38 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



game; in the city on the refuse of the 

 garbage cans, and there they become 

 a serious menace to public health. 



Nevertheless, the cat has his uses 

 — he is, together with the Terrier dog 

 an excellent prevention of rats, mice, 

 and other vermin ; for the same reason 

 that he is supposed to be a menace 

 to the song bird, he is a wholesome 

 check upon the ravages of the English 

 sparrow, (which, by the way, nothing 

 ever seems to exterminate) ; he is a 

 confiding and affectionate friend to 

 human kind, providing he meets with 

 the slightest encouragement or kind 

 treatment, just as a dog or a horse is ; 

 and at his best he is a creature of sur- 

 passing grace and beauty. 



The cat has always, and does now, 

 suffer more than any other domestic 

 animal from the prejudice of some, and 

 from the strange combination of hys- 

 terical affection and cruel indifference 

 of others who profess to be his friend. 

 A proper affection for a cat as a pet is 

 no more abnormal than the same sort 

 of affection for a horse or a dog: in fact 

 all such affections are wholesome and 

 elevating to all concerned. In short 

 the cat need not be exterminated or 



lose his liberty; but the Owner! — Oh, 

 yes, the Owner should by all means 

 learn the lesson of his responsibility ! 

 Very truly yours, 



Jane R. Cathcart. 



"Back to nature" is the cry, 

 Would you know the reason why? 

 Because it is our birthright true, 

 A heritage fcr all, not few. 



An Albino Woodchuck. 



Albinism appears occasionally in 

 various forms of animal life, but one of 

 the rarest examples is that of the 

 albino woodchuck. Here is a photo- 

 graph of such a woodchuck captured 

 in Virginia during the summer of 1910. 

 It was forwarded to Mr. Edward S. 

 Schmid, of Washington, on the twelfth 

 day of August of that year. Mr Schmid 

 lent the animal to Dr. R. W. Shufeldt 

 of Washington, and he succeeded in 

 making several excellent negatives of 

 the animal. A print of the best one of 

 these is herewith reproduced. The 

 woodchuck was a complete albino with 

 pink eyes. 



AN ALBINO WOOPCHUCK. 



