Litter

“ For the purpose of covering, you may provide either clean straw, or long dry horse-stable litter, sufficient to lay about half a foot thick at first, but gradually increased afterwards of due thickness to defend the bed effectually from the air, rain, and inclement weather, and to preserve a low kindly warmth. ”

“ It is said, too, that the females which are produced by the mother in her first litter, are subject to the night-mare.1889 The best dog of the litter is the one which is last in obtaining its sight, or else the one which the mother carries first into her bed. ”

“ During the winter there should be about 10 inches of dry litter in the form of straw, peat moss or shavings mixed with the straw. Small windows in the rear wall will make for better distribution of the litter, since the birds scratch away from the light. ”

“ The field-mouse is prolific, the female producing several litters throughout the greater part of the year. The mother carries the young-born litter about for two or three weeks, nipping the skin of her offspring at the side, half-way between the fore and hind legs. The average number of young born at one time is probably somewhere about five, though litters of nine are by no means unknown. ”

“ Barn-yard litter is beneficial on thin land, not necessary on rich land, but ashes are good on any soil. I pasture my orchard in summer with young horses and hogs. I think it advisable, as the hogs eat the apples that drop and destroy the worms. ”

“ So every ton of litter produced near seven tons of dung.—But this weight must [270] have been obtained chiefly by the earth of the headland absorbing the urine, of which, when fed on turnips, sheep make great quantities, and being finally mixed with their dung and litter. This recital reminds me of the recommendation, in my address to this Society, in May, 1818, to carry earth into the barn yard, once in every two weeks, from spring to autumn; adding to every layer of earth a coat of litter. ”

“ The litter is weaned by simply taking the doe away from the youngsters and putting her in a separate hutch. The litter should be left in the same hutch in which they were born. They will be better satisfied and results will be better than if you move them. ”

“ One end of the litter is made fast to the sides of the animal, while the other end is left to trail upon the ground. A projection is raised for the feet to rest against and prevent the patient from sliding down. Instead of canvas, the Indians sometimes lash a large willow basket across the poles, in which they place the person to be transported. The animals harnessed to the litter must be carefully conducted upon the march, and caution used in passing over rough and broken ground. ”

“ To all intents and purposes the litter is a couch with an arched roof above it, of the shape here indicated, but covered with cushions, which are often stuffed with down. Its woodwork is decorated with silver and ivory. The litter may either be carried open on all sides, or with curtains of coloured stuffs partially drawn, or it may be enclosed by windows of talc or glass. In the days when litters were in promiscuous use, persons who did not possess one, or perhaps the slaves to bear it, might hire such a vehicle from the "rank," after the modern manner of hiring a cab. ”

“ The seat of this litter is covered with several deer-skins, and to its four sides are fastened four bars which cross each other, and are supported by eight men, who at every hundred paces transfer their burden to eight other men, and thus successively transport it to the place where the feast is celebrated, which may be near two miles from the village. ”

“ The young of the second litter are less successful than those of the first litter and make up only a small part of the breeding population the following year. In 28 litters of young the average was 7.4, but probably some of these litters had already sustained losses. ”

“ Inhabitants of leaf litter reside close to the surface and so must be able to experience exposure to dryer air and light for short times without damage. The larger litter livers are called primary decomposers. They spend most of their time chewing on the thick reserve of moist leaves contacting the forest floor. ”

“ These old trees make such a litter in the spring that my wife is anxious to get them down. Women like tidiness, you know, and she says, while they are blooming, it is impossible to keep the yard clean. ”

“ On occasion of changing their abode, they must be well cleansed from the litter, laid upon beds of fresh leaves, and supplied with an abundance of food every six hours in succession. In shifting their bed, a piece of network being laid over the wicker plates, and covered with leaves, the worms will creep up over them ”

“ As instances of the rapid increase of rodent families we may note that the mother rat has several litters of young each year, and ten or twelve at a litter. The fieldmouse has twelve little ones a year, but all of the same litter. ”

“ They store food but remain active under the ice all winter long.
Very prolific, they produce from two to five litters a year, with from four to as many as a dozen young in each litter. There is a reason for this. ”

“ I sat in my litter on a spring cushion, lent me for the cart by a Chinese gentleman, and I endeavoured to balance myself so that the litter should not—as it seemed to me to be threatening to do—turn topsy-turvy. It made me rather uncomfortable at first, because once in there is no way of getting out without 326lifting the litter off the mules. You may indeed slip down between it and the leading mule's hind legs, but that proceeding strikes me as decidedly risky, for a mule can kick and his temper does not seem to be improved by having the shafts of a litter on his back. ”

“ Right in this connection we may say, a deep litter does not necessarily mean one that is so broken up and packed together that the grain cannot readily sift through it. The litter straw should be constantly added to so as to offer a surface that the grain will readily sift through. ”

“ Whether they are employed in spreading the litter on the floor of the stable, in carrying the pails foaming with the freshly-drawn milk, or in turning up with long wooden rakes the newly-mown hay, all their different labors resemble festivals. ”

“ They should frequently have fresh litter and be kept very clean, by frequently rubbing them down with a wisp of straw. But they should not be tied up or curried till they are near three years old, their skin being till then too delicate to bear the comb. ”

“ They should have plenty of clean litter as often as needed. With such management, there will be an almost incredible saving of food.
Tight Stables should always be ventilated. The breath and manure from animals always causes impure air. ”

