NATURAL HISTORY. 



WOLVES, DOGS AND CATS. 

 W. B. PARSONS, M.D. 



In June Recreation I noticed a com- 

 munication from Mr. E. S. Thompson, re- 

 garding the habit of wolves' rolling in car- 

 rion, and his suggestion that it is probably- 

 done to conceal their individual smell, to 

 the end that animals and birds, upon which 

 they prey, may not detect their dangerous 

 proximity. While this hypothesis seems 

 plausible, it is not quite satisfactory. Dogs, 

 almost universally, are addicted to the same 

 filthy habit. They, however, are closely re- 

 jated to wolves and no doubt both are de- 

 scendants from a common ancestry. 



I have seen many dogs, of different 

 breeds, and have owned several, that were 

 veritable nuisances because of this habit. 

 One of mine was a collie, smart and indus- 

 trious, but this was his failing and there 

 were few regrets when he was stolen by 

 some " Kansas or bust " movers. 



Another was a fice — a wide-awake, frisky 

 pet — nice and clean in other respects but 

 whenever he ran across any carrion he at 

 once proceeded to perfume himself. Then 

 he would act as though he knew he had 

 done something mean. 



On such occasions he was given plenty 

 of " cold shoulder " and denied access to the 

 house. Still he did not profit by experi- 

 ence, for he invariably repeated the dose 

 at every opportunity. 



Certainly these dogs could not have in- 

 tended to cover up their smell, for they 

 were not, and never had been, dependent 

 on their own exertions for a living. I can 

 only account for their actions on the theory 

 of heredity. 



There are other habits of the dog which, 

 to say the least, are peculiar and which are 

 doubtless of the same origin. One is turn- 

 ing around and around, on a few straws or 

 leaves, before lying down. As there is 

 nothing in sight to make a bed this is no 

 doubt another habit inherited from wild 

 ancestors. 



Another is, pawing and scratching just 

 after defecating, often on a solid surface 

 where there's nothing movable, in order to 

 cover up the faeces. Cats are more suc- 

 cessful, in' this line. Probably nature has 

 made an attempt to instil into these so- 

 called unreasoning animals, the laws of 

 sanitation, and it is not stretching the im- 

 agination to suppose that the great armies 

 of Bible times took the hint from their 

 dumb companions, and acted upon it, by 

 equipping themselves with paddles for the 

 same purpose. 



Another strange habit of the dog is con- 

 suming time in hunting for a satisfactory 

 object to urinate on. Any object that has 

 previously been used as a " ta^et " always 



receives the preference and the cause is a 

 mystery. 



Still another interesting habit of the dog 

 is that of secreting food, usually bones, when 

 he has had enough to eat. A hole is 

 scratched in the ground and the bone 

 covered with dirt. I have known dogs to 

 have several such caches, in different place's, 

 at the same time. 



Here is a remarkable incident. ,When I 

 was a boy, our family had a female cat which 

 was better cared for than many children 

 are. We little folks were very much elated, 

 one morning, to find her in the cradle with 

 6 kittens. She was allowed to retain her 

 quarters, and all went well for about 2 

 weeks, when, on returning from breakfast, 

 we found every kitten dead and horribly 

 mutilated. The mother of the kittens was 

 not there, which was quite unusual, as she 

 had kept constant guard over her little ones, 

 not allowing a dog or a cat to come near, 

 without a fight. It being warm weather all 

 the doors had been left open, and no noise 

 had been heard. Our first impression was 

 that the kittens had beeen killed by some 

 person, but this seemed improbable. Little 

 more was thought of the matter till several 

 months after, when I caught an old Tom 

 cat in the act of biting and killing kittens. 

 This cleared up the mystery. 



On telling this to the neighbors several of 

 them recalled having heard of or seen just 

 such capers of Tom cats. No satisfactory 

 explanation of the motive for the slaughter 

 was ever offered. The only possible reason 

 was that the Tom cat desired the company 

 of the mother, and the only way it could be 

 had - ,r as to destroy the objects of her care. 



To any one who has a penchant in that 

 direction the many curious doings of ani- 

 mals, birds, reptiles and insects are a source 

 of never-ending entertainment. It is not 

 uncommon for a sow to eat her own pigs. 

 We cannot say why, when done deliber- 

 ately, but when done under excitement, as 

 when great harm to them is feared, we can 

 assign the same motive a human mother 

 has in killing her offspring to prevent their 

 falling into the hands of savages, as has 

 been often done. 



WHERE ARE THE WILD PIGEONS? 



Caraccas, Venezuela. 



Editor Recreation: 



In reply to your query as to American 

 passenger pigeons in Central America: 



I have sent home for skins of the pigeons 

 which are found in Northeastern Nicaragua 

 and Honduras. They will help answer 

 your questions, while gratifying a desire I 

 have often felt to look into this subject. 



I have never seen, or heard of, flocks of 



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