Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-09-10
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Trdce1Dell
"EDINBURG, Va.

'ED1NBURG, Va.
Dear Sir:
do skunks really eat up the sweet corn?
II thought they are carnivorous animals the
same as cats.
Il cannot imagine my little Moppet being
able to climb a corn stalk and eat an ear of
corn.
IT would appreciate it If you would set this
matter right.
IT enjoy This and That all the time, and
am pleased over the tips about cats.
Sincerely, II. E. c."
Our correspondent is probably thinking about
the raccoon.
While the coon, or coon, as he Is commonly
called, is flesh eater, as is the skunk, the coon
will occasionally vary his diet by eating nuts,
fruit and corn.
Skunks seldom If ever eat corn.
Old Mephitis prefers field mice. birds and
chicken.
When he takes up his residence near a barn
yard, he Is sure to get away with scores OF baby
chicks.
The way he (skunk) goes after the baby
chicks is marvellous to behold. He does not
scare the mother hen, but merely reaches in
paw and snags out baby
Over night he will get half the chicks, and
the next night the other half. unless the hen
is given protection
This skillful paw work is regarded as one of
the marvellous things in nature.
Old Man Skunk will eat field mice and in
sects, the latter by the hundreds.
In fact, few living things, not even birds, get
away with more insects than the playful skunk.
This makes him the great friend Of the
farmer, but seldom does the latter give him any
credit. Farmers as a class, harbor deep pref
udices. One of them is that every hawk ought
to be killed, the other Is that skunks deserve
the same fate.
And truly, when one happens to Whit the
essence OF skunk, one will not wonder at this
deep prejudice
Modern skunks can be deodorized, when they
make excellent pets. Some persons make pets
Of them without the deodorizing operation.
They say that the animal will not use this
power of his If he is thoroughly acquainted
with his human and animal friends Even the
household dogs are safe, if the skunk knows
them. That, at least, is what the experts say
but what happens when strange dog happens
to see the skunk?
Skunks kill many ground-nesting birds and
their young, and eat hundreds of their eggs.
The raccoon, Procyon lotor, also is a flesh
eater, with the exception named
He normally goes in for mice, birds, frogs,
insects, etc.
All his food must be washed, before 1t is pre-
sented to him.
He washes his own food, in nature, never
failing to dip 1t into water before eating.
The coon makes wonderful pet somewhat
resembling house cat with thieving propen-
SlCleS, II Sucn Lnlng can De Imagined.
The coon will eat almost anything. This
writer had pet coon years ago when he was
eight and kept it on long chain.
The problem of keeping the raccoon is not
a hard one, but in the end the animal is let
go, or put into a zoo, because 1t proves too
troublesome.
1t is kindly creature to humans. but a
worthy foe of dogs Many a strong dog has
has been licked in fair fight with the coon.
That is why several dogs are taken along on
coon hunts.
The skunk hibernates, in winter, but not
deeply; that is, he wakes UP when the weather
becomes warmer for several days.