80 FOUIi-FOOrjED AMERICANS 



" Because fur is given animals to protect them from 

 the cold ; the summer coat of a fur beast is thin, as 

 you see the summer coat of a horse is short, com- 

 pared to the thick coat that grows out at the first cold 

 weather. (Look at Tom and Jerry and see how woolly 

 they are now.) As it is never very cold in the South, 

 the fur animals do not need such thick, soft coats as 

 they do here, while in Canada and northward, where the 

 winter is far longer and colder than with us, the fur 

 is heavier yet." 



" There is a word I've heard hunters use for the fur 

 of animals, the same as plumage means the feathers of 

 birds, only I've forgotten it," said Rap. 



"Pelage, is it not? It comes from j^eau (pelt), 

 which means furry skin , a skin used for the leather 

 instead of fur is called a hide." 



Two men stepped across the road, with what looked 

 like Rabbits and (irouse hanging over their shoulders, 

 but slunk into the shadow of some bushes when they 

 saw the wagon. 



" Pot hunters, I know," said ^Ir. Blake, " snaring 

 and trapping, as usual." 



" How do 3'ou know the}' trapped tlie birds, daddy?" 

 said Nat. 



" Because they had no guns and hid when they saw 

 us. If you watch wood life much, my boy, you will soon 

 learn to see the reason why for things, and it is very 

 often the reason that helps you to see the thing itself." 



" Hoo-hoo-hoooo ! " came a cry from over a very 

 dark bit of road tlirough wliich tliey were going. 



" Nat, there is one of your friends, — the Great 

 Horned Owl," said the Doctor. 



