•P*  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
123 
Jack  and  his  little  sister,  Jill, 
Are  having  a  good  time  sliding  down  hill ; 
They've  taken  with  them  their  little  dog,  Dan  ; 
Now  draw  them  the  very  best  you  can. 
and  several  told  of  experiences  with  rac¬ 
coons.  Here  is  one  letter: 
I  am  sure  that  the  answer  to  the  “What 
Is  It?”  is  a  raccoon.  We  have  some 
around  here.  My  teacher  brought  a  dead 
one  to  the  school  in  her  car.  Their  dog 
caught  it  and  she  took  it  to  a  man  who 
deals  in  furs,  and  the  meat  to  another 
man.  Sometimes  people  get  young  rac¬ 
coons  and  tame  them.  They  are  cun¬ 
ning  as  kittens  and  are  great  pets.  Cats 
that  have  rings  on  their  tails  and  resem¬ 
ble  raccoons  are  called  coon  cats.  The 
raccoons  are  very  fond  of  corn.  Men 
hunt  them  at  night  generally,  but  they 
are  seen  sleeping  in  a  tree  sometimes. 
Connecticut.  lois  SMITH, 
(10  years) . 
What  Is  It? 
It  grows  like  a  potato,  in  bush  form. 
But  it  looks  nothing  like  a  potato.  The 
fruit  grows  under  the  ground.  Seed  is 
planted  an  inch  deep  a  foot  apart.  We 
dig  them  like  potatoes,  but  we  roast  them 
before  we  eat  them.  We  take  one  cover¬ 
ing  off,  but  not  always  the  other. 
Massachusetts.  maby  sotjthwick, 
(13  years). 
Our  Artists 
A  very  large  number  of  boys  and  girls 
tried  their  skill  at  drawing  the  rhyme 
this  month.  You  will  find  eight  drawings 
printed  that  are  full  of  interest  and  vari¬ 
ety.  In  addition  the  following  deserve 
honorable  mention  :  Clara  Kenyon,  Helen 
Hastedt,  Anna  Dziewatowski,  Emmy 
Lindke,  Margaret  Schroeder,  Donald 
Bose,  Tess  Tschantri,  Sara  Edmonds, 
and  Agnes  Yeach  of  New  York;  Amy 
Jaques  and  Varna  Bennett  of  Massachu¬ 
setts,  Norman  Ilalloek  and  Gabriel 
D’Agostino  of  Connecticut,  Elinor  Deble 
and  Elroy  Reed  of  Pennsylvania,  Paula 
Hartfiel  of  New  Hampshire,  Violet  Zel¬ 
ler  of  Michigan,  and  Collins  Johnson  of 
New  Jersey. 
A  New  Rhyme 
Here  is  a  rhyme  to  draw  for  next 
time : 
Across  the  meadow  at  early  dawn 
Came  a  mother  deer  and  her  little  fawn ; 
And  stopping  there  by  the  forest  green 
Made  as  pretty  a  picture  as  ever  was 
seen. 
Pennsylvania.  manicf.  foote, 
(18  years) . 
It  has  been  suggested  that  our  next, 
rhyme  be  about  kite  flying.  Who  will 
send  one? 
The  Book  Reports 
Fifty-six  readers  reported  having  read 
last  year  five  or  more  of  the  books  and 
poems  listed  on  Our  Page.  Every  title  'n 
the  list  was  mentioned  at  least  once.  An¬ 
derson’s  Fairy  Tales  took  the  lead  with 
25  reports.  Then  came  Little  Women, 
The  Little  Lame  Prince,  Hans  Brinker, 
The  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow,  Rebecca 
of  Sunnybrook  Farm  and  Robin  Ilood. 
The  most  popular  poems  seemed  to  be 
October’s  Bright  Blue  Weather,  Paul  Re- 
vere’s  Ride,  The  Landing  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  in  New  England,  and  The  Sand¬ 
piper.  It  is  fine  to  know  that  our  boys 
and  girls  are  reading  these  good  things. 
Our  First  Book  Puzzle 
Your  editor  is  pleased  that  the  new 
book  plan  has  met  with  such  hearty  ap¬ 
proval.  Very  many  wrote  that  it  is  a  fine 
idea,  and  14  good  book  puzzles  came  in. 
