212 FAMILIAR LIJ?E IN FIELD AND FOREST. 



creature is old. On the whole, between young rab- 

 bit, coon, frog's legs, and chicken, each " done to a 

 turn," give me the chicken last. It is a great mistake 

 to cook any meat whatever from an animal freshly 

 killed; an interval of three days at least, and the 

 temperature of a refrigerator, are absolutely requisite 

 to bring flesh to the proper point of tenderness. 



The fur of the coon is thick, long, and pepper- 

 and-salt gray ; the tail is strikingly ringed with black, 

 and the face is strongly marked. Occasionally there 

 are individuals caught which are nearly all black; 

 the pelts of these bring as much as two dollars each. 

 Coons from New York, ISTew England, Ohio, Iowa, 

 Michigan, and the Northwest have the finest fur, and 

 these skins bring from twenty to eighty cents, accord- 

 ding to quality. Skins from the Southern States and 

 south Indiana and Illinois bring from fifteen to sev- 

 enty cents. 



