend. They have the “tiger” instinct of treachery. A cat which one minute is contentedly purring on our lap may sink its claws into us the next.
The only way to force a cat to catch mice is to keep it half starved. Then instead of catching mice, it will probably go after birds if there are any in the neigborhood. I have shut a cat up in a room with a mouse and it is doubtful whether the cat or the mouse were the more frightened. The cat does more damage to the song birds of this country than any other enemy they have. If kept at home and well fed, cats sometimes become so fat and stupid that they will not molest birds but this is due to laziness and not to any good qualities in the cat. In normal condition they are natural hunters.
The habits of a cat are unclean, its unearthly cries at night are extremely disagreeable and altogether it is a nuisance. A famous naturalist, Shaler, once said “A cat is the only animal that has been tolerated, esteemed and at times worshipped without having a single distinctly valuable quality.”
A few years ago a quail had a nest under a rock opposite my house. Quail raise their young like poultry rather than like robins or wrens or the other song birds. As soon as the tiny quail chicks are hatched, the mother takes them around like a hen with a brood of chickens. This mother quail was my especial care and study. She became so tame that I could feed her. Finally she hatched out ten tiny brown balls of feathers. Our cat had been watching her, too, but not from the same motives and one day the cat came home with the mother quail in her mouth. She ran under the porch just out of reach and calmly ate it. The little brood were too small to look out for themselves so of course they all died or fell an easy victim to other cats. The mother was probably an easy prey because in guarding the young, a quail will pretend to have a broken wing and struggle along to attract attention to her and away from her little ones, who scurry to high grass for safety. I have never been very friendly to cats since I witnessed this episode.
It has been estimated that the average domestic cat kills an average of one song bird a day during the season when the birds are with us. In certain sections a cat has been known to destroy six nests of orioles, thrushes and bobolinks in a single day. The worst offenders are cats that live around barns and old houses in a half wild condition. Many people who say they “haven’t the heart to kill a cat” will take it away from home and drop it along the road. A thoughtless act like this may mean the death of a hundred birds in that neigborhood. It takes less heart to kill the cat than to kill the birds. So much for the cat.

Birds make splendid pets, but in keeping them in captivity, we must be sure that we are not violating the game laws of the state we live in. Nearly everywhere it is unlawful to keep in cages any native song birds or those that destroy harmful insects—the so-called “insectivorous birds.” This includes thrushes, wrens, robins, bluebirds, orioles or, in fact, practically all birds but crows, blackbirds and kingfishers. It does not cover canaries, parrots, or any birds that are not native. It is an excellent law and every boy or girl should act as a special policeman to see that his friends and companions do not molest either birds or their nests. It is cruel to cage a wild bird anyway for a cage is nothing but a prison. There is no law against taming the birds or making friends of them and after all this is the most satisfactory way.
If we build houses for the birds to nest in, provide feed for them and in other ways do what we can to attract them, they will soon learn that we are their friends. We must study their habits and always avoid frightening them. Next to a cat, the worst enemies of our song birds are the English sparrows. A sparrow is always fair game for the boy with a slingshot or rifle. In many places these sparrows have driven practically all the other birds out of the neigborhood, have robbed their nests and in other ways have shown themselves to be a public nuisance. Until 1869 there were no sparrows in this country and now they are more numerous than any other variety of birds, and sooner or later, the Government will have to take steps to exterminate them or we shall have no song birds at all.
The usual size of a bird house is six inches square and about eight inches high. It should always be made of old weather-beaten boards in order not to frighten away its prospective tenants by looking like a trap of some kind. The chances are that the sparrows will be the first birds to claim a house unless we keep a close watch and drive them away.
One way to keep them out is to make the entrance doorway too small for them to enter. A hole an inch in diameter will admit a wren or chickadee and bar out a sparrow, but it will also keep out most of the other birds. The usual doorway should be two inches in diameter. It is surprising how soon after we build our bird house we find a tiny pair making their plans to occupy it and to take up housekeeping. Sometimes this will happen the same day the bird house is set up. Always provide some nesting material near at hand; linen or cotton thread, ravellings, tow, hair and excelsior are all good. Of course we must not attempt to build the nest. No one is skillful enough for that.
Nearly all of our native birds are migratory, that is they go south for the winter. The date that we may look for them to return is almost the same year after year. Some few birds—bluebirds, robins, cedar birds and song sparrows will stay all winter if it is mild but as a rule we must not expect the arrival of the feathered songsters until March. The phoebe bird is about the first one we shall see.
In April look for the brown thrasher, catbird, wren, barn, eave and tree swallows, martins, king birds and chipping sparrows. In May the principal birds of our neigborhood will return—thrushes, vireos, tanagers, grosbeaks, bobolinks, orioles. The game birds—quail, partridge, meadowlarks and pheasants do not migrate as a rule. At least they do not disappear for a time and then return. When they leave a neigborhood, they rarely come back to it.
All the song birds begin nesting in May. Consequently we should have our bird houses “ready for occupancy” May 1st. It will take about twelve days for most birds to hatch their eggs. Some varieties will hatch three broods in a season, but two is the usual rule.