I  have  been  at  pains  to  choose  one  for 
this  first  time  that  I  think  most  of  you 
will  have  read  or  had  read  to  you.  Re¬ 
member  that  in  sending  the  answer  the 
correct  names  of  both  the  title  and  the 
author  must  be  given  to  count. 
WHAT  BOOK  IS  THIS? 
In  merry  old  England  there  lived  a 
rich  old  man  who  kept  a  counting  house. 
He  was  stingy  and  would  not  give  any¬ 
thing  whatever  for  charitable  institu¬ 
tions.  lie  said  there  were  enough  pris¬ 
ons  and  workhouses  for  the  poor,  without 
charity  institutions.  His  clerk  was  poor 
and  received  a  meager  salary. 
The  old  man  said  Christmas  was  a 
humbug  and  the  poor  had  no  reason  for 
being  merry  on  Christmas.  On  Christ¬ 
mas  Eve  when  he  was  sitting  up  in  his 
room  he  was  visited  by  the  ghost  of  his 
dead  partner  wearing  a  heavy  chain  of 
cash  boxes,  safes,  lock  and  keys.  The 
ghost  left  him  with  the  information  that 
he  would  be  visited  by  three  more  ghosts 
that  night  which  were  the  ghosts  of 
Christmas  Past.  Christmas  Present,  and 
Christmas  To  Be.  By  the  visit  of  these 
ghosts  the  man’s  mind  was  changed,  and 
he  now  saw  the  happy  side  of  life  by 
making  others  happy.  That  Christmas 
he  went  to  church  and  greeted  everybody 
with  “Merry  Christmas.”  He  dined  with 
his  nephew,  which  he  had  refused  to  do 
the  day  before.  The  next  morning  he 
raised  Ge  salary  of  his  clerk. 
Michigan.  By  violet  zeller. 
(14  years). 
Drawn  by  Alice  Staats  (13  yearn) 
New  York 
Drawn  in  Pencil  by  Helen  Hunt  (12 
years),  Ohio 
Drawn  by  Ruth  Watts  (13  years) 
New  York 
Drawn  by  Ned  Lester  ( 1  \  years) 
New  York 
Hares  and  Rabbits 
A  number  of  readers  have  taken  the 
trouble  in  the  last  few  months  to  try  to 
settle  this  question  of  “when  a  rabbit  is 
not  a  rabbit.”  You  have  looked  in  dic¬ 
tionaries,  encyclopedias  and  other  books, 
and  have  talked  with  older  persons  about 
it.  Thanks  are  due  to  all  who  have 
worked  on  this,  and,  of  course,  you  have 
learned  more  by  hunting  than  if  we  had 
.iust  given  the  answer  the  first  time  the 
question  came  up.  The  most  complete 
letter  received  on  the  subject  is  the  one 
printed  below,  which’ covers  most  of  the 
points  of  difference,  and  is  correct  in 
every  statement. 
The  hare  is  a  little,  gnawing,  four¬ 
legged  animal,  remarkable  for  its  extraor¬ 
dinary  fleetness.  Hares  are  found  in 
nearly  all  parts  of  the  world,  but  in 
America  they  have  been  commonlv — 
though  mistakenly — called  rabbits.  The 
long-legged  jackrabbit  of  Western  plains 
and  prairies  and  the  common  little  cotton¬ 
tail.  found  throughout  America,  are  really 
hares. 
