389 



they are worth the space, be used in your books, but I do not 

 care to have my name go with them, as I make no pretensions 

 to be either a naturalist or a writer. 



HAWKS AND OWLS. 



"There are several kinds of Hawks and Owls about our farm 

 and most of them do little harm because they live chiefly on 

 Mice. Of course, every now and then a pair of big Hoot Owls 

 (Great Horned), which nest in February in the woods, come 

 around and steal some chickens, but they, too, eat Mice, Kats, 

 and Rabbits, all of which, when numerous, are a nuisance. 

 Then there are two varieties of slimly-built Hawks, with long 

 tails, that every spring are very troublesome when the hens 

 hatch out their broods. These Hawks will sometimes dash 

 by you and carry off a young chicken under your very eyes. My 

 son, last year, shot two, and the taxidermist who stuffed these 

 birds called them the Cooper's Hawk, and the Sharp-shinned 

 Hawk. These names may be right but we call them Chicken 

 Hawks. When they can not get chickens they kill birds such 

 as the Robin, the Lark, the Dove, and lots more of smaller 

 kinds that I call field and ground chippies; and these Hawks 

 always kill Partridges when any are about, but won't catch 

 grasshoppers and Mice as the little Sparrow Hawk does. They 

 do much mischief and I believe should be killed. 



WEASELS, SKUNK AND MINK. 



"When the Skunk gets in the habit of visiting the hen roost 

 or stealing eggs he had better be dead so far as the farmer 

 and poultry raiser are concerned; but Skunks generally, I be- 

 lieve, would rather eat grub-worms, June-bugs, grasshoppers, 

 crickets, other kinds of insects and Mice. When these can be 

 found they don't often come about to rob our hens. I like the 

 Weasel because he kills so many Mice and Rabbits, but then 

 he, too, frequently comes to rob us of poultry, and his visits 

 mean the death of many fowls. The Mink is a very bad neigh- 

 bor. A family of Minks did much damage to our fish in the 

 pond last year, and killed a lot of ducks, and several chickens; 

 then the boys, luckily one day, found the Minks in their nest 

 under an old building near the dam, and they killed them all. 

 There are not very many Minks about these parts, at least, 1 

 have not seen or heard of any for nearly twelve months past. 

 I never knew the Red Squirrel to disturb chickens but he kills 

 a good many Robins and some other small birds. Rats are 

 great poultry thieves; and once I saw a Mouse eating a chicken. 



