to a cave or hollow tree may thus reveal the identity of the occupant. This 

 method has also been applied with interesting results to the contents of fish 

 and other animal stomachs. It is necessary to build up a check or sample col- 

 lection of known hairs with which to compare the unknown. An interesting 

 and well illustrated account of this study has been published by L. A. Hausman 

 in the American 7\laturahst for 1920 (Vol. 54; Pg. 496-523) . 



E. T. Seton has called attention in several of his publications to the 

 value of the droppings or "scats" as an index to animal life. Anyone who 

 has collected around a pond or marsh frequented by muskrats has undoubtedly 

 noticed the small piles of oval pellets left at convenient landing or feeding 

 stations. The spherical scats of the rabbit are often the only sign to betray 

 its ''form" or grass shelter. The study of tracks is also of much aid to the 

 naturalist as an announcement of the kinds and numbers of wild mammals 

 of a vicinity and is treated in some detail in another chapter. 



Mammals are frequently kept as pets, but the range of choice is limited, 

 except for parks and 2,00s, by size, food habits, disposition and other con- 

 siderations. The hoofed animals, for example, are out of the question for the 

 average individual because of the space they require and the amount of food 

 they consume. The opossum does not make a good pet because of its sullen 

 disposition. Moles and shrews are generally impossible because of their enor- 

 mous appetites. A mole or a shrew will eat its own weight in food in twenty- 

 four hours. Many carnivores are prohibited by the nature of their food and 

 by their dispositions. A few, however, make excellent pets. Among these 

 is the much maligned skunk. Contrary to general impression the skunk 

 rarely uses its powerful gas defense unless injured or much alarmed. In cap- 

 tivity it makes a docile pet and eats almost anything from hens eggs to table 

 scraps. Some people prefer to have the scent glands of the skunk removed, 

 before keeping it for a pet. This operation is not very difficult, if performed 

 while the skunk is young. The raccoon group, consisting of the generally 

 distributed raccoon and the ring-tailed cat of the southwest, are attractive 

 animals and make interesting but mischievous pets. Perhaps the most 

 popular pets are rodents and related forms, such as squirrels, rabbits, mice 

 and others. These usually do well in captivity, if given plenty of opportunity 

 for exercise. A few of the rodents cannot be kept together in cages without 

 fatal results. Striped ground squirrels, for example, in spite of their gentle 

 expressions, are vicious toward each other and should be caged separately. 

 The porcupine, contrary to popular belief, cannot shoot its quills and is 

 easily tamed. The bats are usually abhorred because of traditions of human 

 parasites and desire to entangle themselves in human hair. The former idea 

 is entirely erroneous; bats do not carry bedbugs or human lice but, like all 

 animals that live in caves or hollow trees, may have external parasites of 

 their own. The latter idea apparently arose from the fact that a bat has 



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