88 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 
for his work. About the first of August, the skunks dug a hole in the 
pen and made their escape. That veritably settled my skunk-raising, 
but, in the fall and winter, I do considerable night hunting with dogs, 
which I have trained not to take hold of them. I catch them alive and 
use the pen I have to keep them in until their fur is prime. In that 
way I have live skunks from the first of November to about the first 
of January.” 
The following notes are made from the accounts of Ernest Thomp- 
son Seton, who has kept these animals in captivity: 
“Gestation is about six weeks. The young run from 4 to 9 ina 
litter. The young come out to eat when two months old and can be 
admitted to the general run when four months old. They should be 
fed heavily in autumn in order to produce the fat on which they mostly 
exist in winter. The colder the weather, the better the fur. Not more 
than 50 or 60 can be kept on an acre. A diet of all meat will kill 
every skunk. Feed once a day in the evening. If the bodies of the 
skinned animals are fed, they should be thoroughly boiled with vege- 
tables. The oil rendered from the skunk fat is valuable.’’ 
The skunk is a burrowing animal and, therefore, like the 
Habits of fox, requires a sunken fence around the enclosure in which 
the Skunk 4 spits 
he is kept. Woven wire is best for all underground fences 
as it does not interfere with the drainage and is cheapest. To stop a 
skunk the fence need not extend more than a few feet above ground, but 
it should be built at least six feet high with no overhang in order to 
provide for snow banks and to keep other animals out. In northern 
regions, where the best fur can be produced, a wooded area will be found 
the best because it is secluded, provides shade and because the snow 
there lies level. The nest should be a warm insulated box with a pas- 
sageway entrance similar to that of the mink nest. All nests should 
be only barely large enough for a mother to move about in without 
trampling her young and should not be more than 6 or 7 inches high. 
Thus the interior will be sufficiently warmed by the body heat. 
A method of killing skunks by drowning is mentioned elsewhere. 
They can also be dispatched easily and painlessly in a poison box, 
using carbon bi-sulphide gas or hydrocyanic acid. The latter is a deadly 
poison and is very dangerous in the hands of an mexperienced person. 
They can also be killed by a blow over the back, which paralyses the 
muscles and destroys the power to scent. They are skinned by the 
case method. The skins should be carefully cleaned of fat to prevent 
heating and should be packed separately for shipping. 
