1 36 Photography for the Sportsman Naturalist 



which good photographs of any of these smaller 

 animals, especially the rodents, are obtained in the 

 open, I am more in favor of the use of a cage 

 in this branch than in any other. If one is care- 

 ful in the placing of the accessories, very natural 

 surroundings can be arranged and the resulting 

 picture be excellent, but always make these acces- 

 sories conform with the nature of the habitat of 

 the subject and, above all, never make the expos- 

 ure when the animal shows the least sign of fear 

 either in pose or expression. It is best, therefore, 

 to keep him in the cage for two or three days, un- 

 til he becomes thoroughly accustomed to his new 

 home, before trying to photograph him. Often, 

 with mice, if we put some grass and other like 

 material in the cage, they will construct a nest, 

 and this always adds a note of naturalness to the 

 picture. 



Shrews, moles, etc., are easier subjects than are 

 the mice. The only trouble that I have experi- 

 enced in photographing moles is the fact that in 

 the photograph they always appear to be dead. 

 This is because they have no eyes, and eyes are 

 the things that do more than anything else to 

 show life in a picture. 



The white-footed mouse often makes its home 

 in a deserted woodpecker's hole, and if we can find 

 one of these nests and capture the inmate, we can 

 remove the branch and take the home as well as 



