72 MAMMALIA. 



at me. As I remained motionless he climbed up and rested his fore- 

 paws on the threshold, so near that I could easily have reached him 

 with my hands. After carefully scrutinizing me with his keen, 

 black eyes, he began to stamp and scold saucily, and then backed 

 slowly off, keeping his eye on me all the while. Scarcely had he 

 commenced this quasi-retreat, when he chanced to back into a beech- 

 tree that stood near by. Evidently thinking that someone had at- 

 tacked him from the rear (risky business!) he whirled about in a jiffy, 

 with his tail up and hair on end, growling excitedly, and scampered 

 away into the bushes. 



Skunks are so slow to get out of the way that they are often run 

 over by vehicles in the evening, and are liable, under such circum- 

 stances, to perfume the establishment unapproachably. I have had 

 many such experiences. 



When engaged in the nefarious business of plundering the poultry- 

 yard (an iniquity to which he rarely descends) he makes no provision 

 for escape, and, in the terse language of Dr. Coues, " even after dis- 

 covery, the .Skunk seems to forget the propriety of making off, and 

 generally falls a victim to his lack of wit." 



Skunks remain active throughout the greater part of the year, in 

 this region, and hibernate only during the severest portion of the 

 winter. They differ from most of our hibernating mammals in that 

 the inactive period is, apparently, dependent solely upon the temper- 

 ature ; in this respect they resemble the gray squirrel. That the 

 amount of snow has no influence upon their movements is evident 

 from the fact that they are frequently out, in numbers, when its 

 average depth exceeds a metre and a half (a trifle over five feet) 

 on the level. Neither can it be a difference in food supply that 

 affects them, for at this season they subsist almost wholly upon mice 

 and shrews, and I have repeatedly noticed these little beasts scamp- 

 ering about on the crisp snow when the thermometer indicated a 

 temperature below -30° C (-20° F.) With us there is apt to be a 

 month or six weeks of very cold weather in January or February, and 



