Stable (animal shelter)

“ We hold that it is no more "cruelty" for an ape or a dog to work in training quarters or on the stage than it is for men, women and young people to work as acrobats, or actors, or to engage in honest toil eight hours per day. Who gave to any warm-blooded animal that consumes food and requires shelter the right to live without work? No one! I am sure that no trained bear of my acquaintance ever had to work as hard for his food and shelter as does the average bear out in the wilds. ”

“ No longer forest dwellers, or vegetarians, food would require more zeal and discrimination in collecting, and shelter of some kind had probably to be devised, partly as a protection against predatory animals, and partly for personal comfort, since it would now have become apparent that this could be appreciably increased by the exercise of a little effort and ingenuity. ”

“ After the battle for food comes the struggle for shelter. For most animals there is no such thing as shelter. They are exposed to the inclemencies of the weather and to the depredations of their enemies without the means of retiring into any situation which might protect them. ”

“ A second great class of specialization is seen in the changes of habit that provide the animal with shelter. The home seems so necessary a part of human life that it is almost impossible to think of an animal having nothing that in the faintest degree could be called a home. We at least expect it to have some sheltered place in which it passes most of its time and to which it returns after its wanderings. The great majority of all animals have no such home. ”

“ During the other six months of the year, the horses remain under shelter at night, and are driven out only in the day, when they must scrape away the snow for themselves, to get at the scanty grass underneath. When we say the horses remain under shelter, it must not be supposed that the shelter in question resembles in any way an English stable. ”

“ For the kennels of our British-bred dogs, perhaps a southern or a south-western aspect is the best, but wherever it is placed the kennel must be sufficiently sheltered from rain and wind, and it ought to be provided with a covered run in which the inmates may have full liberty. An awning of some kind is necessary. Trees afford good shelter from the sun-rays, but they harbour moisture, and damp must be avoided at all costs. ”

“ None of them turns back until the last cabin of refuge has been reached, where they look to see if any person is waiting. It is not unusual for the dogs to stay out all night in a hard storm. There have been many instances of their remaining away for two days and nights, without food or shelter, though at any time they could have come home. ”

“ It is not possible, of course, to give a lengthy description of pet shelters, since there are so many different kinds in use by boys all over the world; but the illustrations on these pages will give some ideas for the American and English boys to follow in making houses, hutches, and retreats to shelter their pet animals, birds, and reptiles. ”

“ If they should be detained abroad till late in the morning of a sunny day, by the quantity of their prey, they will construct arches over their path, of dirt agglutinated by a fluid excreted from their mouth. If their way should run under thick grass, sticks, etc., affording sufficient shelter, the arch is dispensed with ”

“ It is rarely that I have met with one who has said to me, "I have no home, no shelter, nowhere to go." Even the insects and most of the wild animals have some kind of refuge, some place to flee to in the time of storm. ”

“ Flower, the President of the London Zoölogical Society, in his address on the 16th of June, 1887, to the general meeting, made some excellent remarks upon this point when he said that "the old idea of keeping animals in small, cramped cages and dens, inherited from the Tower and traveling wild-beast shows, still lingers in many places. We have a responsibility to our captive animals, brought from their native wilds to minister to our pleasure and instruction, beyond that of merely supplying them with food and shelter. ”

“ It is very necessary for her to be free if confined in a stall. If running in a pasture or lot, the necessary shelter from storms, cold or extreme heat should be provided. Other farm animals, such as hogs, horses and cattle, should not be allowed to run in the same lot or pasture. ”

“ They devour, and they gorge themselves, without taking any care to protect their existence against aggressors from without. But a more provident minority construct shelters for themselves—little movable houses which the animal carries with itself, and within which it withdraws in case of danger, like a turtle in its shell. The larva fixes itself to this refuge by means of its membranous legs, and moves without by its articulated legs. ”

“ But if the dog is to be kept out of doors, obtain one of the improved kennels, with the entrance at the side, which affords a shelter from the wind, rain, and snow, and have a chain constructed with two or, preferably, three swivels in it, that it cannot become twisted up. Many a dog has been injured and even killed by neglect of these little matters. ”

“ At every open shed the dogs shelter a minute, shake themselves like dripping mops, and with arched backs stand on three legs and shiver; but we whistle them on and at last reach home. After throwing a good bundle of dry straw on the kennel benches and feeding dogs and ferrets, Jack and I get under shelter and soon find ourselves in dry clothes before a good fire, feeling a little swollen and stiff about our faces and hands, and much inclined for forty winks. ”

“ The yard should be sheltered from the north and east winds, and where this is effected by the position of a shrubbery or plantation in which the fowls may be allowed to run, it will afford the advantage of protection, not only from wind and cold, but also shelter from the rain and the burning sun. ”

“ It does not often happen in the country that fowls are restricted to a narrow yard or run, and when left to themselves they pick up, even in winter, much and varied food in and about the barn. But how rarely is proper shelter provided! It is almost as injurious for poultry as it would be for us to be crowded, and subjected to draughts, dampness, and cold. They may survive, but they can't thrive and be profitable. In many instances they are not even protected from storms, and it's a waste of grain to feed poultry that roost under a dripping roof. ”

“ I have found them at night in caves, barns, and once in a covered wagon. Almost any available shelter may have its bird tenant on cold nights, who if undisturbed will often return again and again to the refuge it has once found safe and comfortable. ”

“ He builds his simple shelter by some spot where birds are accustomed to drink, and calls them by imitating their note. They come to the spot, and, not seeing their companions, perch upon the sticks under which the hunter is concealed, a large bunch of grass being generally used to prevent the birds from seeing him. As soon as the bird perches, he slips the noose over its head, draws it inside the shelter, kills it, and waits for another.
In some parts of the country the natives make a self-acting snare, very much on the principle of the nets used in snaring rabbits. ”