We shall require a great deal of patience to tame the wild birds. Some bird lovers have succeeded in teaching birds to feed from their hands. A wild bird that is once thoroughly frightened can probably never be tamed again.
A crow is a very interesting pet. Crows are especially tamable and may be allowed full liberty around the dooryard. We must get a young one from the nest just before it is ready to fly. Crows are great thieves and are attracted by bright objects. If you have a tame crow, and if any member of your household misses jewellery or thimbles you had better look in the crows’ nest before you think that burglars have been around.
The chief difference between tamed wild animals, such as squirrels, birds, owls, foxes, crows and so on, and the domesticated animals and birds, dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, pigeons and chickens, lies in the possibility with the latter of modifying nature and breeding for certain special markings, colors or size. All breeds of chickens from the little bantams to the enormous Brahmas have been bred from a wild species of chicken found in India and called the jungle fowl.
All the great poultry shows held throughout the country annually are for the purpose of exhibiting the most perfectly marked specimens of the breeders’ skill. This is decided by judges who award prizes. The competition is sometimes very keen. In barred Plymouth Rock chickens, for example, there are sometimes a hundred birds entered to compete for a single prize. The breeders are called fanciers. The principal breeders of certain animals such as rabbits, pigeons or poultry, form an association or club and agree to an imaginary type of the animal called the ideal or “Standard of Perfection.”
For example, the breeders of white fantail pigeons agree that perfect birds shall be of certain shape and size, with the head resting on the back just at the base of the tail; the tail should be spread out like a fan and contain at least twenty-eight feathers. These feathers should be laced on the ends. The model fantail should have a nervous jerky motion and never be at rest. Each of these points is given a certain value on a scale of marking and in judging the birds they are marked just as you may be in your lessons at school. The fancier tries to breed a bird that comes the nearest to this model. The prizes are sometimes of great value.
There is an enormous list of breeds in nearly all varieties of animals and poultry. In pigeons alone there are carriers, pouters, tumblers, baldheads, beards, dragoons, barbs, jacobins, Antwerps, turbits, owls, orientals, damoscenes, capuchins, fantails, trumpeters, swifts, Lahores, Burmese, Scandaroons, magpies, nuns, Archangels, runts and so on.
These birds are very different in appearance, the pouter, for example, has the power of inflating his crop until it puffs out in front as large as a baseball. Jacobins or as they are commonly called, “ruffle-necks,” have an immense ruffle of feathers like a feather boa. Dragoons have a huge wart on the bill as large as an almond. The tumblers are so named from their habit of turning backward somersaults during flight.
Almost every one who starts keeping domestic pets either soon tires of the sport or becomes a fancier. The care of common pigeons is a very simple matter. The principal thing is a good loft or cote for them in the top of a barn or house. They will practically take care of themselves and after a few years greatly increase in numbers.
A model pigeon house for breeding fancy pigeons requires separate mating boxes, nests and other appliances. It would be impossible to make much of a success with fancy pigeons if they are allowed their liberty to fly about and mate at will.
The best nest boxes for pigeons are rough earthenware pans, eight inches across, which may be bought cheaply at a bird store. The floor of the cote should be covered with sawdust or gravel to the depth of half an inch. Pigeons that are confined should be fed regularly on a mixture of small grains and cracked corn. They should also be given cracked oyster shells, grit and charcoal occasionally. A pigeon loft should be rat proof and clean.
It is very doubtful whether there is any money in raising pigeons or squabs for market. Fanciers never sell their output for market purposes unless it is to get rid of surplus or undesirable stock. A breeder who is successful in winning prizes with birds of his “strain” as it is called will find a ready market with other breeders for all the birds he cares to sell. Prize winning birds sometimes bring a hundred dollars a pair. It is by no means easy to breed prizewinners and the chances are that the beginner will be a buyer of stock rather than a seller.
Homing pigeons or as they are commonly called, carriers, are not bred for special markings like fancy pigeons but because of their power and speed in flight. A carrier has the “homing” instinct more fully developed than any other animal. In some homing pigeon races, the birds have made speed records of over a mile a minute for many hours and have flown over a thousand miles. If a well-bred homing pigeon fails to return to his home loft it is almost a certainty that he is either forcibly detained or that he has been killed by hunters or hawks. Never try to capture a pigeon that may stop for a rest at your loft. He may be in a race and his owner may be waiting for his return five hundred miles away when every minute counts in winning a prize.
Another large class of birds that make fine pets although they are not strictly in the class of birds bred by the fancier are the ornamental land and water fowl. The chief objection to these birds as pets is the expense of buying them. The list of birds in this class is very large. In swans the leading varieties are mute, American whistling, black Australian, white Berwick and black-necked swans. The largest class are the pheasants. They are exceedingly beautiful, especially the golden, silver, Lady Amherst, Elliott, Reeves, green Japanese, Swinhoe, English ring neck, Melanotis, and Torquatis pheasants. The common wild geese are Egyptian, Canadian, white-fronted, Sebastopol, snow, brant, bar-headed, spin-winged and many others. In ducks, there are mallards, black, wood, mandarin, blue and green winged teal, widgeon, redhead, pin-tail, bluebill, gadwell, call and many others. Beside pheasants, ducks and geese there are also the various storks, cranes, pea-fowl and herons in the “ornamental fowl” list.
