West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1888-01-05
SOME RARE ANIMAL PETS.
a TALK WITH A TRADER IN BIRDS
AND ANIMALS.
The Varieties that arc Most Sought
After, and the Prices that are
Paid for Thorn


Look out, there ~
These were the words Of warning
which, sounding above the rattle OF the
wagons and the tramp Of passing feet,
attracted the attention Of a Republican,
reporter as he walked along North Eighth
street. Wondering what was about 10
happen, he raised his eyes in the dircc-
tion from which the sharp, peculiar notes
emanated, and saw, perchcd over the
door OF small taNidermist's shop, bird
of gaudy plumagc, pure breed Of the
macaw parrot, measuring nearly two and
one-half feet from bcak 10 tip of tail.
Attra ted by the variegatcd dres of
Miss Polly, the reporter entered the shop,
where the pleasant-faccd proprietor, who
apparently enjoyed talk about birds,
became enthusiastic when he found that
the reporter had never made ornithology
a study or ever read the works of Audu-
bon.
That macaw parrot which you see,
said the little man, els known i'm Latin as
Psittacus Macao and i'm German as Rother
Aras. It's home is in South America and
Brazil. 1t is the largest species known
and also the most beautiful, and when full
grown it measures three feet from bcak to
tail "
"Is it a sociable bird, and can it talk
ms well as the king parrotF' asksd the re-
porter.
eyes it is what we might call a society
bird. 1t soon becomes attached 70 its
owner and can be trusted at large, rs you
see. At times il seems to rea ize tnat il is
very beautiful and it is pleased TO attract
attention. 1t is much fonder OF the ladies
than of the gentlemen, and generally says
crnnd rnnrpfnfr1 10 hon, nj nh
leave it invariably says good bye but
when it sees man it always exclaims
look out They are not very talkatve,
however, and arc admired mostly for their
plumage They are docile and inexpen-
sive to keep, eating boiled corn, stale
bread soaked in milk or coffee, any kind
of fruit, and seeds, especially of hemp
and sunfower, but no meat, for meat
causes them to shed their feathers"
Looking about him mt the heterogene-
Gus collection Of birds, the reporter
asked: $40 Americans spend much
money for birds and home pcts"
'The people of this country spend
about 50, 900, coo annually for singing
birds, " answered the student Of Audubon,
land half That amount for home pets of
other kinds, such as poodle dogs, white
rabbits, ferrets, white mice and maltese
cats. Nearly 800, coo birds are imported
every year, and more money is spent on
these feathered warblers flom Germany
and Italy than is given for the famous
warblers behind the footlights."
"From where do we get the finest ca
naries and what 60 they costW
The sweetest songters are the canaries
from the Hartz mountains in Germany,
and those bring from s. TO $50 each.
Finches, linnets, love-birds and parrots
are also imported, but the canary eclip es
them all, amounting, l suppose, to 400,
600 annually
"To whom do you sell ferrets princi-
pally."
"They are bought by hotels. steam
boats, elevators, mills, and in fact by
every one troubled by rats 4 rat may
walk around through poisons and still
trouble the sleepcrs, but whenever he
gets one AGENT OF the ferret, he is seen
for the last time by his enemies. The
ferret has the faculty of lengthening
itself out so that its body is admitted
into any rat hole and ii can follow n rat
anywhere"
els there but one kind of ferret"
''There are two kinds the English,
which are buH or white with pink eyes,
and the fitch, which are Of a dark silver
gray color. They are natives of Africa
and are easily domesticated. They are
often used by huntsmen, for they will
drive out rabbits and squirrels from hol-
low tress. They feed on milk and bread
but this is to prevent them from getting
a safety of blood, which would lessen
their usefulness, as it is the blood Of the
rat they want They are easily trained
and the reason more people don't
use them is simply because they do not
understand them. They sell for five
dollars each.
and to whom do you sell lop.cared
rabbits"
MOSTLY to boys. The average school
youngster would give half hc expects ever
to be worth for a pair Of lOp cared rab-
bits. No other rabbit has attained such
prominence. There are many fanuers
who consider the Top the only rabbit
worth noticing. Their long, dropping
ears are their most peculiar feature. and
in good specimens often measure from
fifteen 70 twenty inches What is meant
by length OF each car is not the actual
length Of each ear, as many suppose. but
is the distance obtained By resting % rule
across the top of the head and measuring
from the tip OF the car stretching it
along the rule until the tip OF the other
car is reached They are Of various
coiors and weigh about twenty pounds to
the par"
Can you name the class Of customers
for different petsl'
''Well, it's quite the thing now, You
know, for wealthy ladies TO Owna poodle
dog or two, and, perhaps an English
pug The sportivc female is fond Of dogs.
parrots and canaries Girl are fond of
all birds, and admire white rabbits and
white mice. Boys like squirrels. rabbits
and Newfoundland and other dogs
Whenever you see an unmarried woman
buy poodle OF pug you may know that
enc is in the scre and yellow leaf and has
become resigned TO single bIcssodncss. -
-. L0Uis RepVH10n.
Origin Of Big Plate.Glass Windows
90 DO yO4. kuc-- 81 e4r1 O. -.ofr t........