246 OUR HOME PETS 



young he is, like all animals, fond of play, but 

 he does not usually become so much attached 

 to people as do some other of our little 

 friends. Moreover, he has the bad habit of 

 using his teeth too freely, chewing up slippers 

 and handkerchiefs and anything else he can 

 get hold of. 



Taken young, the prairie-dog is a most fas- 

 cinating pet, lively and droll, as tame as a cat, 

 and fond of being petted. He will eat almost 

 any vegetable food, and the only trouble to 

 be feared is his fondness for gnawing and 

 burrowing. He is neat and nice to have 

 about the house, but he is happier to have 

 the run of a yard, and dig out a home for 

 himself under the sod. 



An unusual pet, but, according to Dr. Hart 

 Merriam, one of the most agreeable, is the 

 common skunk. He is, to begin with, a beau- 

 ty, being black and white, with long glossy 

 fur, and a beautiful bushy tail tipped with 

 white. He is lively and amusing, neat in 

 habit, and most amiable. In regard to his 

 too-well-known odor, Dr. Merriam, who has 

 kept several of them, and knows them under 

 all circumstances, says that when one is well 



