244 



The Journal of Heredity 



BREEDING SKUNKS FOR SIZE AND COLOR 

 OF PELTS 



Assortative matings mark the begin- 

 ning of impro\ement in the process of 

 domestication. In breeding skunks for 

 fur, this truism must be as apparent as 

 it is with our common cattle or sheep. 

 Simple random breeding cannot super- 

 sede carefully planned matings, for such 

 considerations as size of pelt, length, 

 density, and texture of fur, color, and 

 amount of spotting are indispensable 

 to progress. Whenever man begins 

 to improve an animal or plant, he be- 

 gins with the imperfect raw material 

 which Nature presents to him. The 

 raw material in the case of the skunk 

 mav be any one of a number of species, 

 subspecies or varieties of the genus 

 Mephitis. One of the best wild skunks 

 and one commonly used is the small 

 Eastern skunk, Mephitis pudita Boi- 

 tard. This species has a glossy, silky 

 black coat of good texture and density, 

 but it lacks size. Furthermore, the 

 white stripes are not desirable, for the 

 market demands a self-black pelt, or 

 something as near to that as possible 

 (see Figs. 1 and 8j. The white patches 

 must be cut out, sewed together, dyed, 

 and sold for cheaper grades. This 

 reduces the size of the pure black 

 'pelt and necessitates fitting smaller 

 pieces together. 



SOME PROBLEMS OF SKUNK FARMING 



There are several outstanding prob- 

 lems in the domestication of the skunk 

 and in skunk farming. Skunks will 

 live in almost any part of America, but 

 they naturally produce pelage of finest 

 quality in the colder regions. The food 

 problem is somewhat simplified because 

 the skunk is omni\'orous; nevertheless 

 a skunk farm should have a cheap 

 supply of food readily available. The 

 item of food cost is negligible in the 

 case of the blue or siKer fox because 

 they command sufficiently high prices; 

 but skunks are more abundant and less 

 valuable as individuals, therefore food 

 cost is a significant item. Meat, meat 

 scraps, chicken heads, stale bread, fresh 

 table scraps, many kinds of \egetables 



and fruits, sweet or sour milk, mice, 

 rats, rabbits, et cetera give ample 

 material for a varied menu. In our 

 genetic in\X'stigations we used mice 

 discarded from other experiments, sour 

 milk, peanuts, dried prunes, stale 

 bread, table scraps, vegetables, or 

 fruit occasionally, and fresh water as 

 the staple diet. 



An apparently insurmountable ob- 

 stacle in skunk farming is the skunk's 

 efficient protective response, but this 

 need be no handicap, for a simple 

 operation with or without anaesthetic 

 remo\es the scent sacs completely 

 without spilling or wasting any of the 

 valuable scent. To remove the scent 

 sacs, a horizontal slit is cut on each 

 side of the vent, beginning about three 

 eighths to one-half inch from the vent, 

 in order not to injure the sphincter 

 muscle which encircles it. The slit is 

 made directly over the scent sac which 

 can be located easily by palpation. 

 Cutting down to the sac, it is then dis- 

 sected from adhering muscles and 

 raised so that the duct may be clamped 

 with forceps or haemostat. The duct is 

 severed and the entire sac is completely 

 remo\ed. No stitches are necessary, 

 but we find that an application of iodo- 

 form to the wound is beneficial. The 

 whole operation is of course performed 

 under aseptic conditions. There is 

 some market for the scent fluid. It is 

 used to cover up traces of man by 

 hunters who trap or hunt animals 

 which shun man. The scent fluid is 

 simply smeared on the boots and traps, 

 thus (juite completely disguising any 

 odor of man and at the same time 

 attracting the enemies of the skunk. 

 In many cases, and under certain con- 

 ditions, there is really no necessity for 

 removing scent sacs. By careful, intel- 

 ligent, and somewhat s\-mpathetic 

 management, one can cNen handle live 

 adult unoperated skimks without mis- 

 adventure or regret. The scent fluid is 

 an oily compoimd, and therefore in 

 case of mishap during the operation, 

 strong soap and water, and gasoline 

 will saponify and dissolve out most of 

 the oily scent fluid which may per- 

 chance get on the hands or face. Such 



