335 



but a small number of our correspondents appear to 

 know that he possesses am especial inclination to eat 

 insects and destructive larvae. Tlie general impres- 

 sion seems to be that this animal reaches the acme of 

 bliss when he can gain an entrance to a hen coop and 

 devour chickens or suck egss; and it matters but little 

 how old the latter may be. 



SPORTSMEN GENERAI^LY DESPISE SKUNKS. 



A number of sportmen who spend considerable time 

 every year in the woods and fields give the Skunk a 

 record blacker than the pelt of the most marketable 

 Polecat. 



With few exceptions the testimony from si>ortsmen 

 is that the main thinjj the Skunk lives for in this region 

 is to devour the eggs of (rrouse, Quail and other birds 

 which nest on or close to the ground. Such opinions 

 concerning the Skunk are wrong, yet they are, unfor- 

 funately, quite generally entertained by a large class 

 of our citizens who become unjustly prejudiced against 

 this useful mammal and destroy him and his family. 

 when in reality these animals are of great benefit on 

 the farm wlieie detrimental insects and sleek coated 

 rodents are ahnosi conrinually at work jireying on the 

 crops. 



DR. MERRIAM'S DP.SERVATIOXS. 



Concerning the food habits of the Skunk. Dr. (1 

 Hart Merriam, of Washington, D. C, a gentlenmn who 

 is universally regarded as one of the most eiiiinent and 

 reliable economic zoologists in Amei-ica, says: 



"He preys upon mice, salamanders, frogs, an^i the eggs of 

 birds that nest on or within reach from the ground. 



"At times he eats carrion, and if he chances to stumble upon 

 a hen's nest the eggs are liable to suffer; and once in a while 



