Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-09-18
TRIALS Of A NATURALIST.

I'LL huU vi II I'M jim ulUls
Visitors to naturalists home often re.
mark, 1T must be lots of fun to be
naturalist" They are right, too, in n
way, but there are many trials connected
with the life which they have never seen,
and which no one sees until he Is brought
close to it They see a young raccoon
drinking milk from baby's bottle, and re-
mark, with great originality. Isn't that
cutter And they see n great osprey,
measuring five feet six across the wings,
plunge into a nearby lake, and, having
captured a fish carry 1t to the railing of
the piazza to eat II, and turn away sigh
ing: How wish | could leave my bust
ness and live surrounded by interesting
animals like these!' IIa, ha! but they
didn't know that only yesterday that dear
innocent-looking little coon, in his effort
to reach jam-pot, pulled down and
smashed to flinders a dozen choice mega
tives. Neither did they know that that
glorious osprey kept the household awake
the better part of last night by shrieking
at the moon from his roost on the chin
ney-top. Yet these were actual occur
rcnces, and, although they may be more
or less interesting as recollections. they
try ones patience at the time.
No matter for how short a space one
keeps an animal in captivity, it is scarce
~ ever short enough for the animal HIM
self. AS rule. he will do his best to
escape, and unless you have perfect ar
rangements for combining him, sooner or
later he will accomplish his purpose. Mice, |
particularly white-footed and house mice, |
are most persistent in their efforts to es-
cape. and their sharp teeth enable them |
TO cut their way through any ordinary |
wooden box. Even thin wire netting they |
will work through in time, and nothing
short of sheet iron is really safe Once
| they get out. there Is no telling what
damage they will do White footed mco
| he Jne Of oil rhoir fret
thought after regaininG their liberty is to
provide a nest for themselves. and when
they are hunting for material they refuse
nothing which Is soft and warm They
are especially partial to wooden clothing,
however, and one mouse can easily de-
stroy a suit Of clothes in a night. In lieu
of clothing they will tear up paper to
make a nest, and one finds to his sorrow
that they would just soon have new
manuscript old newspapers.
u Squirrels are even more destructive than
mice by reason of their greater size. Any
one who puts red or grey squirrels into Il
room even temporarily, will find that the
! furniture suffers at once, and I know of
a room in one naturalist's home which re-
puires new door and set OF window
sashes, ny reason OF the fact that 1t was,
for short time, occupied by pair of
red squirrels OF course the prospective
naturalist will tell himself that these
things will not occur in his case and mo-
doubt he believes this. But he will find
that, If he keeps his animals where he can
see them and study them at all hours Of
the day and night accidents which he
never dreamed OF will happen.
i Occasionally a snake will escape, and
then there will probably be much specula-
ton concerning It's whereabouts IT It
happens to be a venomous snake. all other
| occupations must cease until it is found
and captured. or until it has been proved
beyond a doubt that the reptile is no
longer on the promises If 1t be harm
less snake. there is no special hurry some
member of the family will probably shake
it out of a rubber boot or golf stock
ing within a day OF two.
! Then, it isn't every one who appreciates
the loss of sleep incident to a field-natur-
alists life. Besides the sleepless nights
spent in watching nocturnal animals am
in rearing young creatures, wnicn must
be fed every little while in order to keep
them alive, you are sometimes treated
to extras. These are less amusing to you
at the time than they should he, owing
20 the fact. perhaps. that you are too tired
to appreciate Joke. For example, you
have been out in the woods all day and
after an exciting chase and a lot of tree
climbing YOU have captured big raccoon
alive and carried him home five miles in
, bag. After you have had late supper
and written up your notes, you are too
tired to make cage for the coon, so
; "iust for the night" you lock him in the
cellar. with a barrel full of hay for he'd.
You give him couple of raw eggs, an APP
pie or two, a slice Of bread, and piece
Of pic, ard then retire for the night. About
one a. m. you are awakened by strange
nonscs, the meaning of which you cannot
grasp at once Your first idea may be that
, burglars are breaking in but as your
mind becomes clearer, you think it more
= likely that some of the animals have
broken loose. You distinctly remember
| having locked the door Of the room where
you kept the rattesnake, so you know
that he is safe. Just then the noises be-
come more violent. and as you sit up in
bed vou remember the racCoon. You nas-
tily slip on some clothes, catch up lamp,
and hurry to the cellar.
Evidently there had been some work So-
ing on since you went to bed. Most OF
the coal has been raked out of the bin,
cord Of heavy logs lies strewn In every d.
rection, and in the middle the earth floor
has been torn mp until it looks as If 4
couple of men had been eXcavating with
nick and shovel. On the wall Of the coal
hin stands the author Of the mischief, tho
raccoon himself His eyes are cleaning
. like two fire balls in the dim light and
! when YOU approach he arches his back,
and Kisses at YOU as much as to say,
; Now you touch me If you dare The
{ mischief has been done, and you decide
to wait until the morning before attempt
ing to repair it. So you lock the cellar
door. go back to bed, and If nothing else
turns up. you go to sleep and dream OF
| the fun it Is to be a naturalist.
ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES.