506 TAXIDEA. 



neglecta Mearns, is when compared with T. t. typica; mesial stripe 

 broad and well marked throughout from nose to tail, specially broad- 

 ened on the nape, where it reaches a width of from i^ to 2 inches; 

 black cheek-patch not united to orbital patch, and only doubtfully 

 connected by gray with the black crown-band; long hair of back 

 without sub-basal bands, uniformly tawny buff except for the sub- 

 terminal band of black and tip of dirty white; tail hairs similar, 

 except those of the extreme tips, which are blackish brown through- 

 out; under surface brownish or tawny white; mesial line clear white." 

 Measurements. "Total length, 702; tail vertebras, 122; hind foot, 

 94; ear, 50. Skull: length of Hensel, 113; greatest breadth, 79." 

 (Thomas, 1. c.) 



Skunks are nocturnal in their habits and are not very often seen 

 abroad by day. Slow of movement, incapable of running with any 

 degree of speed, its teeth and claws comparatively feeble, the skunk 

 would be one of the most helpless and defenseless of creatures if it 

 were not for the terrible battery it carries ever ready to be dis- 

 charged, and before whose overpowering fetid odor the boldest 

 animal hastens to escape. So penetrating and permeating is this 

 dreadful scent, that it can be detected at the distance of a mile, and 

 if the liquid reaches the eye it is intensely irritating and painful, and 

 may cause the loss of sight. The Skunk is a very cleanly animal, and 

 is careful not to get any of the discharge upon its own fur, lifting its 

 bushy, ornamental tail high over its back far out of harm's way. 

 This movement is a provision of Nature, for it acts upon certain 

 muscles, and causes them to compress the sacs containing the fluid 

 and give an increased force to the discharge. It is stated that if a 

 skunk is seized and held up by its tail it is harmless, but few persons 

 would take the chances and try the experiment to prove if this is 

 really a fact. The distance the fluid can be ejected is about ten feet. 

 Skunks are omnivorous, eating almost anything that they can masti- 

 cate, and often approach buildings in the country in search of food, 

 frequently taking up their abode beneath the porch, or in the cellar, 

 which they reach by digging. Their presence is soon evident, and 

 they prove most unwelcome visitors. The bite of the skunk is severe, 

 and it has been proved that it can inflict hydrophobia, but there is 

 no authenticated instance of a rabid skunk, and the cause for this 

 fearful result is a mystery. Skunks live in burrows, and are expert 

 diggers of these subterranean abodes, and they hibernate during the 

 winter. There are numerous so-called species and races very much 



