1884.] 
AMERICAN ACRIOXJLTIJRIST. 
209 
The Fennec or Zerda. 
From an examination of its portrait, one would 
find it very dilHcult to say what were the relation¬ 
ships of the Fennec. When it was first brouglit to 
their notice, naturalists found a similar difficulty 
in assigning it a place, and it was by some classed 
with the squirrels and by others with the monkeys, 
before a study of its teeth indicated that its proper 
place was among the dogs and wolves. The ani¬ 
mal is a native of Egypt and other parts of North¬ 
ern Africa. It is less than a foot long, with a very 
bushy tail and a snout much like that of a fox. Its 
most striking feature is its enormous ears, which 
are about half as long as the body and remarkably 
wide. The color of the animal is a pale fawn, or 
sometimes, a creamy white. The base of the tail 
where it joins the body, and the tip also, are 
marked with black. The animal is carnivorous, 
but is fond of fruits also, especially the date, to 
reach which it climbs up the lofty trees. It makes ! 
shallow burrows in the sand, in which it remains ; 
during the day, as it is nocturnal in its habits. The : 
skin of the Fennec is regarded as affording the ( 
warmest fur of any in its country. The skins are so 
small that a garment made of them is very expen¬ 
sive. The scientific name of the Fennec is Megalo- 
Hs Bmcei. The generie name of this peculiar 
animal is from the Greek words for large and ear. 
ally they are not cooled down to the danger point 
until the end of the night, and in most cases the 
mischief is done within an hour or two of sunrise. 
When the night is cloudy frost is not feared. The 
curtain of clouds prevents the heat passing off into 
space. In a small garden it is not difficult to pro¬ 
tect the tomatoes and other tender plants. News¬ 
papers are always at hand, and are quite effective 
as blankets. The truck farmer will say that it is 
impossible to protect his plants by the acre. We 
are not so sure of that. In some of the French 
vineyards vines are protected by the acre, but they 
are planted and the trellises are built with a view 
to this. If the means are properly considered and 
the appliances kept in readiness, it would not be 
impossible to protect melons and tomatoes by the 
acre. For the orchard and vineyard smoke is the 
most available protection. It has long been used 
with success in the vineyards of Germany and 
Chickens in the Garden. 
The broods hatched the last of April, or early in 
May, can be safely stationed in the garden, as soon 
as the vegetables are in sight—the hens being con¬ 
fined in coops close by, with conveniences for food 
and water. Insects are abundant in a well manured 
soil, and will be devoured by the chicks with great 
greediness. They also enjoy the tender weeds, 
between the rows when they first appear. With 
cracked corn, insects, and young weeds or grass, 
they have a perfect diet, and grow very rapidly 
after warm weather sets in. They are thus an im¬ 
portant aid in destroying insect enemies that prey 
upon vegetables, and the strawberry plants. 
Squashes, melons, and cucumbers suffer most, and 
when their leaves appear, a good location for 
the coop is near these. When chickens get large 
enough to trouble cultivated plants, they must of 
course be removed from the vegetable garden. 
The European Salamander. 
According to the superstitions of the ancients, 
the Salamander was a creature which could pass 
through fire unharmed. Indeed, it had an actual 
fondness for it, and was never so happy as when 
among hot coals and flames. The animal of which 
these stories were told, is supposed to be the com¬ 
mon salamander of Europe, a little reptile that 
does not appear as if capable of doing anything re¬ 
markable. It is unfortunate in having a fire-proof 
reputation, for great numbers of the poor creatures 
have been subjected to trial in order to test the 
truth of the ancient story, and have miserably per¬ 
ished. The common salamander of Europe {Sala- 
rnandra maculosa) is six or eight inches long, and of 
the form showni in the engraving. Its color is 
black, with bright yellow markings and spots. It 
lives upon land, only visiting the water at the 
breeding season. Like the toads, frogs, etc., its 
early life is passed in the water, in the tadpole 
state. Being nocturnal, salamanders are seldom 
seen ; towards winter they secrete themselves in 
hollow stumps, under stones, etc., and remain in a 
dormant state until spring. The salamander pro¬ 
duces from glands behind its eyes, and upon its 
body a thickish, milky fluid which is poisonous to 
THE FENHEC OK ZERDA {MegaloUs Bmcei). 
The Bestruction hy Late Frosts. 
Late frost is a constant menace to the cultivator. 
He has transplanted his tender plants from the 
hot-beds; his peach trees have their buds ju.st 
ready to open; his grape-vines are pushing their 
tender shoots, and in one hour the prospects of a i 
season may be ruined. While late frosts do not j 
bring destruction every year, they come so fre- | 
quently that it would seem to be worth while to 
take all possible precautions to prevent injury by 
them. It does not seem to be generally under¬ 
stood that frost is not something that comes to us 
from a distance, but is, so to speak, caused by the 
plant itself. As soon as the plant cools to a cer¬ 
tain point frost is deposited from the air surround¬ 
ing it. Or course this is usually first deposited as 
moisture, which afterwards freezes. All attempts 
to avoid injury by frost must be directed towards 
preventing the plants from cooling. It may en¬ 
courage those who are disposed to try to shelter 
their plants, that the jjrotection is required for but 
a short time and towards morning. The plants 
begin to cool as soon as deprived of the heat of 
the sun, and continue to lose heat all night; usu- ‘ 
should be tested in this country. When a frost is 
apprehended let materials be provided, and a watch 
set, whose duty should be to call sufficient help to 
promptly start the smoke. A ready method of rais¬ 
ing a smoke is to throw damp straw upon a fire. 
Probably experiments will show that tar, petro¬ 
leum, or some other such material will afford a more 
efficient method of making a smoke than straw. 
small animals. This, which is produced in consid¬ 
erable abundance, is supposed to have given ori¬ 
gin to the belief that the animal could extinguish 
fire, and to another superstition, that the animal 
had the power of surrounding itself with an icy 
coldness. In this country there are several sala¬ 
manders and related genera in the Atlantic States, 
and many more iu the new States of the Far-West. 
THE SALAMAKDER, (Salamandro, maculosa). 
