Morning journal and courier., 1892-02-05
Possible Pets.

are the main consideration in the choice of pets. Yet even SO the possible range is
 very great, and might well extend far be-
 yond the species which form the main
 body of those usually seen in this coun- I try. To begin with, our native animals, who has seen a tame harei Most school
 boys have kept tame rabbits by the dozen -singularly uninteresting pets when shut | up all day in a box munching cabbage stalks-and generally turned over to younger sisters in favor of a terrier pup py after brief possession Yet even after
 the experience of tame hares so charming
 ly told by Cowper, the most domestic of poets, the hare is neglected as a pet Yet it's form and fur are beautiful, and, 80 far as the writer has been able to judge of | this, perhaps one of the least carefully ob- | served, except for persecution, of our wild | animals, the hare is a clever, affectionate | creature, as far above the rabbit in the i scale of intelligence as it is in physique. Last spring, after a late fall of snow, an | old hare brought her leysrets from the hill and hid them in a straw stack near farm, and remained constantly near them all day, coming to them regularly as soon as the twilight made it safe. They are bold as we'll ss sffectionste, and have been known to drive of hawk which was car rying away young one, springing up and striking the bird as 1t flew low above the ground; and their attachment to locality is so great that even If kept at large they would probably not leave their owners grounds.
 A charming little foreign pet for the house is the suricate. This pretty crea- eE1ra xrlaf | t.n. among the number of Frank Buckland's animal companions, is an active and viva cious little fellow, some ten inches long, with greenish brown fur, large bright eyes, a short, pointed nose, and dainty paws, which, like the squirrels or the rscoon's, are used as hands to hold the handle and to ask for more. Eloquent in supplica- ton, tenacious in retention, the suricate's paws are expressive, plaintive and wholly irresistible. The creature is made for a pet, and is SO aftectionate to its master that it can undergo any degree of spoil ing" without injury to its temper. A larger, more beautiful, and most charming creature, not unlike the suricste in some respects, though in no way related to it, is the brown opossum from Tasmania.
 ''Sooty Phalangist" is the elegant name given to it by naturalists; but except when the specimen kept by the writer discov- a a tute for a hollow tree for its midday sleep, there was nothing in its appearance to jus. Efy the scientific adjective. The fur is of the richest dark brown, and covers its pre- hensile tail like a fur boa Its head is small, with a pink nose and very large brown eyes; and it has a "compoundn hand, with claws on its fingers, and an al-
 most human and clawless thumb, with the aid of which 1t can hold a wine-glass, or eat jam out of a teaspoon. That owned by the writer was, without exception, the
 most fearless and affectionste pet he had ever known. In the evening, when it wAs
 most lively, it would climb on to the shoul- der of any of its visitors and take any food given it. It had a mania for cleanliness, always "washing" its hands after taking food, or even after running across the room, and was always nnxious to do the same of flee by the hands of any one who fed it
 It made friends with the dogs, and would
 "wash" their faces for them, catching hold of an old setter's nose with its sharp little claws to hold it steady while it licked its face. The staircase and balusters fur nished a gymnasium for exercise in win ter, and in summer it could be trusted among the trees in the garden This opos- sum is becoming scarce, owing to the de-
 mand for its fur; but there is little doubt that specimens could still be bought for
  writer cost three pounds.
 The Americangrs squirsel is common
 and hardy species, which becomes very tame, and is even prettier than our red l squirrel; and the South American coatis
 are most amusing pets; though, like the mongoose, they need to be kept warm All the costis are sociable, lively creatures, quite omnivorous, and with as many odd tricks as @ monkey. The mongoose, that familiar" of Indian households, has such
 a natural bias for human society that, 90
 cording to MT. Kipling, it will often come into 6 house from the jungle, and vol
 untarily enroll itself among the members
 of the family. It is 6 slim, active little
 animal, varying from foot to nearly two
 feet in length, of a curious mottlsd sil-
 very gray color, and 60 amazingly rapid in
 its movements that its victory over the CO.,
 bra is not surprising Provided that 1t Is kept warm in winter, it will live well In an English home, and loees none of those
 domestic qualities which make it such a favorite in India The msrmot and the viscacha, or prairie dog, are amusing little fellows, and if allowed the use of 6 small enclosure in which the marnots can bur row and make hay for the winter, and the viscachas make their "collectionsn of eu- riosities, either species would, no doubt, add to the interest of an English country
 house. But as both the mArmot and the viscacha hibernate in winter, their owner
 must be prepared for their disappearance
 underground from Christmas until March.
 There is only one monkey which we can
 thoroughly recommend as an indoor pet.
 the beautiful and intelligent little cspu.
 chin. The marmozsts, even more beauti-
 full and equally blessing, are too delicate
 for our climate, and die of colds and | coughs after the first fogs of winter. But
 the lively little capuehins may be kept for
 years in an English house; and no monkey
 approaches their good temper and pretty
 winning ways. They all have good round
 brown on the cheeks. Some have pinfish