1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
413 
The Prairie-dogs. 
There never was a greater misnomer than 
that of calling the little animal, of which we 
present an engraving, a Prairie-dog. It has 
nothing canine about it, and its true relation¬ 
ships are among the rodents with the Squirrels, 
Marmots, andWood- 
cliucks. We general¬ 
ly speak of the Prai¬ 
rie-dog, though there 
are two and pos¬ 
sibly three species 
within our territory; 
but the most abun¬ 
dant is the one we 
have figured, which 
is found from Ne¬ 
braska to Texas. Va¬ 
rious names have 
been given to it by 
different authors, but 
the one adopted by 
our best naturalists 
is Cenomys Ludovici- 
anus. It is so much 
like our common 
woodchuck in gen¬ 
eral appearance, that 
it is well enough de¬ 
scribed by calling it 
a woodchuck in min¬ 
iature. Its length 
varies from ten to 
thirteen inches, and its weight from one to two 
and a half pounds. The ears are very short, 
and the tail about one-third as long as the body. 
The general color is reddish-brown; the shade 
varies with the season, and is lighter upon the 
lower part of the body than elsewhere. The 
tail for one-third or one-half from the tip is 
black, the rest being of the color of the body. 
The Prairie-dogs are social animals, and live in 
large communities known as “ dog-towns.” The 
animal burrows, and with the earth from the 
excavation forms a 
dome-shaped hillock 
which contains as 
much as two cart¬ 
loads of earth. These 
mounds are often 
seen upon the prai¬ 
rie as far as the eye 
can reach. The 
writer once, in West¬ 
ern Texas, was three 
days in passing 
through one of these 
dog-towns, and as 
the distance made by 
the train was esti¬ 
mated at twenty 
miles a day, the col¬ 
ony was at least 
sixty miles in length 
and extended on 
each side of the road 
as far as we could 
see. In each mound 
is an opening, some¬ 
times two, extend¬ 
ing downwards at 
an angle of 45 degrees. How deep the ani¬ 
mals burrow we cannot state, but some assert 
that they go down until water is reached. The 
animals are evidently on visiting terms, as well- 
beaten tracks extend from one burrow to an¬ 
other. Where these animals abound in such 
numbers, the herbage is very scanty, and we 
have frequently seen “ towns ” where the sur¬ 
face in every direction was so barren that it was 
difficult to imagine how such a multitude could 
subsist. The animals are very fond of a species 
of purslane, which grows in great abundance 
in some localities. It is said by some travelers 
that the towns are extended as food becomes 
tue Missouri prairie-dog. —(Cciiomys .Ludovicumus .) 
exhausted, and that a large share of the mounds 
are uninhabited, the animals having left for bet¬ 
ter pasturage. No one seems .to have watched 
the Prairie-dogs sufficiently close to be able to 
give a very full account of their habits. If the 
traveler approaches a town cautiously, he will 
see the animals in constant motion and chirp¬ 
ing to one another in the liveliest manner. As 
soon as he is seen, some animal gives the alarm, 
and away they all go, each for its own hole, 
where it stands with its head projecting and 
Japanese bantams. —Property of Messrs. J. II. Fry tfc Co. 
uttering its shrill bark. The Prairie-dogs are 
very difficult to shoot, as they dodge with great 
rapiditjq or if shot, they tumble into their holes 
out of reach. Those who have eaten the flesh 
of the animal pronounce it excellent. The 
young are easily tamed, but make rather unin¬ 
teresting pets, as they sleep a great portion of 
the time. In the dog-towns one meets with 
rabbits, numerous rattle-snakes, and a small 
burrowing owl. The prairie men assert that 
these live in common with the prairie-dogs, but 
it is more probable that they find it convenient 
to occupy the vacated dwellings of the prairie- 
dogs. The owl (Athene hypogcea) is a most 
comical bird, and 
may frequently be 
seen upon a mound, 
bowing and bobbing 
its head in an amus¬ 
ing manner. It is 
believed by the prai¬ 
rie travelers that it 
serves as a sentinel, 
and gives the prai¬ 
rie-dogs warning ol 
the approach of dan¬ 
ger. It is more prob¬ 
able, however, that 
the fondness of the 
owl for young prai¬ 
rie-dogs, and the 
convenience of find¬ 
ing ready-made bur¬ 
rows, are the rea¬ 
sons for its being so 
generally found in 
the dog-towns. Rat¬ 
tle-snakes, frequent¬ 
ly mentioned as in¬ 
habiting dog-towns, 
are so abundant iii 
parts of the far West, that it is difficult to say if 
they are more frequent there than elsewhere. 
Japanese Bantams. 
The Japanese seem, even more than the Chi¬ 
nese, to have a taste for things outre, and for 
monstrosities, both in nature and in art. Prob¬ 
ably the most remarkable contribution to our 
poultry yards, received from this interesting 
country, is the breed 
of bantam fowls, of 
which we give an 
engraving, taken 
from drawings made 
of specimens exhib¬ 
ited by J. H. Fry & 
Co., at the last ex¬ 
hibition of the New- 
York State Poultry 
Society. The whole 
form and style of 
these unique fowls 
are such, as to distin - 
guish them from all 
others,although they 
vary greatly in col¬ 
or and markings 
among themselves. 
The group shown in 
the engraving were 
young fowls, and the 
sickle-feathers of the 
cock not fully devel¬ 
oped. Their bodies 
are small and very 
compact; the legs 
short and smooth; combs single, erect, and very 
large in both sexes; heads carried well back, 
making the fowls, remarkably “ pigeon-breast¬ 
ed.” The backs almost disappear between the 
necks and tails. The tails are carried more 
than erect, leaning forward, and in the case of 
male birds frequently extending further forward 
