SECOND WEEK] May 113 



helping themselves from the deer's stock of " ole clo's," as 

 they have been observed getting their building material 

 from the deer in zoological parks. 



Of course the hair of deer and similar animals falls out 

 with the motions of the creatures, or is brushed out by 

 bushes and twigs; but we must hope that the shedding 

 place of a porcupine is at a distance from his customary 

 haunts; it would be so uncomfortable to run across a shred 

 of one's old clothes if one were a porcupine! 



The skin of birds and animals wears away in small 

 flakes, but when a reptile changes to a new suit of clothes, 

 the old is shed almost entire. A frog after shedding its 

 skin will very often turn round and swallow it, establishing 

 the frog maxim " every frog his own old clothes bag! " 



Birds, which exhibit so many idiosyncrasies, appear 

 again as utilizers of old clothes; although when a crested 

 flycatcher weaves a long snakeskin into the fabric of its 

 nest, it seems more from the standpoint of a curio collector 



as some people delight in old worn brass and blue 

 china! There is another if less artistic theory for this 

 peculiarity of the crested flycatcher. The skin of a snake 



a perfect ghost in its completeness would make a 

 splendid " bogie." We can see that it might, indeed, be 

 useful in such a way, as in frightening marauding crows, 

 who approach with cannibalistic intentions upon eggs or 

 young. Thus the skin would correspond in function to 

 the rows of dummy wooden guns, which make a weak 

 fort appear all but invincible. 



