288 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^E. 



'' The Badger did not refuse bread, but X)referred meat, 

 making two meals during the day, and eating about half a 

 pound at each. 



" We occasionally saw him assuming rather an interesting 

 attitude, raising the fore part of his body from the earth, 

 drawing his feet along his sides, sitting up in the manner of 

 the marmot, and turning his head in all directions to make 

 observations." 



The assuming of this attitude may have been a result of 

 confinement, as I have not observed it when 1 have seen the 

 animal in a state of nature, nor does it appear to have been 

 noticed by others. The Badger, above all our other animals, 

 is notable for its flatness ; even when running it looks broad 

 and flat, and the belly seems to sweep the ground during its 

 rather slow, heavy, and awkward progress. Seen when 

 crouching in fancied security or hoping to escape observa- 

 tion (and it will sometimes remain long motionless in this 

 posture, permitting near approach), the animal might easily 

 be mistaken for a stone or clod of earth ; the very hairs lie 

 flat, as if "parted in the middle'', and form a fringe along 

 either side, projecting, as one writer has remarked, like the 

 shell of a turtle or the eaves of a house. The peculiar pattern 

 of coloration is then displayed to best advantage. Under 

 anger or irritation, the animal bristles up its hair, and appears 

 much larger than it really is. 



The flesh of the Badger, like that of the Skunk, is eatable, 

 and doubtless often eaten by savage tribes, though not to be 

 recommended to a cultivated palate. The specimens I have 

 skinned, even the young one before mentioned in this article, 

 emitted during the process such rank and foul odor as to be 

 simply disgusting. The Badger yields a valuable and at times 

 fashionable fur, used for robes, and for muffs, tippets, and 

 trimmings. Thousands of shaving-brushes are said to be an- 

 nually made from the long hairs, which are also extensively 

 used in the manufacture of artists' materials, one of which is 

 a "badger-blender". In 1873, the London sales of Badger 

 skins by the Hudson's Bay Company were 2,700, at prices 

 varying from one to seven shillings, averaging Is. Gd. The lead- 

 ing American journal of the fur trade in 187G quoted Badger 

 skins at 81 for prime, 50 cents for " seconds", and 10 cents for 

 " thirds ". The colors of the Badger pelt, though not striking, 

 are pleasing, being an intimate and harmonious blending of 

 gray, tawny, black, and white, the colors ringed in alternation 



