The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-10
A CURIOUS CROP.
A FARM IN KENTUCKY WHERE
POLECATs ARE RAISED.
singular. But Little Known Animals.
They Are as Playful as Kittens
When in Good Humor.

". J. Lampkn in Washington Star.
Winchester. Ky. OCT. 10-Poets and or
ators have devoted much Of their finest
language TO the bravery developed In
facing the angry muzzIes OF bristlins
cannon. Of meeting foenen with ciashing
steel. Of standing hrm before the coming
OF dreadful epilemics, and all that SORT
Of thing, but they don't know what in
spiration Is until they let their language
loose on the bravery Of mingling with
d hundred and fifty slzunks loaded and
ready for business 80 moments notice
Last Sunday afternoon I went four
miles from tins town down the Muddy
creek pike 60 see George Billiards. pole
cat plant or skunk farm or whatever
else il may Dc called, and I enjoyed the
experience very much-after ii was over
and was al a safe distance aealn. Here.
on the slope Of e. hillside, 5lr. Ballard has
an Enclosure about quarters of an
acre. fenced in with a wire net fence live
feet high. and within it be has probably
l58 skuuks OF various ages and sizes. ana
d prettier ana lvclier sight than this
colony having fun with Itself on sunny
afternoon would bee hard 10 find.
1 took a camera alons 20 get o. snap
shot or two and when George, il ms
genuine AfuAANA A-A'T AfAtt.-Atg N'-r
gate OF the inclosure ana invited me 10
walk in among his COLLECTION, l confess
TO a feeling or wanting no. pee -1ilt ~ Ilci e
else. the farther away the better, a man
can't show the white feather, however,
in any sort of emergency, ana RETAIN lAe
proper respect Of heutue Hlahi anu
would have gone. into that pen y every
skunk there had declared war ana tIalAed
his armament on me.
Dozens of the pretty little nlach-aha-
wnite-striped fellows came up TO tle ht5-
g.. md Cd
frieudlluegs and curiosity, standing up on
their hind legs and smiling tnc AR aiteI
the manner OF prairie DOGS, ana WliAlnH
and blinking as much as 20 say they WeI7
not half as bad ais they had been repre-
scented TO be- l overcome my cQnsclentlous
SCruples ahOlt going into sutu places ON
Sunday, and boldly passed 20 among men
They scampered away when We went M
with little squeals like young PIGS, anu
lodged into their holes under the rocks
and into the boxes made for them, nut IN
a minute or tWo their curiosity was TOO
much for them and they came out again
and trOCpel around the pen IN a long srinB
ike a striped serpent
Every now and then sclHp would oc-
cur, there would be a squeal or two, ana
a big one would toss a smaller one over
his back and down the HILL and the pro-
Cession would move on. AS a rule, they
are as playful as kittens, show very lit
tie fear of man. and their habits are eX-
Iremeiy cleanly. This Is when they are a
peace with an the world and the rest of
then-Wol. language Is utterly Inadequate
10 express what they are. II Is one OF the
things that must be smelled to be appre-
clated Fortunately, l was not called on
to appreciate il.
The farm was estabnshed-it is yet only
in an experimental stdJe-in April OF last
year by Mr.. Ballard, Alr. MOckabec and
others, VINO had been reading up IN the
newspapers on skunk farming and the
possible profits in the business, ana the
first thing they did was to select a site
= fNf "a ntafl
which to lay a stone foundation. 1t was
necessary to go down 10 the rock, for a
skunk can, and viii, dig a mile under
ground If II should occur to him that
there Is any necessity The foundation
being firmly fixed, a wire netting fence
with wide plank on top of II, so the
inmates could not reach up over its edge
ana climb out, was run around 1t; piles
OF stones and logs were placed around at
intervals, with number of boxes or
coops, and the plant was ready for bust
ness. The next thing was 10 get a skunk
or two, and as soon as the cOlOred
brother learned that he could get 30 cents
for a good, healthy mephitis mephitica
that want was supplied and business be-
gan.
The majority of the animals owned by
Mr.. Ballard have been captured, and
in other dealings with a skunk. As they
must be in good condition, II rs not pos
sible to catch them IN the ordinary trap,
and nothing on earth VIII coax skunk
into a box trap as rat may be caught.
He is altogether too curious for that, and,
instead OF going into the box set so invit-
ingly before him, he turns 1t over two or
three times and generally succeeds ia roll
ling il down a hill or getting it's open side
down, so he couldn't get in II he wanted
to-which he doesn't generally want 10.
That leaves but one other mode of cap
ture, to wit. digging him out of his hole,
and here his curiosity, which before saved
him is fatal to him.
The digger digs away until he is within
reaching distance Of the skunk and then
he gets over behind and above the hole
and waits. In a very few minutes OF mas
skunk or OF mis- skunk comes shifting
and peering out to see what il is all about
and just as its head gets past the edge
down comes a hand across It's neck, and
that settles the freedom Of the skunk.
Carefully, then, the captor draws the
skunk out, slipping his other hand along
its body to the end, when, with a quick
jerk he pulls it out and doubles it's head
under its tail and keeps 1t that way until
he drops IL into sack or box for deiiV-
cry at the farm. This doubling IS to pre-
vent the animal from using It's chief
weapon of defense, because, as Mr.. Bal
lard says, hes got to hump himself be-
fore he can throw his stink" The same
results may be obtained by catching the
animal by the tail, and holding ID up,
but tail hold is not always available,
though Mr. Ballard and his son both pick
ed them up that way while they We're feed
ing, and I took a snap shot of the boy
holding two up by their tails, but / got
away to safe distance before he let
Perhaps no animal in the world-certain-
~ none In Americas in as bad odor inthe
community where il resides as the skunk
is, ana there is much reason for this
for there is no smell known which IS much
worse than that on The peculiar fluid OF
liquid a skunk discharges when provoked
1t comes from O ring-shaped sac at the
interior extremity Of the alimentary canal
and Is discharged through three (Banard
says three; the natural history says two)
needle-like apertures, and can be thrown
ff fnH
or twelve feet 1t spreads out in a Vapor-
like cloud, ana is so penetrating that moth
ing escapes II, and ii may be detected AZ
a distance of g mile Il is of a reddish
cast when thrown upon u white board
but in water 1t gives a greenish Unge
The supply seems TO be inexhaustible
and the cat is ready as long as life re.
mains. 1t has remarkable curative quail
ties, but its terrific OdOr prevents its
use Mr.. Ballard cites an instance wher
he was suffering last winter with sore
eyes, Of being struck square in one eve
by a discharge from a cat he was tryins
tc discipline in a pen and the eye was wei
within the week. Then ne tried to get Z
SIMILAR application for the other eye. bu
the odor was too much for him, and h,
gave 1t UP. 1t is said to be a cure fol
asthma also, but the remedy is worse
than the disease.
Eir. Ballard divides his collection into
two classes-polecats. which is the usua
designation. and slSunks-the skunlts be-