GIFT OF 
CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT 
<2. <& *T jlVt-. \ A CL 'is 
Published monthly by The Agassiz Association, ArcAdiA: Sound Beach, Connecticut. 
Subscription, 51.50 a year Single copy, 15 cents 
Entered as Second-Class Matter June 12, 1909. at Sound Beach Post Office, under Act of March 3, 1897. 
Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, 
authorized on June 27. 1918. 
Volume XIV. DECEMBER, 1921 Number 7 
The Advantages Offered by Caged Animals. 
The Humane Societies are saying a 
good deal about the discomfort of pets 
not properly cared for. These well 
meaning remarks are right so far as 
they refer to actual cruelty caused by 
lack of care. In that respect we heart- 
ily agree with them, but to the con- 
siderate naturalist it is evident that 
one may become better acquainted with 
a four-footed animal or a bird in cap- 
tivity than by any other method. This 
we found true with a raccoon that was 
a resident in ArcAdiA and was at first 
fed by the aid of a nursing bottle and 
afterward treated to toast and ginger- 
bread, his favorite diet. That coon 
came to us without any seeking. In 
fact there was nothing to do but “bring 
it un” or let it die in babyhood. Never 
again do 1 want to go coon hunting. 
In fact I have not been coon hunting 
for half a century and I will never go 
again. 
Recently my daughter discovered an 
osprey standing by our Welcome Re- 
ception Room apparently uninjured 
and looking around as kindly and in 
as friendly a manner as if that were 
the proper place for an osprey. Fear- 
ing the sharp talons I put on heavy 
gloves but these were not necessary, 
as the bird made no effort to escape nor 
to scratch or bite. It seemed at once 
perfectly at home. It would not eat 
fish voluntarily but a liberal supply 
was put down its throat. On examina- 
tion we found that one leg had been 
injured, evidently by a shot. The un- 
injured wings were large and beauti- 
ful and measured more than five feet 
from tip to tip. 
I thought I knew an osprev because 
I had read and admired Air. Clinton G. 
Abbott’s monograph on this interest- 
ing bird and especially appreciated the 
beautiful photographs by himself and 
Mr. Howard H. Cleaves with which he 
illustrates it. But even their studies 
and extended experience in photo- 
graphing ospreys have left unknown 
some desirable things that one learns 
in the actual handling of the bird. The 
books say that an osprey is a harmless 
bird but this one proved to be more 
than that. 
There waS something in its attitude 
that would endear it to any one holding 
it. With its sharp claws and with its 
formidable looking beak there surely 
was something decidedly dangerous in 
its appearance but only in appearance. 
The fact that the bird refrained from 
attack gave one a feeling for it closely 
akin to love and suggested the delight- 
ful thought that that love might be re- 
ciprocated. which as an actual natural 
Copyright 1921 by The Agassiz Association, ArcAdiA: Sound Beach, Conn. 
