e
beginning of May. They remain with the parents for some time during the
summer, but will find a den for themselves as soon as possible. However,
they will be found, the first season, in the near vicinity of the
parents' den.

The food of the coon is variable, to conform with conditions of
different sections, but wherever found, they feed on both vegetable and
animal food. Fish, frogs, crawfish, clams, eggs of birds, and turtles;
water snails, wild fruits, such as grapes and berries, nuts, acorns,
etc., are all eaten with a relish. They are especially fond of corn when
in the milky state, and in late summer they feed on it extensively. They
are fond of poultry, also of honey, and will dig out the nests of bumble
bees when they find them, for the sake of the little bit of "sweet"
which is found therein.

They are nocturnal animals and are seldom seen by daylight. In their
travels they follow the streams mostly, and catch fish by feeling under
the stones in shallow water. Whenever possible, they wash their food
before eating.

The raccoon has a peculiar cry, which is heard sometimes, on still
nights, during the summer. It is a quavering note somewhat resembling
that of the screech owl, but lower and softer, and seems to come from a
distance, though really close by. To one inexperienced in the ways of
this animal, the cry would not be recognized.

The fur of the raccoon meets with ready sale at fair prices, and there
is also sale for the flesh in many markets. There is considerable
difference in color in individual animals, some of them being very dark,
and others quite pale. Of course the northern animals are more heavily
furred than those of the south.

The darker and larger specimens, as a rule, are secured in the northern
states--New York, Pennsylvania, Northern Ohio, Northern Indiana,
Northern Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Northwest. The
greatest numbers, but smaller and lighter colored, are secured from the
southern states, those bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, Tennessee,
Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky.

While raccoon can be raised in nearly all parts of America, the best
furred specimens can only be raised where the climate is productive of
good fur,--say north of 40 degrees. This would be on a line passing
through Philadelphia, south of Pittsburg, just north of Columbus,
through Central Indiana and Illinois, northern Missouri, boundary
between Kansas and Nebraska, north of Denver, and