gfcf RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
903 
Nature Notes 
The Vacuum Oil Company’s Chart specifies the grade of 
Gargoyle Mobiloils for every make and model of car. 
Gargoyle Mobiloil“K” is the correct grade for Fords. If 
you drive another make of car send for our Booklet, 
“Correct Lubrication.” 
Winy a ford engine need not over¬ 
heat- even at equator temperature 
The Crow as a Pet 
When the crows begin to fly around in 
the Spring, making a lot of noise and 
show, farmers and boys go out and try 
to shoot them. When you ask the farmer 
why he kills the crows he answers: “The 
mischievous rascals eat my seeds as fast 
as I can plant them, and eat my crops 
before I harvest them.” I say this is not 
the crows’ fault, because they have to eat 
in order to live. They make a magnificent 
picture flying around through the green 
leaves early in the morning at sunrise, 
with their shiny bluish-black feathers 
glistening in the sun. 
The crow makes an affectionate pet 
when tame. A very good way to capture 
a crow without wounding or hurting him 
is this: Take note of what part of the 
high mountain the crows frequent, get up 
early some Summer morning and go to 
the high, rocky part of the mountain 
where there are high ledges and pine 
trees; then hide and wait for the crows 
to come to show you where the nest is. 
The crows will begin to fly around and 
make a lot of noise when the sun is just 
getting up. When you locate the nest, 
which is usually perched up in the top 
of a tall pine tree, climb the tree and see 
what it contains. If there are only eggs 
in the nest, leave them for nearly a month 
before disturbing. If there are little 
crows, leave them a little longer. If the 
crows are large, cut off the wing feath¬ 
ers of one of them so as to prevent him 
from flying away until he becomes larger. 
When you take him home give him kind 
treatment and plenty of care. Under kind 
treatment the crow will readily become 
tame. A wire pen outdoors will make 
him a nice playground. The crow easily 
becomes companionable, and that he has 
brains is proven by his large head. Th'e 
crow is capable of great affection. I know 
of two cases demonstrated by crows 
owned by different parties. In one of the 
cases the crow was kept in a box in the 
kitchen, and allowed to roam all over un¬ 
watched. He soon became very mischiev¬ 
ous. When nobody was looking he would 
get on the table, take a piece of bread off 
and jub it on the floor ; then he would 
replace it on the table with the dirty side 
under. This accomplished he would re¬ 
tire to his box and sit on his perch with 
his head cocked on one side, blinking his 
eyes as much as to say, “I wonder who 
will eat that piece of bread?” He finally 
got so bad that his sorely tried master 
sentenced .him to slcoj} in the barn at 
night. The next morning he was found 
dead. The same thing took place with the 
other crow. The only thing that could 
have killed them was grief at being ban¬ 
ished from the people whom they loved, 
proving by this the wonderful laffeotion of 
a crow. warp brower, jr. 
Sullivan Co., N. Y. 
R. N.-Y.—Tt is said that a crow can be 
made to talk like “an imitation parrot” by 
cutting his tongue ; but surely no amateur 
should ever try such a cruel experiment. 
The Fur Farming Business 
We have had more or less to say during 
past years about the business of breeding 
foxes for their fur and for the sale of 
breeding animals. When this business 
started there were few people who had 
the proper experience for carrying it on 
successfully, and the chief business 
seemed to be the selling of stock in or¬ 
ganizations, many of which had not much 
more than a pair of foxes and a hole in 
the ground for assets. In those early 
days we did what we could to protect our 
readers, and our advice was not to invest 
in stock of this enterprise. Of late years 
the business has developed, and is now on 
a much better basis than it was 10 or 15 
years ago. Men have gone into the busi¬ 
ness who understand it, who are natur¬ 
ally adapted to handling wild animals, 
and through long study and practice many 
of them have reached a measure of suc¬ 
cess. We are entirely willing to grant 
that in the hands of capable men fur 
farming may be made reasonably suc¬ 
cessful. The great majority of people, 
however, should not in our judgment ever 
attempt this business. They know noth¬ 
ing about it and are not naturally 
adapted to it, and they are practically 
doomed to failure if they start in without 
proper knowledge. 
