NATURAL HISTORY. 



377 



reason." That proposition has been proved 

 so often as to be beyond doubt or argu- 

 ment. All who have owned dogs and 

 watched them have noticed instances where- 

 in dogs placed under unusual conditions 

 have overcome difficulties which they for 

 the first time encountered, and the solution 

 of which lay entirely outside the domain of 

 instinct. 



Take the case of Bob, a black spaniel 

 owned by I. N. MacBride, of Port Town- 

 send, Wash. Bob, in eager pursuit of 

 some doves on a wharf, one day, fell over- 

 board. It was a cold day, the tide was out, 

 and there was neither float nor slip access- 

 ible to the poor dog. He swam frantically 

 about in the icy water, along the sea-wall, 

 looking in vain for a place to land. His 

 owner seized a rope and ran to the place 

 where Bob, chilled to the bone and nearly 

 exhausted, was feebly swimming. 



" Hold on, Bobby! I'm coming! " he 

 cried, and the animal turned and swam to- 

 ward him. Mac threw one end of the rope 

 to him, and the dog seized it with a death 

 grip. Carefully towing Bob along Mac got 

 him around a turn in the wharf to a slip. 

 There he knelt on the edge and pulled Bob 

 up until he could reach the dog's collar, and 

 landed him on the wharf too exhausted to 

 stand alone. A goodly dose of hot toddy 

 and a vigorous rubbing with hot flannels 

 soon brought Bob around. 



Some fool dogs wouldn't have reasoned 

 about the rope nor have arrived at the con- 

 clusion Bob did. Was it instinct? No! 

 Reason? Yes! - MacCurdy. 



YELLOW FOOTED MARMOT, ARCTOMYS 

 FLAVIVENTIS.* 



ALLAN BROOKS. 



This marmot, to which the name of "rock- 

 chuck " is singularly appropriate, is com- 

 mon in suitable localities in the Okanagan 

 district, and probably over the whole of 

 Southern British Columbia, East of the Cas- 

 cades. 



I have seen it in the mountains as high 

 as 6,000 feet, but never in the same local- 

 ities as its big congener, the hoary marmot, 

 Arctomys caligatus, commonly called whis- 

 tler. 



The rockchuck is most abundant in low, 

 rocky foothills covered with bunch grass. 

 Where agriculture encroaches on its haunts 

 it does much damage, in some places taking 

 the larger portion of the crop. Its note is a 

 sharp, ringing chirp, or whistle; quite dif- 

 ferent from that of the Eastern woodchuck, 

 or that of the hoary marmot. 



Like the woodchuck it is subject to mel- 

 anism, entirely black specimens being not 

 uncommon. In the mountains. North' of 

 Vernon, they are said to be all black and of 

 large size. 



The rockchuck has many enemies; the 



* See illustration on page 326. 



most important being the golden eagle and 

 the coyote. In the summer marmots form 

 9/10 of the food of the golden eagle. 



Many Indians have told me that when 

 an eagle catches an unusually large marmot 

 it ascends with it to a considerable eleva- 

 tion and drops it to the rocks below; re- 

 peating the performance if the animal is 

 not dead after the first fall. I have never 

 seen this done, though I have many times 

 seen an eagle drop on a luckless marmot 

 from a great height, rushing downward with 

 closed wings, almost perpendicularly. 



Like all marmots the rockchuck has a 

 long period of hibernation — longer, in fact, 

 than either of the other 2 species I am ac- 

 quainted with. It goes into winter quar- 

 ters about the end of August and reappears 

 early in March. 



The young are ridiculously easy to catch, 

 rushing into any crack or hole in the rocks, 

 even if not big enough to cover them en- 

 tirely. In such places I have stroked them 

 with my hand and scratched their heads, 

 wifhout their showing any desire to bite. 



CARING FOR A DOG. 



Carson City, Nev. 



Editor Recreation: I notice in Recre- 

 ation an article by W. H. Camp which all 

 dog fanciers should read. Most people who 

 own dogs know little of them or how 

 they should be fed. They feed their dogs 

 from tin vessels and give them enough at 

 one time to last a week. This is wrong. 

 Food spoils quickly in tin dishes, and cer- 

 tain foods become poisonous if allowed to 

 remain in such vessels for any length" of 

 time. 



I remember telling a friend to use bichlor- 

 ide of mercury, 1/1,000 strength, for a wash 

 for mange, and the next day found him 

 with the mixture in a tin. I feed my dogs 

 table scraps, and never think of putting 

 food in vessels and allowing it to stand. 

 Dogs fed in that way are not healthy, have 

 no appetite and frequently vomit after a 

 hearty meal. 



My favorite dog is a cross between Lle- 

 wellyn setter and cocker spaniel. I feed him 

 from my hand. If he becomes costive I give 

 him the injection of which Mr. Camp 

 speaks. Sometimes I use merely warm wa- 

 ter and castile soap. I have often cured a 

 sick dog by such simple treatment. One 

 should watch the dog. Notice his hair 

 whether it be dead looking or glossy. No- 

 tice the eyes, whether bright or bloodshot, 

 with the lower lid drooping. 



It is not a good idea to give a dog a 

 violent cathartic, as it leaves him costive. 

 Feed your dog regularly and give him 

 plenty of exercise and fresh air. The fol- 

 lowing is an excellent remedy for worms: 



Iron sulphate 2 1 '3 grain. 



Santonin 2/3 grain. 



Mix and do not pulverize the santonin. 