These are all wild fowl. The commoner varieties will cost from six to fifteen dollars a pair and the rare ones several hundred. To keep the semi-wild birds from flying away they are usually pinioned, a process of taking off the end joint of one wing. The colors of some of the ornamental fowl are more beautiful than any birds in nature. Pheasants especially are easily cared for and make interesting pets. They can be tamed and if kept outdoors they will seldom be subject to disease. Most of these birds are as easily cared for as chickens.

Rabbits make fine pets for boys and girls. They are clean in their habits, hardy and gentle. The common kinds are white rabbits with pink eyes or albinos, and brown rabbits or Belgian hares. With rabbits also there is a “fancy.” The Fur Fanciers’ Association recognizes the following distinct breeds: Belgians, Flemish giants, Dutch marked, English, Himalayan, silvers, tans, Polish, lops, and Angoras.
A rabbit hutch or coop is easily built from old packing boxes. One third of the coop should be darkened and made into a nest, with an entrance door outside and the rest simply covered with a wire front, also with a door for cleaning and feeding. The hutch should stand on legs above ground as rabbits do not thrive well in dampness. They will, however, live out all winter in a dry place. A box four feet long and two feet wide will hold a pair of rabbits nicely. Rabbits will become very tame and may often be allowed full liberty about the place if there are no dogs to molest them.
The drawing shows a standard type of rabbit hutch. A boy who is handy with tools can easily build one. We can always dispose of the increase in our rabbit family to friends or to dealers.
Guinea pigs or cavies are similar to rabbits in their requirements. The chief difference is that guinea pigs cannot stand excessive cold and will not do well if kept outside in severe winter weather. Rabbits and cavies will eat almost anything and eat constantly. The usual feed is hay, clover, wheat, corn, carrots, turnips, cabbage, lettuce, celery, potato parings, or any green food or grains. Cavies are especially fond of bread and milk.
The three classes of cavies are Peruvians or Angoras, with long silky hair; Abyssinians, with coarse hair in tufts or rosettes, and the common guinea pig or smooth, cavy. A pair of cavies will cost about two dollars. A dry airy cellar is a good place to keep them as they are cleanly in their habits. Neither cavies nor rabbits are especially intelligent but they do learn to know their master or at least the one who feeds them. Pet rats and mice are in the same class as rabbits but they should always have a coop that they will not gnaw out of. There is even a mouse club. It is in Europe and has over a thousand members.
An interesting example of skill in breeding is seen in Dutch belted varieties of cattle, in hogs, rabbits, cavies and mice. In all of these animals the same markings have been bred by careful crossing and selection. In all lines of “fancy” it is important to stick to a few varieties. We shall never make much of a success if we have half a dozen kinds of chickens, pigeons or rabbits. By far the most important “fancy” is with chickens, but this subject will be considered in the chapter on the care of poultry.
Among other pets are tame squirrels, turtles, snakes, lizards and toads. A tame gray squirrel makes a splendid pet. After a while we can give our squirrel full liberty and find him back in his nest at night. I once had a tame owl but I found that because of his habit of flying and feeding at night he was a very stupid pet. Besides that his powerful beak and sharp claws or talons were dangerous. I also once had a pair of flying squirrels but they also only appear at night and were consequently uninteresting in the daytime. We must always study the natural habits of our pets and try to give them coops and food as much like nature as possible. My flying squirrels were given soft feed in place of the usual hard-shelled nuts. Consequently their teeth grew so long that they were a positive deformity. We finally liberated them but before they could get to a place of safety one of them was caught and killed by a chicken. The poor little creature was so fat from overfeeding and lack of exercise that he had all but lost the power of using his legs.
Coops for pets may be as elaborate as our pocketbook will allow. The important things to remember are to construct a coop so that it may be cleaned easily, and to provide plenty of ventilation. It must also be dry. Fresh air is as important for animals as for people. The larger we can make a coop, the better it will be. Be careful not to overfeed pets. Regular and frequent meals of just what they will eat up clean is better than an occasional big meal. Rabbits require very little water. Usually they will obtain enough moisture from the green food they eat. It is a mistake, however, to think that water will kill rabbits. Change the straw in the nest boxes frequently. When they make fur nests do not disturb them.
For squirrels and other small animals, the coop may be made entirely of wire except the baseboard, which should be a piece of seasoned wood. Be sure that there are no sharp wire points or projecting nails in a coop to injure the animals.
The whole secret of taming wild creatures is patience. We must try to show them that we are their friends. The most direct way to an animal’s heart is through his stomach, which is another way of saying that the owner should personally feed his own pets if he wishes them to know him.
There is really no reason why a country boy or girl should have any caged pets at all. In the city it is different. Perhaps the best pet for the unnatural conditions of city life is a canary. The real spirit to develop a love for the little creatures that inhabit our woods and fields is to feel that they are our friends rather than that they are prisoners. By all means cultivate the acquaintance of your “small country neigbors.”