Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-07
ssT,HE SKUNK Is AN ANIMAL TO WHO

| neutrality-suspicious. A. PETS-THEIR Tricks
| AND PRETTY wAYs-soME DELusIoSs.
seT,HE SKUNK Is AN ANIMAL TO WHICH
| surprising injustice has been DONE" said
naturalist to q STAR reporter. "Of all NAM
mails native to this country none other is 90
universally abused, and yet. although occasion
ally guilty OF ofense, no other species Is nearly
50 valuable to the farmer. 1t is true that
skunks some time rob hen roosts Just as dogs
kill sheep and cats devour chickens; but. gener-
ally speaking, this beast is prominently the
friend of the agriculturist destroying more
beetles grasshoppers, and other injurious in
sects than are done away with by all animals
beside. Also it devours great numbers Of mice.
THE skunk is not fond Of secretion, but
seeks the clearings and pastures which sur
round the habitations of man, and frequently
it takes up its abode under an outbuilding or
neighboring stump, sleeping away the day and
at nightfall coming forth to wander through
garden, orchard and meadow for the purpose
| OF preying upon the insects that feast upon the
product Of human toll. 1t is estimated that a
single creature of this sort in one year nets q
| farmer more in dollar and cents than he loses
| from the depredations of the animals during
his lifetime. And yet he rarely loses chance
| to kill one.
fhErTI ANIMALs
Among the mammals of this country it
would be difficult to find prettier animal than
the skunk. Its black body, with q marrow
white stripe running up the forehead and the
broad band OF white extending from the crown
| down the back. is very handsome, the large
and bushy tail, terminating in tuft Of cream
white, assisting to produce q most pleasing
| effect. The fur is long, thick and glossy and
makes a beautiful center for robe. Pelts
fta 49,, L.
employed in the manufacture of fine furs and
| are sold under the name Of .Alaska sable
THE skunk does not evince the dread man
that is manifested usually by mammals, and,
when encountered, he rarely thinks Of running
| away. On the contrary his curiosity is aroused
and he is apt to come forward to investigate.
A weakness of his is inquisitiveness. Skunks,
particularly when young, make very pretty
pets. being attractive in appearance. gentle in
disposition, interesting in manners and Clearly
mischievous and manifest considerable affec-
ton.
have had at different times ten live skunks
as companions. Some were dug out of their
holes and the rest caught in box traps. Two
| were 80 young that they could walk but few
steps at time and had to be brought up on
milk, being fed with spoon. The others ate
meat and insects from the start. From some
OF them removed the scent bag. but the
greater number were left in a state OF nature.
None ever emitted any odor. When / came
within reach these skunks would climb up my
| legs and solicit my caresses.
Two summers ago was the happy master
OF the cleverest young skunk 1 have thus far
| CHANGED to meet. 'Mephitis mephitica being
| the name of the genus, called him 'Meph' for
short By way Of precaution 1 removed his
scent sack. While driving about the country
| he usually slept in my pocket. When went
walking he followed close at my heels. II
| walked too fast for him he would scold and
| stamp with his forefeet, and if persisted in
| keeping too far ahead he would turn about dis
gustedly and 60 home. Weused to walk through
| the woods to a meadow which abounded with
grasshoppers. and there 'Meph' would revel in
his favorite food. He would eat so many that
his oyer-distended little belly actually dragged
upon the ground. When SO small that he could
scarcely toddle about he never hesitated to
tackle the large and powerful beetle known as
the horned bug and got many smart nips from
his audacity. After he had learned to handle
them with IMMUNITY he ventured to attack
mice.
Meph's' nest was in box near the foot Of
the stairs. and before he grew strong enough to
climb out by himself he would stand on his
hind legs and beg to be carried upstairs.
Skunks have large families, from six to ten
young ones being commonly raised each season.
The flesh OF the skunk is white, tender and de-
heious to eat. being not unlike chicken. though
more delicate. l have eaten skunk flesh boiled
broiled, roasted, fried and fricasseed and am
prepared to assert that anything more tooth
| some In the way Of meat is hard to get
now HE DEFENDS HIMSELF.
''The fore feet Of the skunk are armed with
long claws, which he employs in excavating his
burrows and in digging for mice. Also he has a
fine set Of sharp teeth, but his chief weapon of
defense lies Ill the secretion of pair of glands
which are imbedded in a mass Of muscle that
serves to compress them SO forcibly that the
fluid they contain may be elected to the dis
lance of more than fifteen feet. The secretion
Is clear fluid OF golden yellow color; its odor
Is 80 pervading that it has been known to be
waited recognizably distance of twenty miles.
SO powerful are the fumes of this secretion that
persons who have breathed them at close quar-
tiers have been known to lose consciousness. the
temperature Of the body falling and the pulse
slackening. Death would doubtless result IL
the inhalation were prolonged. Persons~my-
self among the number-have suffered from
contact Of this acrid liquid with the eve. the
circumstance causing intense pain and setting
up violent inflammation. Reliable accounts
are given OF entire loss OF vision from this cause
On the other hand the secretion has been found
to be an eficacious remedy in asthma, whoop-
ing cough and spasmodic Group.
SOME POPULAR MISTAKES
ut was for many years believed, oven by nat
uralists, that the scent Of the skunk was its
urine but this is not true, the secretion being
made by pair Of special glands. Nor is il true
that the animal scatters its scent with its tail.
Furthermore, it is not the fact, as is commonly
believed, that skunk is always ready to spat-
ter any one who chances to come within range.
On the contrary, the beast waits until it is hurt
or very seriously frightened before it c:nits the
secretion. A belief has been circulated to the
effect that a skunk when held up by its tail can
not eject its scent: l know from experience to
the contrary. When / was a little boy, one
winter, light snow enabled me to track skunx
to its hole in the woods, where set box tran
with bait. Next morning I found the trap
sprung, but hearing no noise within opened
the lid. Before l had time to see what was
there my little dog rushed in, and as reached
out my arm to pull him back somehow got
hold Of the skunks tail by mistake. and held
the frightened beast up before me while the
dog seized him by the head. Scarcely had
realized the peril of the situation when was
blinded and strangled by the terrible discharge.
which hit me full in the face, entering INV
mouth and one Of my eyes, Nearly suffocated
and screaming with pain rushed into the
house, where in the efforts made by my family
to wash the fluid from my eye my head was
crowded into the pail Of water and was well
nigh drowned"
The Pathos Of Loneliness.
heard lately Of pathetic case of the loneli-
ness says writer in the Boston Post, which
comes to a stranger in n strar oa lapd xvba,,