Rabbits  were  originally  European  ani¬ 
mals,  only  they  have  been  introduced  into 
other  countries.  They  are  smaller  than 
hares,  with  shorter  limbs  and  ears.  They 
are  not  as  quick  as  their  larger  relatives, 
for  to  escape  their  enemies  they  need 
only  to  enter  their  burrows.  The  Belgian 
hare  is  really  a  large  rabbit.  Young  rab¬ 
bits,  unlike  young  hares,  are  born  blind 
and  nearly  hairless- 
Hares  do  not  burrow,  but  nest  in  shal¬ 
low  depressions  called  “forms.”  Hares 
range  from  17  to  25  inches  in  length,  and 
have  soft  fur,  usually  gray  or,  brown, 
although  that  of  some  species  turns  white 
in  \\  inter.  Their  tails  are  short,  bushy 
and  upturned.  Black  markings  show 
on  the  lifted  ears.  The  upper  lip  of  the 
hare  is  split.  Its  fore  feet  have  five  toes, 
and  the  hind  feet  have  four,  all  covered 
with  hair  on  the  soles.  Hares  feed  on 
vegetable  matter  only,  being  especially 
tond  of  cabbage,  grain  aud  the  bark  of 
trees.  They  feed  arid  roam  mostly  at 
night,  sometimes  working  much  havoc  in 
gardens  and  grain  fields.  Although  their 
flesh  is  rather  dry,  it  is  prized  for  its 
peculiar  flavor.  The  fur,  especially 
of  those,  that  turn  white  in  Winter,  is 
used  to  imitate  more  expensive  furs. 
I  am  afraid  this  letter  is  pretty 
harey,”  but  1  was  interested  in  the  har’o 
discussion. 
mary  cook  (13  years). 
New  York. 
1  here,  now!  Is  it  clear  to  everyone? 
We  are  certainly  pretty  badly  mixed  up 
on  our  names  here  in  America. 
Notes 
The  words  in  the  Box  were  written  by 
Anna  Fessenden  of  New  York.  If  every 
reader  should  make  such  a  resolution 
your  editor  would  have  his  work  cut  out 
for  him,  wouldn’t  he? 
The  answer  to  Roy  Bergman’s  riddle 
is  an  icicle. 
Tr.v  this  conundrum,  sent  by  Janet 
Rose  (10  years),  New  York:  “What,  re¬ 
lation  is  the  door-mat  to  the  door-step?” 
'Send  all  work  for  the  February  page  to 
reach  your  editor  not  later  than  Febru¬ 
ary  3. 
There  has  seemed  to  be  no  room  this 
time  for  our  Fireside  Talk  about  the 
question  of  “being  true,”  on  which  a  num¬ 
ber  of  readers  sent  good  thoughts.  Per¬ 
haps  the  chance  will  come  later. 
Dorothy  .Story,  a  New  York  reader, 
writes:  “For  some  time  I  have  been  sav¬ 
ing  the  Boys’  aud  Girls’  pages.  It  is 
lots  of  fun  to  sit  down  on  a  Winter’s 
evening  and  read  them  over  again.  Each 
time  I  seem  to  find  something  I  missed 
the  time  before.” 
Our  Page  is  full  again.  Goodby  for 
another  month.  Write  soon  to  Edward 
M.  Tuttle,  in  care  of  The  Rural  New- 
Yorker.  333  West  30th  Street,  New 
York  City. 
List  of  January  Contributors 
The  name  itself  indicates  that  a  letter  was  re¬ 
ceived  from  that  boy  or  girl.  Following  each 
name  is  the  age,  whenever  given,  and  a  series 
of  alphabetic  symbols  referring  to  various  con¬ 
tributions  according  to  the  foliowing  key: 
b,  words  for  the  box. 
d,  a  drawing. 
e,  an  essay. 
f,  a  fireside  talk. 
k,  a  book  puzzle. 
m,  a  new  nature  puzzle. 
n,  correct  answer  to  last  nature  puzzle. 
o,  an  original  poem. 
p,  a  photographic  picture. 
r,  a  rhyme  for  drawing. 
s,  a  story. 
t, ,  a  book  report. 
v,  a  memory  verse. 
x,  correct  answer  to  last  riddle. 
z,  a  new  riddle. 
Connecticut:  Stella  Rich  (15,  d,  n),  Lucille 
Perry  (12,  b,  m.  n.  t,  x),  Irrna  Peckham  <15.  d), 
William  Van  Dyke  (11,  d),  Helen  Wasillek 
(lb.  z).  Elizabeth  Steed  (12,  d,  n,  x),  Margaret 
(Continued  on  Page  129) 
Drawn  by  Rebecca  Spencer  (12  years),  Maine 
Drawn  in  Pencil  by  Ray  Murphy  (13  years).  New  York 
