FANCIERS’ 

ITEMS 
INTERESTING AND AMUSING. 
A qgoosr, known to be 70 years old, died recently in 
Scotland. 
A TRAVELER says there are no singing birds in Japan, 
but that the crows are very numerous and bold, making a 
hideous noise all day long. A fine country. 
It is reported that a number of rabbit-breeding establish- 
ments have been started near London; the scarcity and 
consequent high price of animal food having created a de- 
mand for, and made profitable the breeding of, rabbits on a 
large scale. 
A RURAL society of naturalists in New Hampshire was 
recently presented with a beautiful specimen of a hornet’s 
nest, twelve feet in circumference. A day was appointed to 
investigate the treasure, but unforseen business engagements 
prevented any of the members attending. 
CruELTY TO CuickENS.— William Connelly was taken 
before Recorder Given recently, on complaint of Messrs. 
Kilpatrick and Zarracher, agents of the society for prevent- 
ing cruelty to animals. The defendent was charged with 
keeping a number of chickens and other poultry in coops 
not large enough to allow the feathered tribe to stand. He 
was also charged with cruelty in not feeding the poultry. 
The magistrate imposed a fine of $10 and costs on the 
accused. 
Dressina Rassit Sxrns.—Rabbits’ skins may be cured 
so as to remain soft and pliable, by the following method: 
- Soak them for a short time in water, and then, if they 
require it, thin them on the inside by scraping. Then place 
them fof three or four days in a bath made by mixing 2 lbs. of 
bran in one gallon of water. Next a paste made with 1 lb. 
of alum, and 3 ozs. of common salt, moistened with water 
and worked together, is spread on the inside of the skin and 
left for about eighteen hours. Then hang up the skins to 
dry, with the fleece or hair outermost, and, if possible, in 
the sun. After this smooth the inside with pumice-stone, 
then switch or brush the outside. 
Tue editor of the Peoria Review recently lost his dog, 
which sad occurrence is thus described: If anybody has seen 
a black-and-tan dog, answering to the name of Judge, going 
down the street, in company with a hard-shell turtle, that 
won’t answer to anything, and certainly won’t answer to 
tackle, as the dog will tell you if you can only get him to 
stop long enough, please to halt the eloping pair, as they are 
the property of the editor of this paper. We are fondly 
attached to the dog on account of his vagabondish, Bohemi- 
anish habits. He knows every dog in Peoria by name, and 
is on speaking terms with nine-tenths of the dogs that come 
in under the wagons, and he knows more of the inhabitants 
of this city than the tax collector does, The turtle is a more 
recent acquisition. It was placed in the back yard yester- 
day, and the dog spent an hour and a half trying to induce 
it to come out of its shell and be comfortable. The old 
iron-clad maintained his reserve, however, until the dog 
crammed his nose against the forward part and commenced 
to sniff, The pair seemed to come to some sort of an 
JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 

21 

understanding at once, for the dog made an impetuous 
remark on a very high key and then they both started on a 
trip together. The dog was last seen sauntering along like 
a whirlwind, the turtle staying right by him. We should 
be very sorry to lose the dog now, as he has acquired 
another important and valuable quality. He knows more 
about turtles than any other dog in the country, and it is 
mighty hard to find a real good turtle dog. 
MATERNAL Love 1n A Rat.—The following incident is 
related in the Covington (Ky.) Journal, illustrative of that 
maternal affection which pervades all animal life: 
In removing the last boards of a stack of planks, a rat’s 
nest, with nine young ones, was found underneath. The 
little rodents were about the size of mice, and were able to 
crawl about at a lively rate. An old-fashioned wire trap 
was procured, the young rats put into it, a weight put on 
the top, and it was left on the nest and watched. The trap 
was a semisphere with a funnel-shaped entrance in the top 
and a lifting door in the side. 
After waiting about half an hour the mother rat made 
her appearance, showing evident anxiety about her litter. 
She hesitated some time before approaching the trap, but 
finally her affection prevailed, and she boldly ventured out, 
within twenty feet and in full view of the watchers. She 
ran several times around the prison that contained her 
young, tried the wires with her teeth, and made demon- 
strations of solicitude and distress. At length, finding that 
she could not get in to the young ones, she determined to 
bring them out to her. The manner in which she accom- 
plished this showed something akin to that reason of which 
man is wont to boast that he is the only possessor. 
Placing herself close against the wires she made a pecu- 
liar noise—a kind of gentle squeak—which immediately 
attracted the attention of her young, and they came to the 
familiar call. First one little fellow put his nose between 
the wires, and, being a little encouraged and helped.by the 
mother, who pressed her own nose between the same wires, 
thus spreading them a little wider apart, he squeezed his 
head through. In an instant she caught him by the back 
of the neck, and, in spite of his squealing and crying under 
the painful process, she pulled him forcibly through the 
wires and ran off with him under a pile of lumber near by. 
Probably a minute elapsed before she reappeared, having 
deposited her rescued young one in safety. She was evi- 
dently encouraged by her success, and, emboldened by the 
fact that she had not been molested, proceeded to rescue one 
after another of her young in the same manner until she 
had taken out eight. 
The watchers then half buried the trap in the loose dirt, 
and for a while the devoted mother was in great distress 
about how to get out the last of her litter. But she soon 
found that the little fellow couldn’t reach her through the 
top, and she commenced digging down to him, throwing 
out the dirt eagerly as if incited to extra exertions by the 
lamentations of her young one. She burrowed just in front 
of the lifting door, on reaching which she immediately 
entered, and to her surprise found herself a prisoner. She 
had sacrificed her own liberty to her mother-love, and, as 
the event proved, her life also, for she was killed, through 
her labors and courage in behalf of that feeling which is 
instinct in all, and which is probably the most sacred im- 
pulse of the human heart, should have won mercy from her 
captors, and secured her from harm. 
