286 WILD NEIGHBORS CHAP. X 
frost is out of the ground, they capture more 
insects, noxious and otherwise, than at any other 
time, except, perhaps, when grasshoppers are preva- 
lent. Some captive ’coons are ‘cute about beguil- 
ing chickens within reach. Mr. C. L. Herrick 
relates, in his ‘Mammals of Minnesota,” that his 
pet abstained for weeks from harming the hens 
and chickens until they lost all fear and clustered 
about the animal to pick up the crumbs whenever 
he was fed. Then suddenly he profited by this 
education and had many a good dinner off his 
dupes before his credit was lost. I have been 
told of another pet raccoon, in western Pennsy]l- 
vania, which was kept chained in a yard and fed 
on bread and vegetables until he longed for flesh. 
One day he was observed to break up his bread 
between his palms and scatter the crumbs in a 
line from the uttermost reach of his tether to the 
mouth of his artificial burrow. Then he went and 
lay down, very quietly, as if asleep. The chickens 
wandering about struck the trail of crumbs, and 
innocently followed it up to the nose of the hum- 
bug in fur, who snatched one or more with a leap, 
and twisted their heads off. I cannot so vouch 
for the accuracy of observation here, as to be 
certain that the scattering of the crumbs was 
intentional; but I believe that such a device is 
quite within procyonine capability. 
The prime delicacy of the world in the ’coon’s 
opinion, however, is Indian corn, in that same 
