The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1885-06-10
Pastimes OF Animals.

My dressing-room window looks
down upon two small back gardens
My own, where Jack, a sacred sea.
gull, reigns lord of all he surveys
mot much, | am sorry to say, and
my neighbor's, little patch of grass
with half a dozen standard rose trees
in it. Here the first living thing ]
see this morning is splendid TOM
cat, now quite middle-aged gentle
man, but yet apparently enjoying a
game with some dead leaves and
sticks ike kitten. l was contrast
ing mentally his light hearted, hap
py nature with that of certain poor
departed Jim, who. after he grew up,
never unbent in play for a moment ;
when, looking again, | saw tiny
mouse steal away a few feet from
under the cats paw, and my light
hearted theory burst like bubble !;
though | am bound to say that this
next-door cat has a very sunny dis
position indeed, often enjoying a
game of romps with his own dog-a
thing our Jim would never stoop to.
1t was nearly half an hour before |
left my room, but there the cat was
still at play with the mouse, which
did not seem either much weaker or
less able to run than when | first
saw it. Now here is a case of dis
tinct animal amusement and waste
OF time, the result partly no doubt OF
well-fed idleness.
Dogs, though notable to squander
their time over newspaper, viii
spend hour after hour seated at
window, watching all that passes in
the street; or, In the evening, re-
garding mouse hole-not with the
slightest idea of gain or profit, hut
merely as an agreeable means OF
passing the time Then there are
the long-continued flight of tame
pigeons about our houses, the quad /
rille of the house fly across our cell |
ings, the gamboling of gnats, and
the lowering in the sun of those !
bright-colored. two-winged flies We
sometimes call drones.
No boy out of school shows his
ct hahRIna6s nia6n4r n4r sssdpRpd meEs
now stopping for moment to snort
and fill his lungs with the fresh open /
air, and then with a kick up of the
heels, continuing his gallop. These
spells of play last longer with some
horses than others, depending often |
upon the length of time the animal
has been stable-fed- A horse that 1
is turned out daily merely trots off /
a few yards, with merry laugh, be-
fore beginning to nibble the fresh,
sweet grass. In their stable the /
of horses too often take
the form of wantom mischief, or
some such "horse-play" as unlock
ing a stable jacket and tearing it Up,
or biting holes in their own cloth
ing, kicking their stall to bits ect.,
while very playful pony has been
knowe to indulge in pulling the
feathers out of tame pigeons tails.
Talking Of pigeons reminds me of
the quantity of small talk. gossip. 4
or scandal INDUCED in bv them and
certain other birds before retiring
for the Dight or beginning work for
the day. House-sparrows, stariings,
and rocks are all very chatty at
these times while birds who lead
more solitary lives nearly always
end and begin the day with songs of
ioy.
Dogs do not chew or smoke. But
A dog nearly always keeps store Of
favori,e old dry bones by him, one
Of which ne loves to bring to the
ireside. to pass awav half an hour
before going to bed gnawing at ii:
while light-hearted dogs will often
end a spell of chewing at their bone
with game of pitch-and-toss with
Il. | have even known a dog to
play pitch-and toss with single
pellet or shot.
One sees more of the dog and cat
and their pastimes than of other
animals but it is likely that in
state of nature most beasts spend
luite as much of their life in kill
ing time as do theses. James
Gazette