The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1909-03-26


A second kind, in which the male and
one female are paired for that breeding
season only, the male staying with the
family and sharing the care Of the
young until they are well grown, af-
ter which the parents may or may not
resume their fellowship. This is adj
mirable. 1t is seen in hawks. A third,
/ in which the pair consort for life, but
the death of one leaves the other free
to mate again. This is ideal. 1t is the
way of wolves A fourth, in which they
pair for life and in case of death the
survivor remains disconsolate and
alone to the end. This seems absurd.
1t is the way Of the geese.
Mans Bad Influence.
.Tn making observations one is ham
pered by the fact that association with
man has always been ruinous to the
morals of animals. There can be no
doubt that the dog, now promiscu-
Gus, was originally a homogeneous
creature One of the great difficulties
besetting the growing Of blue foxes for
their fur on the islands of the Boring
| Sea, is what has been called the OBJ
stinate and deplorable monogamy OF
those animals. The breeders are work
ing hard to break down this high moral
sentiment and produce blue fox that
docs not object to polygamy, promlscu-
ity, or any other combination, and so
remove all sentimental obstacles to
their experiments.
''To sum up; there is evidence that
in the animal worIu there has long
been cropping after an ideal form OF
marriage. Beginning with promisculty,
they have worked through many stages
into pure monogamy; and, other things
equal, the species, owing to natural
4 laws, are successful in proportion as
,, they have reached it, and, therefore,
have developed an instructive recogn1-
ton of the Seventh Commandment"
Top-Notchers in MatrImony.
The fox, the wolf, the goose, and the
pigeon 7these appear to have reached
a top notch position in matrimonial
matters, and one is not surprised to
learn that the first of them has been
selected as hero of romance.
I'm my story" said Mr.. Seton, Il
trace Domino keynard's career until he
is in his prime, and there | leave him
without recounting any possible tragic
ending. For the basis of my incidents,
as / have said, used the observations
that made in the cases of many foxes.
Thus, there is the fox's fidelity to one
mate through life Then there is his
assiduity as father to his young. The
fox is an excellent father, and so as
rule are the male members OF the dog
family-excepting of course, the DO
nestle dog, whose moral character has
been ruined through domesttcatlon.
Unfortunately however, in the case OF
the fox, the parental bond disappears
entirely when the young of the family
grow up. That was an exceedingly DIS
appointing fact which / was forced,
nevertheless, to recognize in making
up my story.
There is another curious domestic
tradition, as you might call it, IN the
married life of the fox. have made
it the subject Of one Of the illustrations
accompanying the story of Domino
Reynard;' the enforced absence OF the
male fox for certain period surround
ing the birth Of his offspring Curious
ly enough the same rule is observed
among the lower orders of the human
species-the mother gives birth to her
child in secrecy, nor is the husband al
lowed to see it until it is several
days old. In my story thus picture
the fox who is about to became a moth
er coming out to take drink OF water
and there signaling to Domino Rey-
nard, the husband, that he is to keep
away. At such times I find the father
of the family does not return until his
newborn offspring have their eyes
openH
"BUt their practice Of monogamy,
how have you been able to prove that
was asked. 'It must be impossible to
follow one fox season after season
through the woods and thus be assured
that he always remains true to one
wife,"
Methods of Observation.
GIN that matter have trusted not
only to my own observations; | have
| sought corroboratiye evidence as well
from those who are thoroughly CONVEX
! SAINT with the lore Of the woods as they
have been able to gather 1T for them
selves rather than from books. l have
already given the testimony of the Ber-
ing Sea fox breeders who find them
selves seriously hampered by the OBJ
stinate' devotion of the male fox to one
wife. Then ask Indians whom l meet
=, +1,o r,o1de &c To what thav know on