“ There is no doubt that the tiny Lice, at the present moment the sole representatives of their race, must live [289] through the winter and serve as the origin of the population which will occupy the terebinth in the spring. These puny creatures cannot remain exposed to the severities of the winter. A shelter is indispensable, a shelter that will afford them both food and lodging. Where will they find it? Only one shelter is possible: it must be underground, beneath some sort of grass that will retain a little green in winter. ”

“ On another side of the square were the kitchens and dining-room, as well as living-place for the Arab landlord and his hidden family; and opposite was a roofed, open-fronted shelter for camels and other animals, the ground yellow with sand and spilt fodder. Water overflowed from a small well, making a pool in the courtyard, in which ducks and geese waddled, quacking, turkey-cocks fought in quiet corners, barked at impotently by Kabyle puppies. ”

“ When settled, they are not fastidious about their habitations, as the mild climate does not require close quarters; a good shelter will subserve their purpose. Like birds of the air, they only want a roosting-place when night overtakes them. ”

“ The English sparrow does not care for the suet, and as he cannot manage the corn nor the peanuts, this feedery attracts only desirable 117 birds. In March I remove the wire pocket, and mount the shelter a few feet higher, to serve as a nest shelter for robins. The roof will ward off heavy rains, which destroy so many robin’s nests. A similar shelter, if fastened in the shade on a wall, might attract phœbes.
When one starts out to make bird houses he should decide first of all what birds he wishes to attract by means of them. ”

“ A wild animal has to search, and often to labour, for every mouthful of food—to exercise sight, hearing, and smell in seeking it, and in avoiding dangers, in procuring shelter from the inclemency of the seasons, and in providing for the subsistence and safety of its offspring. ”

“ As they increased in size day by day, the elastic wall of their small home expanded, and thus served their need until such time as they were old enough to live independent of this specially provided shelter. ”

“ Generations of persecution have implanted in the brain of the ruminant baby the commanding instinct to fold up its long legs, neatly and compactly, furl its ears along its neck, and closely lie for hours against a rock or a log. During daylight hours they must literally hug the ground. Silence and inactivity is the first price that all young animals in the wilds pay for their lives. It is only in the safe shelter of captivity, or man-made sanctuaries, that they are free to play. ”

“ Perhaps the first and most urgent need of all living creatures is for shelter. The oriole weaves his hanging nest; the beaver constructs his wonderfully domed house; primitive man builds his hut of interlaced boughs. ”

“ To the northward, where the warmth of the climate made houses less necessary, they were in proportion still more slight: a house there was nothing but a hollow shelter about three or four feet deep, built like the former, and like them covered with bark. One side of this was entirely open; it was always the side sheltered from the course of the prevailing wind, and opposite to this door was always a heap of ashes, the remains of a fire, probably more necessary to defend them from mosquitos than cold. ”

“ The ducks, hens, and other fowls became alarmed as we came close upon them, and ran for shelter to the vacant space in the middle, when the front closed, and all were secured by those in the centre; the poor people, their owners, calling in vain for restitution of their property. ”

“ Between the beings whom nature has endowed with a shelter and those who construct it by their own industry, we may intercept those who, deprived of a natural asylum and not having the inclination or the power to make one, utilise the dwellings of others, either when the latter still inhabit them, or when they are empty on account of the death or departure of the owner. ”

“ On wet days, when pedestrians may be forced by the suddenness of the rain gusts to seek refuge in some arcade or colonade, like those in Piccadilly or the Regents' Quadrant, it is then that the dog fancier suddenly emerges from his hibernation, and knowing that he will have the attention of a group of people who are without occupation while in shelter, he may be certain to dispose of his dogs to advantage. It is upon old and timid ladies that these dog venders are sure to practice their tricks. ”

“ The birds are picked up in a dying condition from beneath the hedges, to which shelter they almost always run. The plan is a quiet one; may be adopted in roads and lanes where the birds dust themselves, and does not require trespass. ”

“ He will choose a good shelter under a cut-bank, even perhaps put the fire-medicine to the dry-wood, then all together, as Brothers, he and the Dogs will lie huddled like a Fox Pack, and though the wrath howl for three days none of their lives will go out. ”

“ All the things which have to grow in the open air should be placed in the full sun. Not a few hardy subjects will thrive very well without any but ordinary shelter, as, for example, the Yuccas and Acanthuses; but, judging by the remarkable way in which the hardy Bamboo thrives when placed in a sheltered dell, shelter has a considerable influence on the well-being even of these, as it must have on all subjects with large leaf-surfaces. ”

“ In this shelter, the hunter in vain could endeavour to molest them, were it not for a hard-haired dog, or terrier of the smallest size, who being defended from the thorns by the roughness of his coat, goes into the cover and brings them and the partridges alive one by one to his master. ”

“ Such areas provide the most suitable protection since they are slow and fat and easily caught if found too far away from a safe retreat. Easily tamed, they soon adjust themselves to the presence of numerous visitors and even congregate in the vicinity of lodges 28 and cabin areas where shelter under buildings is handy and scraps of food are plentiful. ”

“ Commence at the bottom as you do in shingling a roof and place sections of birch bark around, others above them overlapping them, and hold them in place by resting poles against them. If your camp is to be occupied for a week or so, it may be convenient to build a wick-up shelter as a dining-room like the one shown in Fig. 21. This is made with six uprights, two to hold the ridge-pole and two to hold the eaves, and may be shingled over with browse or birch, elm, spruce, or other bark ”