“ The winter covering of litter should be raked into the walks or alleys as soon as winter is over and allowed to remain there as a mulch for keeping the soil cool and damp and for the purpose of keeping the berries clean. ”

“ Why the difference?" "Kick up the litter under the oaks and you will see that the leaves rot almost as fast as they fall. Under the pines, though, the needles pile up as a thick duff; decay is much slower. ”

“ Any convenient shelter appears to satisfy them for a home, and they will occupy the deserted burrows of other animals, small cavities among the rocks, a hollow log, or a hole dug by themselves. A warm nest of grass and leaves is made at the end of the den, where the single litter of young, containing from four to ten, is born in April or May. As soon as the young are old enough they follow the mother, keeping close behind her, often in a long single file along a trail. ”

“ The young are fully furred and have their eyes open when born. They are active but stay hidden close by one spot for the first two or three weeks. There are usually about four to the litter and there probably is more than one litter each year, at least in the warmer sections of their range. ”

“ If the doe has a large litter of five or six she will need this help throughout the nursing period as the average doe, even though she be a good milker, does not have enough to adequately supply a large litter. ”

“ Of all the thousand rapid and confused impressions that one receives in the streets of Paris, do you remember any one more painful than the sight of one of those litters, sheltered from the sun’s rays by a striped cover, and borne by two men, one behind and the other in front,—the form of a human being vaguely defined under the linen sheets? Women cross themselves when these litters pass them, as they do when a crow flies over their heads. ”

“ A board floor is not necessary if the dirt floor is filled up 6 or 8 inches above the ground level outside the house. The floors should be provided with an abundance of litter which is usually changed only once or twice during the year. As the litter tends to become dirty more litter must be added. ”

“ During the winter months the birds have to be confined in what are called “scratching-sheds,” and American farmers have successfully reduced to a system the keeping of them healthy and in profit by scratching amongst litter in a small space. ”

“ The young are weaned (in captivity) when about 4 weeks old. The females breed again soon after a litter is born. It seems likely that a female may have as many as three or four litters during a summer. ”

“ He was very thankful to find himself placed on a litter, composed of a couple of poles and some cross pieces cut down from the neighbouring trees, when his bearers immediately set off towards the camp. ”

“ The trees too are bending in the attitude of flight—their boughs are brandishing their foliage as a dog worries a fleece, and littering the black soil with leaves among which runs a constant querulous hissing and rustling. ”

“ Several litters of from two to six young usually appear during the spring and summer. These are born blind and practically naked, their unclad helplessness strongly contrasting with the open-eyed, fully furred, and alert young of the hares at the same age. ”

“ While litters are generally large, it should not be taken for granted that Nature intends the mother doe to raise all that come. Many will die in the natural state and old plainsmen tell me that the jack rabbit seldom raises more than a pair to the litter. ”

“ I BEAR a basket lined with grass;
I am so light, I am so fair,
That men must wonder as I pass
And at the basket that I bear,
Where in a newly-drawn green litter
Sweet flowers I carry,—sweets for bitter.
Lilies I shew you, lilies none,
None in Caesar's gardens blow,—
And a quince in hand,—not one
Is set upon your boughs below;
Not set, because their buds not spring;
Spring not, 'cause world is wintering. ”

“ One doe can produce four litters a year without seriously crowding her. But this is not the best practice. We will, however, take it for granted that the fancier wants to get all he can out of her. Four litters with six in each litter will give him twenty-four rabbits in one year from the same mother doe. ”

“ When caught they at first struggle to escape, but, like a rabbit, do not offer to bite, and soon become quiet. They have from two to six young, which may be born at any season. Nothing appears to be known concerning the number of litters in a year. ”

“ They pass from tree to tree with great rapidity, usually choosing to jump from a higher branch to a lower one, and then climbing up again to make a fresh start.... They litter about twice in a year, once in September. ”

“ The most numerous litters known consist of twelve, but more generally five or six is the number; sometimes, indeed, only one is produced, but then it is looked upon as a prodigy, and the same is the case, too, when all the pups are of one sex. ”

“ There are several litters of young during the year, and these vary in number from five to nine—an alarming rate of increase; but, fortunately, the Barn Owl that hunts the hedgerow inch by inch, every evening, takes a heavy toll that keeps the numbers down. ”

“ We believe, however, that to allow the males and females to run wild (if the range is large enough) has a tendency to create larger litters. We believe that the females cohabit with more than one male at rutting time and that additional young are created at each service. ”

“ Then, remove her to a freshly cleaned pen furnished with nesting materials for her future family. For best strength of a male, and the quality of litters sired by him, he should not be used more than 2 or 3 times per week. ”

“ The gray, or brown rat, as he is often called, will, in favorable situations, increase enormously, producing annually several litters, each of which may contain eight, ten, or even twelve or fourteen young ones. ”

“ Nature seems to try to compensate for the natural losses due to enemies and other conditions which combine to destroy litters in the natural state by sending a large number of youngsters to the mother doe. ”

“ They therefore drive them out from their night styes to feed, according to their litters and ages. Whence, if several droves are taken to the same place, they cannot preserve these distinction of litters ”

“ He takes a single pair of rats, and proves satisfactorily that in three years, if undisturbed, they will have thirteen litters of eight each at a birth, and that the young will begin littering again when six months old ”