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 neighbours.”

THE DOG

Every boy should own a dog.  He is the friend and companion of our youth.  For a boy to grow up without a dog is to be denied one of the real joys of life.

Senator Vest once said:  “The one absolute, unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world; the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog.  He will sleep on the cold ground where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely if only he can be near his master’s side.  He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will guard the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince.  When all other friends desert he remains.”