''Cloudy and Colder' 



and old regulating the taking of our 

 fur-bearing friends are strictly en- 

 forced the shortage of useful pelts, 

 now so apparent, will soon become 

 much more acute. There is no longer 

 virgin trapping territory. Not even in 

 Alaska. Even in that remote region 

 the beaver and the marten have now to 

 be protected by a closed season 

 to prevent extermination. Raccoon, 

 mink, muskrat, otter, and even the 

 peerless predatory skunk, now find 

 refuge behind strict laws in various 

 states. The killing of all these at times 

 when their pelts are not prime is 

 little less than a crime in these days 

 of high cost of keeping warm in the 

 winter. 



In a cloudless, moonless sky even 

 the glittering stars look cold, and after 

 a day spent among books and mail 

 and manuscripts dealing with pastoral 

 pursuits, I note that Taurus and Aries 

 or in plain English the constellations 

 known as the bull and the ram are 

 [15] 



