PROCYON LOTOK. o" 



do not exercise their cunning' tor sell-preservation; the\' are not 

 sufficiently suspicious ot unusual objects, and arc: easil}' taken in 

 almost an\' kind ot a trap. They are not switt runners and if pursued 

 take to a tree and are readily killed. 



They make, when taken young, intelligent and interesting pets, 

 being easily tamed, and evincing considerable affection for their 

 master. But they cannot be allowed their liberty, like tame 

 skunks, because ot their innate propensity tor mischief It not 

 closely watched they will sl)ly enter the house through some 

 open door or window, and are liable to do considerable damage, for 

 their natural curiosity prompts them to examine everything within 

 reach, and an)thing out of reach of a Coon must be inaccessible 

 indeed. They invariabl)- manifest an insatiate desire to in- 

 vestigate the pantr\- shelves, and rarely neglect to taste every 

 edible thing that happens to be there. They have a special 

 penchant for sweetmeats and greedily devour preserves, honey, 

 molasses, sugar, pies and cakes; and even bread, butter, lard, milk 

 etc., are by no means disregarded. They remove the covers from 

 jars and pails, and uncork bottles, with as much ease and tacility, 

 apparently, as if they had been instructed in this art trom earliest in- 

 fancy. Doors that latch, as they do in most old countr_\- houses, 

 are soon opened, even by unsophisticated Coons, and it takes them 

 but a short time to acquire the methcnl ot o[)ening knob doors. Their 

 fore paws are employed as hands, and can be put to almost as great 

 a variety of uses as those of the monkey — which animal they further 

 resemble in the propensity tor mischief-making. 



The Raccoon hibernates during the severest part ot the winter, 

 retiring- to his nest rather early, and appearing again in l^'ebruary or 

 March, according to the earliness or lateness of the season. Dislik- 

 ing to wade through deep snow he does not come out much till the 

 alternate thawing and freezing of the surface, suggestive ot coming 

 spring, makes a crust upon which he can run with ease. He does 

 not usually walk many miles during a single night, and consequently 