Mr. Joseph .T. Hug has a fox ranch, in 
New Hampshire, and he takes exception 
to some of the statements we have mado 
about this business of producing fur. Mr. 
Hug says that in the hands of a capable 
man this business is no more a gamble 
than fruit growing. He points to the re¬ 
cent frost in New Jersey and farther 
south to show that there is a gambling 
element in every branch of agriculture. 
He says that he now has on his ranch 24 
pairs of foxes which have produced this 
year 79 pups, all of them living. He says 
that last January he received the highest 
price for any silver fox pelt, which was 
$650 at wholesale in New York. At 
Montreal live silver fox show last Novem¬ 
ber there were 480 Canadian foxes ex- 
hib’ted, and Mr. Hug won third honor. 
He says he is well aware of the fact that 
there are some crooks in the business, the 
same as in every other line, such as poul¬ 
try, cattle, egg, rabbit and other lines of 
trade. The fact that then' are crooks in 
all these enterprises should not condemn 
the entire business as a humbug. We 
make this plain statement, in order to 
give every side a fair opportunity to pre¬ 
sent their case. It is no doubt true that 
in some cases fur farming can be made a 
profitable enterprise. We still insist, 
howevei’, that it is no business for an 
amateur or the inexperienced man to en¬ 
ter, and we advise those who are at¬ 
tracted merely by the gambling element 
of the business to keep out of it. 
Some Observation on Birds 
The scarcity of the birds this year is 
alarming. Even during the mild Winter 
past, we had barely 25 per cent of our 
usual Winter quota. And now it is Sum¬ 
mer, but yet they are not with us. Rob¬ 
ins, starlings, English sparrows and grass 
finches seem to be the only varieties fully 
up to normal numbers. The whole wood¬ 
pecker family is almost entirely absent; 
I have scarcely seen a warbler in transit; 
and the swallows are very few. 
The woodland reveille, that begins just 
before daybreak, was formerly a grand 
medley of many songsters, but now it is 
but a robin chorus. 
The other day I saw a Cooper’s hawk 
swoop down upon a bunch of our young 
R. I. Reds, but before he could strike his 
quarry a doughty little kingbird struck 
him with such force he missed his aim 
and flew away, leaving a bunch of his 
feathers on the ground, while Mr. K. B. 
sailed nonchalantly back to his nest in 
one of my King apple trees. The encoun¬ 
ter made me think of an incident I once 
witnessed, where a little “flivver” side- 
swiped a big moving van—and the van 
was laid up along the roadside for a week, 
but “the little Ford rambled right along.” 
It’s an odd fact, but about 85 times out 
of 100 a king bird will nest in a King ap¬ 
ple tree. It is due, in part, of course, to 
the fact that the limbs of that variety of 
tree are so nearly horizontal, but more 
particularly because the arrangement of 
the fruit spurs is especially suitable for 
the attachment of his woolly nest. I have 
in my collection a nest that is almost of 
pure wool and every bit of it from black 
sheep. 
But the most singular fact I know of 
in bird architecture is a trait of a mem¬ 
ber of this same family. The Great Crest¬ 
ed flycatcher never fails to incorporate 
one or more snake skins or “castings” in 
its nest. And I never knew a bird man 
who was able to suggest any reason for 
this peculiar trait. A little darkey who 
was a perfect monkey in tree climbing, 
and who accompanied me on a great many 
of my collecting trips, always, in perfect 
good faith, called this bird the “Great 
Christian Skyscraper,” and, needless to 
say, I never corrected the error. 
For the last six or eight years a soli¬ 
tary shrike or butcher bird, in his Fall 
migration, hangs about my orchard for 
three or four weeks, and after he has been 
here but a short time I can go about and 
find upon most of the wire tree protectors 
grasshoppers, crickets and mice, trussed 
up like poultry in a market. 
