Raccoon 



dogs on moonlight nights in the autumn being now a com- 

 mon sound. 



Every now and then one also hears of some local sports- 

 man or other bringing home a raccoon which he had killed 

 quite unexpectedly when out after other game; only a week or 

 two ago a raccoon was caught in a mink trap near here. 



They are also said to be increasing in the same way in 

 other parts of New England, even in the vicinity of large 

 towns Boston, for example. 



Of course it is impossible to say as yet whether this in- 

 crease is likely to continue indefinitely or to prove merely transi- 

 tory. I see no reason why coons should not thrive here to a 

 certain extent as they do in other parts of the country, for 

 they are among the most widely distributed of our wild beasts, 

 and although hollow trees are not perhaps of such frequent 

 occurrence here as in hard-wood regions or in old-growth 

 forests, I believe that they are as much so as in many places 

 where coons are and always have been abundant. 



In some parts of the country they are said to dwell in 

 burrows which they dig in the high banks of streams by pref- 

 erence; in rough, ledgy land they appear to prefer cavities 

 beneath the rocks to hollow trees, even, probably finding greater 

 safety there. 



Corn is more generally raised here than almost any other 

 crop, and furnishes the coon with his favourite diet, complaints 

 of the damage done by them in this direction having of late 

 become quite frequent. 



When the corn is in the milk the raccoons strip down the 

 ears that are within their reach, and in sheer wastefulness and 

 wanton extravagance usually manage to destroy several times 

 as much as they actually eat. 



Though so much smaller, they are said to be quite nearly 

 related to the bears, and it would certainly appear that they 

 possess about all of the characteristic traits of the ursine family, 

 shuffling about the woods in a wholly bear-like manner, pre- 

 pared to dine on anything that offers, either animal or vegetable; 

 nuts, cherries, wild grapes and blackberries, bugs and reptiles 

 are all on the list, which does not end there, however, for rac- 

 coons are skilled both at fishing and hunting, though it is 

 probab'le that in both these pursuits they are compelled to de- 



249 



