The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-11

experiment demonstrated that It Is ditf1- cult to successfully propagate skunks in captivity without providing separate quarters for each family. which is im- practicable on a large scale.
 The skunk is great rooter and digger. In captivity he must be provided with mounds of earth into which he burrows i in the day time and through the cold weather. There must be running water l in the enclosure and ponds for frogs, be- cause frogs are the most favored dish on the skunk menu. He eats bugs and
 worms of all kinds and is fond of fresh meat and vegetables. Contrary to popu l lar belief, the skunk is a very cleanly animal and it's flesh is good to eat. The Indian Territory skunk farm is en- closed by fence of wire such as is used 1 for poultry yards The fence is set in l trench two or three feet wide and three l feet deep. The bottom of the wire mesh is folded down to form an extension for two feet on the bottom of the trench, inside the enclosure. This trench is filled with dirt and packed down. When the skunk attempts to gain his freedom as he Is sure to do, he will dig down close to the fence. When he flends the hori- zontal wire below he concludes that there l is woven wire bottom to the whole pasture and gives up the pursuit of lib erty On the earlier farms the trench
 
 always keep tho animals in. Foxes con l fined in the Indian Territory farm proved | their intellectual superiority over the skunk by digging down to the woven wire, and then borrowing away from the fence until the edge of the wire was reached. making their escape.
 How to kill the skunks without giving them time to become angry and so make the neighborhood unpopular has been difficult problem to solve. Old trappers lure them gently to the water and drown them, meanwhile keeling carefully to wind ward. One Hoosier skunk farmer made pen with metal bottom which was connected with a live electric wire. The skunks were decoyed into this pen the ! current turned on, and they were dead ing an instant, their pelts being odorless. The odor sacks may be removed from the young skunks when they are about
 ten days old, but the animal never thrives as well and it's fur is not so fine. Such animals are also more liable to in- fiict poisonous bites.
 Because of the growing scarcity of beavers attempts have been made to rear them in captivity, but so far with out much success. The beavers in the National Geological Gardens at Washing ton have to be fed by throwing small trees and limbs to them, as well as bread ana vegetables. The beaver colony there consists of less than a dozen individuals but they will not tolerate the intrusion of any other family. Other beavers placed in the enclosure are immediately set upon and killed seriously injured
 It has taken a long time to reduce the number of fur-bearing animals in the north to such an extent that their rais- ing Is a necessity. The hunter has been In constant pursuit of his quarry since the agents of tho Hudson Bay company first started their trade on this continent This ancient corporation was organized in 1870 under a royal charter granted when Charles II was king. It was dubbed the Honorable Company of Merchant Adven- turers of England" The first sale of 300 beaver skins took place in London coffee house and Dryden, the poet was there to write verse about 1t. The first Hudson Bay traders went so far from home that 1t took seven years for those at the most remote stations to get returns from their shipments, These pioneers in North American commerce endured great har- ships and reaped rich rewards. An ac- count of one expedition states that after all their stock in trade was disposed of they added $20000 worth of furs to their cargo by trading old clothes, bits of iron and such trif1es that otherwise would have been thrown away. The stockholders be- gan drawing dividends in 161 and the venerable organization still yields It's an. nual profits.
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