The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1909-12-09
MONEY IN sKUNKs.
A Breeding Farm Can be Started at
Sliqht Expense.
From the New York World.

Slight Expense.
From the New York World.
Few persons who travel the highway
between Tarrytown M White Plains
fail to notice a strange little place on
the north side of the DAD at the end
Of the Rockefeller estate. A little one
story cabin huddles in a corner Of the
gully into which the o dips at that
point. An abutment raises the road
from the gully bottom nearly half the
height of the little shack, and from the
street cars the stunted chimney at the
front seems almost within reach.
For years this picturesque little cabin
IN the gully has been the home Of a
unique character-Sam Tate. He Is
we'll known by the people In the vicini-
ty. Nobody seems to know his exact
Gge, but he is credited with being more
.han 80.
Skunk raising is the old mans means
Of livelihood. In the summer he does
some work on the neighboring estates,
out most of his time is spent in catch
ing and raising polecats. A resident
with a pestiferous varmint about his
place sends for Old Sam.
The sheds about the little cabin are
generally full Of live sskunks. Tanner
ones are allowed the freedom of the
house. They become pets, and the old
man handles them like kittens.
"Skunks are like most people," he
will tell you Handle EN- right and
you won't get hurt. I'd rather have
'em around than most folks, because
they don't want to boss all the time"
Scions Of the wealthy families that
live between Tarrytown n White
Plains visit Old Sam to learn about
skunks. To one young man Old Sam
taught the art Of handling them. The
youth in his struggle for knowledge,
however, was too energetic and was
forced to discontinue his lesson.
Skunk farming is becoming an i'm
portant industry In some parts Of the
United States. and yet the man who
suggested 1t was regarded as mentally
unsound. A few years ago an enter
prising, imaginative Washington cor
respondent sent out a purely fake story
about the big money which was to be
made in skunk farming, giving the
department OF agriculture as his au-
thority. The result was hat hundreds
of letters. from people all over the
country poured into Washington ad-
dressed to the department of agricul-
ture. .
At that time there could be given
but one answer, and that was that the
story was a fake and that there were
40 facts relative to the industry, but
since then there has been a great
SIldISC, " ~ Ctoiy oia cIlCCllNe
work.. In the skunk regions the
farmers got busy, so to speak, and
several skunk farms were started. To-
day there are hundreds Of such farms
on a paying basis.
The average skunk produces a quart
Of oil and the fur or skin always brings
a good price, fashion regulating the
alu At the present time the skins
which are h most valuable are the
darker ones. A pure black skin is
worth from $1.25 to $3.50, according to
the quality and size; a s,riped skunk
skin brings in the market about 80 OF,
go cents, while those with a part stripe
are worth in the neighborhood OF a
dollar.
While there are no official statistics
on record, 1t is known that the Ameri-
Tan skunk will begin breeding at one
year old. They breed twice a year, and
have filters Of from five to Ian
average of sight to a litter.
1t has been figured out that a man
understands skunk farming can
begin on 20 skunks, Is females and five
males, and in a few years he can have
a healthy bank account. 1t is not diff
cult to calculate how rapidly these
20 skunks will increase in number,
Say you begin work early in the fall
and that in December they breed. At
one you have an increase of 100
~ o'sii hS NSioS III OoSil
litter at eight. In Tune they breed
again, and if the same ratio of Increase
be kept up, at the expiration Of q year
and a hstf o will have 7,495 skunks.
Put the pelts at 81 each, the pelts Of
200 male skunks would bring $500; the
oil at so cents an ounce would be worth
$500. Then figuring al was done on
the increase In skunks, at the expira-
ton Of a e n half you could Kill
3 ZOO male skunks, the pelts of which
would be worth that many dollars,
The amount OF oil gathered from this
would be $4,000 ounces, worth
Just $14,S00. At the expiration of fou
years you would have killed $4,000
males, the pelts of which would be
worth S1.S96,O 600, and the oil. 15.120,0 600
ounces, worth ST. 60,0 0C. And you
still have $500, 003 skunks left!
1t is not surprising that skunk farm
ing is being taken up throughout the
country, and IL 1t was possible to de-
odorize the skunk the industry would
be even more popular.