The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-07-12

congratulated myself in solving the pro-
 blem so easily, but 1 soon found that
 the mothers squirrels. kind and loving
 as they were, had not sufficie ntnourish- ment for for many babies, and that the
 latter were losing strength and beco
 ing thinner. Every night after that
 they were given good supper of warm
 milk, which they willingly took from a
 dropper, and also gave the mothers
 plenty of milk to drink. When the young ones had their eyes open, cracked
 nuts were given to them in addition to the milk, and they soon began to nibbIe a little on their own account. Every
 one of them lived, and with the excep-
 ton of four which are retained for fur
 ther study, all have been liberated in
 favorable localities.
 Not long ago had occasion to rear a family of young red squirrels which had lost their parents before their eyes were open. They were fed with milk from a
 small rubber bottle. the neck of which
 they seized with both front paws and
 held tight until they were satisfied.
 They were gradually taught to lick
 milk from finger, and later to lOp it
 from a saucer. This last accomplish
 ment was very difficult to teach them.
 as they persisted in getting their nos-
 trils into the liquid, and this would
 cause them to snort and sreeze for sCv-
 eral minutes. The diffcu!tv was over
 c1Te ny covering tho bottom cf the
 saucer with a thin film of milk only,
 and gradually adding more as it was
 lapped up. Young squirrels should be fed as often as they will take food, and
 they should be given as much each time
 as they care to drink or eat. They
 seem to have a pretty fair idea as to
 how much is good for them.
 At first they may be quite unwilling
 to accept the offered nouriskment, and it will then be necessary to make them take it. When this is the case they should be held firmly, one at time, in the left hand, with the neck between the thumb and forefinger, while the milk is dropped very, very slowly into the
 mouth from a dropper held in the right
 hand. Young woodchucks and skunks may be fed in the same way.
 Young mice are much more difficult to
 rear. They are so small that it is dift1-
 cult to hold them firm without hurt ing them, particularly as they usually struggle a great deal. Their mouths are not larga enough to take the end of a dropper, hut If one is not very clumsy the milk may be nicely admin istered with the point of a camel-hair paint brush. But 1t is tedious opera tion at best. and it has to be repeated so often that one can count on little sleep during the first forty-eight hours. A family of eight blind young house mice which I reared last year required feeding seventeen times during the first day and night and to feed them once took about three-quarters of an hour. Among the most interesting animals which I have ever undertaken to rear are four young raccoons. which were sent to me not long ago. They take their milk from an ordinary bady's bot tle and the four of them drink a pint at a meal. After drinking all they can they usually go to sleep, and wake up hungry about four hours later. When thev are ready to be fed. they notify us
 of the fact by crying very much like a | tree-toad, and if their wants are not attended to scream like babies in pas- sion. ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES.