THE OOLOGIST. 



189 



It is extremely doubtful if we can 

 advise the destruction of any native 

 animal. All animals in the state of 

 nature are sustained by a natural 

 equilibrium; destroy that equilibrium 

 by artificial causes and turmoil is 

 created. There are in existence at any 

 one time just so many foxes, skunks, 

 or weasels; just so manj^ rabbits, 

 grasshoppers, or mice; destroy the 

 enemy and the host increases; de- 

 stroy the host and the enemy mi- 

 grates, or, more generally, takes new 

 habits of living and remains in the 

 original locality. Whereever man has 

 tampered with nature he has caused 

 confusion. 



The skunk is an animal which 

 would be easily exterminated. True, 

 it has large families, but it is a stupid 

 animal, with many enemies, and easily 

 destroyed. It is one of the easiest ani- 

 mals to trap. Would it not be well to 

 remember that law of evolution, 

 "once a type becomes extinct, it never 

 reappears again?" 



Very respectfullv, 

 HARTLEY H. T. JACKSON. 



Now, the Editor never stated, or in- 

 tended to give the impression that 

 there was only one side to this ques- 

 tion and if in some localities the differ- 

 ent natural conditions alter the 

 skunk's habits to such an extent that 

 the balance of account is in his fa- 

 vor, well and good — then leave them 

 alone. 



But here in the East I am sure of 

 my ground. 



They do destroy young mice, very 

 young mice, before they can leave 

 the nests, at all times of the year by 

 digging up the nests and devouring 

 them, but the y are most actively en- 

 gaged in this pastime in this locality 

 during the late winter and early 

 spring, when there are few young in 

 the nests. I have noted 30 nests up- 

 rooted in one night in March by one 

 lone skunk, (snow on the ground made 

 absolute verification of this fact' possi- 

 ble), but in no case did he make any 

 attempt to follow up the runway and 

 secure the old mice. The fact that 

 he traveled a mile and went back to 

 the same burrow shows what luck 

 he had in getting young. 



In the East we have few locusts 

 before late July. August is the grass- 

 hopper month, while in September the 

 skunk unquestionably destroys a host 

 of crickets, though I have failed to 



note that crickets are very harmful. 



I found remains (fragments of legs, 

 etc.) of seven toads devoured in one 

 night in October, 1904. 



In August, this year, a skunk rified 

 3 nests of Vesper Sparrows in a potato 

 field. The birds had been repeatedly 

 disturbed by the tilling of the field, 

 and after the crop was finally hilled 

 up and left, they had succeeded in 

 laying sets and began incubation. As 

 far as I could judge, this was their 

 last effort of the year. 



I noted where skunks had torn out 

 several nests of Oven-bird, a few years 

 since and a Connecticut party was 

 complaining of their persecuting the 

 common Towhee in the same way. 



Dr. Fisher of the Department of 

 Agriculture, wrote me in regard to 

 the matter and I tried to secure one 

 of a family of skunks that I knew to 

 be feeding on toads, that he might 

 have stomach analysis made for direct 

 evidence. Severe freezing weather 

 drove all toads into permanent winter 

 quarters unusually early this year, 

 before I could get time to catch any 

 skunks. 



I append herewith the report of the 

 Department on one I did secure:. 



Name, Mephitis putida; locality. 

 Chili, N. Y.; date, Nov. 25, 1905; col- 

 lector, E. H. Short; condition of stom- 

 ach, full; percentage of animal mat- 

 ter, 100 per cent contents, remains of 

 a well-grown domestic fowl, 100 per 

 cent. Examination made by W. L. 

 McAtee; date. Dec. 2, 1905. 



If some doubt his agricultural value 

 they are excusable. 



Now, I do not think there are at any 

 one time just so many of any insect or 

 animal. Nor do I think this was ever 

 the case. 



Natural causes, some of them hard 

 to specify, vary the increase of ani- 

 mal forms. Undoubtedly nature at- 

 tempts an equilibrium, but often too 

 slowly to avoid undesirable disturb- 

 ances of the balance. 



Man, in his advance, has changed 

 the natural condition of our land to 

 such an extent that animal and insect 

 life is. unavoidably affected and it 

 seems to me this may alone necessi- 

 tate and excuse man's interfering in 

 many cases. 



I must plead Ignorance as to what 

 the many enemies of skunk are ex- 

 cept man. 



The Gt. Horned Owl has almost a 



