18. 



off and others close up, and thus it 

 continues flowering in the night dur- 

 ing the whole yea,v.-J3osto>i Budget. 



HIS ^PET. 



A pigeon which for six years was 

 a pet of the late Thurlow Weed for 

 a long time showed in a touching 

 way appreciation of the loss of his 

 master. Not long since a gentle- 

 man called at the house, and the 

 pigeon alighted on his shoulder, 

 cooed, peered into the stranger's 

 face, and then flew into an adjoining 

 room. 



"He has done that to every gentle- 

 man that has come into the house 

 since father died," said Miss Weed, 

 with a sigh. 



"He takes most kindly to Gen. 

 Bowen, who visits me occasionally, 

 and who has been in feeble health 

 some time and walks slowly. 



"The bird will coo and fly to the 

 general's shoulder, but when he sees 

 that it is not my father, he will stop 

 his cooing and find some other perch. 



"Since the day that father's re- 

 mains were carried away, the affec- 

 tionate creature has been seeking 

 for his master. He flies through 

 every room in the house, and fairly 

 haunts the library where father spent 

 most of his time with his pet. 



"He will tread over every inch of 

 space on the lounge and then go to 

 the rug over which he will walk re- 

 peatedly, as if in expectation of his 

 dead master's coming. 



"He invariably does this at meal- 

 times, when our table is set in the 

 back-parlor, of which we now make 

 dining room. He can see our table 

 from the rug." 



"Then you do not put him in a 

 cage?" 



"Oh, never," was the response. 

 "The run of the house has been his 

 since he came into it. Other pig- 

 eons come into our yard frequently, 

 and our pet sometimes joins them. 

 He seldom remains long; with them 



but comes back through one of the 



windows and begins his search 



through the house for my father." 



— Our Dumb Animals. 



-*-•-»- 



Utilizing the Owl. 



It is well known that crows, buz- 

 zards, ravens, and other similar birds 

 attack all owls, even the largest, in 

 the day time, as they are well aware 

 that the bright daylight blinds owls 

 to such an extent that it is impossi- 

 ble for them to defend themselves, 

 and for this reason the huntsman 

 uses a chained owl for attracting 

 crows and other birds that he wish- 

 es to destroy. The owl is chained 

 on an upright post or rod provided 

 with a crotch or platform on which 

 the bird can sit. This post or rod 

 is connected with a rope or chain 

 passing over suitable pulleys and ex- 

 tending to a hut, so that by pulling 

 the rope or chain the support or 

 platform on which the owl rests can 

 be moved up or down, thus causing 

 the owl to move about, flap his wings, 

 and create a commotion to attract 

 the other birds. A short distance 

 from this post a low shanty or hut is 

 erected, the side toward the post, on 

 which the owl is chained being pro- 

 vided with small openings, through 

 which the barrels of the guns can 

 be thrust. The hut should be erect- 

 ed at the base of a large tree, as 

 many birds of prey prefer to take a 

 short rest before attacking their en- 

 emy, the owl. 



A short time after the owl has 

 been chained, it is surrounded by a 

 flying mob that begins to bother and 

 pester it, the large birds being very 

 bold and audacious in their attacks. 

 The hunter in the shanty or hut 

 can take good aim, and kill a very 

 large number of birds in a very short 

 time, for it seems that the killing of 

 some of the birds does not disturb 

 the rest, and those dispatched by the 

 hunter are immediately replaced by 

 others. — Scientific American. 