One thing is mighty certain ; as our 
birds are diminishing, the pests that prey 
upon orchard and garden are rapidly in¬ 
creasing: and insecticides at high cost, ut¬ 
terly fail to do the work our feathered 
friends formerly did for us without 
charge. ' harvey LOSEE. 
Dutchess Co., N. Y. 
Preparing a Moth for Exhibition 
I have a large cocoon from which the 
moth will soon emerge. I want to pre¬ 
serve this moth and have it properly 
mounted. What is the best way to do the 
work? C. M. 
When the moth emerges from the co¬ 
coon you should give it time to expand 
and dry its wings, so that each one will 
become smooth and perfect in shape. Un¬ 
less you have moistened the cocoon from 
time to time, or have kept it in a moist 
place, I am afraid the wings will remain 
crumpled and you will not be able to 
spread the moth at all satisfactorily. If 
the moth does emerge and expand its 
wings properly, then you should kill it by 
confining it in a tight jar in which a few 
drops of chloroform on a piece of cotton 
has been placed. After the specimen is 
dead it must be spread properly on a 
board made for the purpose and allowed 
to remain in position for about one week, 
or until it has thoroughly dried. At the 
end of this period the moth may be re¬ 
moved from the hoard, for it will be dry 
and rigid, and the wings will remain in 
position. It should be handled with 
great care, for the antennae, wings, and 
body are easily broken. The specimen 
may now be placed beneath the glass in 
the tray, together with pressed leaves or 
other objects, with the idea of increasing 
the natural appearance of the moth. A 
thick layer of cotton 'should also be 
placed below the glass in order to hold it 
away somewhat from the wooden bottom 
of the tray and prevent the body of the 
moth from being broken and crushed. 
G. W. H. 
Grandson : “Grandpa, were you ever a 
little boy?” Grandpa: “Oh, yes.” Grand¬ 
son : “Gee, you must have been awfully 
funny with your bald head and whiskers.” 
—Credit Lost. 
H EAT is a good thing 
in your Ford engine— 
up to a certain point. 
The higher the tempera¬ 
ture of operation,-up to the 
point where steam issues from 
the radiator cap, the better 
will your engine perform and 
the less will be your fuel 
consumption. 
But—the temperature of 
your engine must not be in¬ 
creased by the heat caused 
by metallic contact. That is 
dangerous. Binding of the 
moving part will follow and 
excessive evaporation of water 
—steam issuing from the 
radiator cap is a warning that 
friction is taking its toll. 
Only by the use of the 
correct lubricating oil can 
metallic contact be prevented. 
In many tropical countries 
where the thermometer stays 
steadily above ioo°F. you 
will find Gargoyle Mobiloil 
“E” is by far the most used 
oil for Ford cars. 
Why? Because Gargoyle 
value under high tempera¬ 
tures. It reaches every 
moving friction surface, per¬ 
mitting no excess friction 
heat. The ability of Gargoyle 
Mobiloil “E” to absorb and 
radiate heat is due to its high 
quality and to its correct 
body and character. 
In July and August this 
protection against overheat¬ 
ing is vital to your Ford. 
For economy’s sake it is a 
necessity. 
When changing to Gar¬ 
goyle Mobiloil “E” do not 
flush the engine with kero¬ 
sene. A part of the kerosene 
will remain in the splash 
troughs and tend to destroy 
the lubricating qualities of 
the new oil. 
In the differential of your 
Ford use Gargoyle Mobiloil 
“CC” or Mobilubricant as 
specified by the Chart of 
Recommendations. 
Send for our booklet, 
“Your Ford—Four Econo¬ 
mies in its Operation.” In 
writing address our 
nearest branch. 
Mobiloils 
. A grade for each type of motor 
In buying Gargoyle Mobiloils from your dealer it is safest to purchase 
in original packages. Look for the red Gargoyle on the container. 
Domestic Branches: 
New York 
(Main Office) Philadelphia Detroit Minneapolis Kansas City, Kan. Buffalo 
Boston Pittsburgh Chicago Indianapolis Des Moines Dallas 
VACUUM OIL COMPANY 
Mobiloil “E” re¬ 
tains its lubrication 
