THE EDUCATIONAL HUMANE SOCIETY 



355 



"THE SKUNK SNIFFED MY HAND CURI- 

 OUSLY." 



sea," for if 1 dodged I knew perfectly 

 well what would happen. But no ! The 

 skunk sniffed my hand curiously for 

 a moment and then, apparently satis- 

 fied, dropped its head which 1 fol- 

 lowed with my hand. I began strok- 

 ing it with my fingers in about the 

 same manner as one would stroke a 

 kitten, and this it seemed to receive 

 with much the same satisfaction as 

 would a kitten. This was repeated 

 several times until it became accus- 

 tomed to the performance and seemed 

 satisfied that no harm was intended. 

 I then picked it up by the nape of 



the neck and carried it out on the 

 lawn where a stone had been placed 

 in readiness. 



Now my only trouble was to get it to 

 remain on the stone as it insisted on 

 rambling around, but this was no more 

 than would have happened had it been 

 any other animal as it had apparentlv 

 accepted me as a friend and showed 

 no- desire to make things unpleasant. 

 At last I picked it up in my lap and 

 the deed was done. 



I then carried my little pet down 

 to the orchard, near where it was 

 captured, and gave it its liberty. It 

 seemed in no hurry to take advantage 

 of this, however, but took a few steps, 

 stopped and looked at us and then 

 started on again until at last it reached 

 its burrow and disappeared. 



I am sure that this little animal, or- 

 dinarily despised, is amenable to 

 kindness and understanding. If some- 

 times it makes itself disagreeable with- 

 out, from your point of view, sufficient 

 excuse, it may not be due to "pure 

 cussedness" but to a slight misunder- 

 standing on its part. And why should 

 that be so much more serious a matter 

 with a skunk than with a man? 



The Joys of Caring for Pigeons. 



WILLIAM E. BUTLER, GLENBR00K, CON- 

 NECTICUT. 



Writer's note: — These articles are writ- 

 ten for three reasons : 



I. Because so many persons are unin- 

 formed, or misinformed, or both, in regard 

 to the varieties, habits', etc., of pigeons. (I 

 have had people ask me how many eggs 

 I got a day! ) 



II. To endeavor to create an interest in 

 pigeons among those who have heretofore 

 allowed the subject to pass unnoticed. 



III. To further and maintain that interest 

 by some practical hints about the care and 

 breeding of pigeons. 



Inasmuch as there are vast numbers 

 of varieties among pigeons which are 

 classified at our leading shows, and 

 still more varieties which from their 

 scarcity will not warrant classification, 

 it is evident that the general subject 

 covers a very extensive and varied 

 field. Also, having specialized fantail 

 pigeons for some twenty odd years, I 

 do not feel qualified to write specifi- 

 cally on any other variety. However, 

 as I have kept several others at dif- 



