The Skunk is an Amiable and Well-Mannered Pet
SQUIRRELS
Tame squirrels are amusing. It takes very little encouragement to make them tame enough to eat from the hand and even to rummage the pockets for nuts. I remember a case when the red squirrels made so free with the books in a great man's study that he became positively annoyed, although he had himself encouraged them and had enjoyed their friendliness and tameness. The case got so bad that he was forced either to vacate or to get rid of the squirrels. He finally had a trap set. The first squirrel that came in ran straight into the trap. The great man had really not counted on any such circumstance. He was nonplussed. In all his diplomatic career no such a situation had arisen. He gave the matter earnest thought. He considered all the pros and cons. He weighed all the evidence. The squirrel was guilty!
When asked by a friend what penalty he pronounced, the great man replied: "I read him such a lecture as he will never forget—and turned him loose!"
The relations of the red squirrel with the birds are such that we are pretty sure they should be discouraged. They are, alas! egg-suckers and nest-robbers. The gray squirrel has not been caught in this nefarious occupation. If plenty of nuts, fruit, and water were supplied for red squirrels, maybe they could be cured of their bad habits.
The flying squirrel is to me the most beautiful member of his family. He is said to tame easily, but I remember the only pair we ever caught were shut in a convenient closet "till morning." When morning came there were only a little pile of gnawings and a hole under the door to tell the story. They had flown, nor could I blame them.
RACCOONS, WOODCHUCKS, AND SKUNKS
A raccoon is a most satisfactory pet and will afford about as much amusement in the back yard as a cage of monkeys. Raccoons are more numerous, especially in New England, than formerly. They are extremely fond of green corn, but corn in any form is eaten greedily. Also, I regret to say, they are nest-robbers. In fact, they will eat fish, flesh, and fowl, as well as vegetables and insects. This makes the food problem for a pet 'coon a very simple one. But we can not afford to encourage them, because of their bird-eating habits.
Sometimes a hunter finds a suckling 'coon in the woods. He cannot let the helpless thing starve, as it certainly would if left. When he gets it home, he will realize that its natural food is 'coon's milk. Some bright member of the family will suggest that a bottle of cow's milk with rubber nipple will do the trick. Having no such convenience as a rubber nipple, we once successfully brought up a baby pig on a bottle. We took a goose quill and wrapped it with a strip of clean old cotton cloth till we made a stopper for the bottle. This was fine, and I can recommend it for suckling lambs, pigs, fawns, 'coons, and other young mammals. There are well-authenticated stories of baby 'coons being adopted by cats whose young have been "disposed of."