CHAPTER EIGHT
JAKE'S INTERVIEW WITH A SKUNK
"Gilly, do you know of any vegetable dye we can find in the woods to dye some burlap for decorations?" asked Julie one day.
"Yes, you can take the berries and leaves of red or staghorn sumac and boil them together to make a black dye, or ink. If you need ink in a hurry, you can take the Genus Coprinus, commonly known as the ink mushroom, and pluck it at the end of its first day. The spores are black, and the gills turn into a black fluid at the last. This produces a splendid writing ink, or will dye grass, quills, and other wildwood stuffs."
"Speaking of quills, Gilly—why can't we have chickens as the Grey Fox boys have?" asked Joan.
"What would you do if they got the gapes, and no one would feed them chopped onions?" laughed Mr. Gilroy.
"I'm not looking for trouble, but for pets to have about camp," retorted Joan.
"I'd hardly call a chicken a pet!" laughed Julie.
"Even so, Julie, it would cluck and appear to be friendly, even it wasn't."