Photograph by Helen W. Cooke
The Shetland Pony is the Ideal Pet
A thoroughbred Shetland pony should be less than forty-five inches high and weigh less than three hundred pounds. Many are raised in this country. A boy is lucky who has a chance to train a pony colt. Training should be begun early. One successful breeder says that his children do all the training of his ponies. His boy, seven years old, broke the first one they raised to drive to a little wagon. Little boys and girls under ten take entire care of the ponies in another man's herd. No doubt their father or mother oversees the work, but it is fun for the children to groom and feed and pet these wee horses.
Breeding Shetland ponies is a very practical way to make a few hundred dollars a year. They eat less than full-sized horses and will keep fat on grass from frost till frost. The price of ponies is 25 per cent. higher than it was five years ago. This makes the cost of going into this business higher, but the sales begin the second year and selling prices are higher, too. Shetlands are hardy and require shelter only in bitter cold weather. Ponies of various sorts are becoming far commoner here than formerly, so the demand is increasing. I wish every boy and every girl whose heart is set on having a pony could have one. Let us all raise ponies until there are enough for every one.
RABBITS, GUINEA PIGS, AND CAVIES
Rabbits, guinea pigs, and cavies are not poultry, yet there is always a department devoted to them in the great Poultry Show at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was there that I first made the acquaintance of these three kinds of popular pets. Many a boy has made a neat little addition in two figures, at least, to his college fund, by raising hares, rabbits, guinea pigs, white rats, fancy mice, or cavies. Common white rabbits can be bought for one dollar a pair, but these days it is not uncommon for a breeder to pay from fifteen dollars to twenty-five dollars for wearers of blue ribbons. If you had guinea pigs for sale you would be glad that the best ones cannot be bought for less than ten dollars apiece.
Rabbits are the most popular of these pets, while cavies come next. There is just now a great demand for cavies. They are odd little creatures, neither intelligent nor affectionate. Neither are they very hardy; in the North they have to be kept indoors in cold weather.
Cavies are easy enough to feed, for they eat everything that is set before them, and keep at it all the time. All sorts of vegetables, bread and milk, and corn are the "chief of their diet."
Before going into the business of raising any of these creatures it is well to consult some other boy who has had some experience and find out if there are any peculiar difficulties he can help you provide for. Maybe your locality and conditions are better fitted for one than the other. A dealer will often be able to give you valuable information about the different sorts of pets, and may be able to recommend the best book on the subject.