3o MAMMALIA. 



tion of this period the young Skunks have grown up and several of 

 them, at least, have attained the full dimensions of their parents, so 

 that it is impossible to distinguish between them except by a careful 

 examination of their teeth and claws; and even these means some- 

 limes fail, as when the parents themselves are but a year older than 

 their offspring, and nothing short of a comparison of their skulls af- 

 fords positive evidence of their ages. I have dwelt thus at length 

 on this point in order to show how easy it is to be mistaken in the 

 ages of Skunks after the first six or eight months, so rapidly do they 

 attain their growth; and I have yet to see satisfactory evidence that 

 more than two adult Skunks have been found in the same hole at 

 any one time. 



Hoxv to Kill a Skunk. 



When we bear in mind that thousands of Skunks are slain each 

 year for their fur, it is indeed surprising that so few hunters, trap- 

 pers, and naturalists should know how to kill them, without provok- 

 ing a discharge from their scent reservoirs. And yet there is a 

 method, safe, sure, and simple, by which they may be killed without 

 the emission of a single drop of the much dreaded secretion. This 

 method depends upon the well-known physiological fact that an in- 

 jury to the spinal cord produces immediate paralysis or loss of 

 power of the muscles supplied by the nerves that are given off below 

 the point of injury. Hence, loss of control over the posterior ex- 

 tremities (a condition technically known 3.?, paraplegia) may be pro- 

 duced, in any mammal, by a blow across the back that is sufficiently 

 forcible to destroy the integrity of the cord opposite the injured point. 

 The back must generally be broken to insure this result. 



Therefore, to kill a Skunk without permitting the evacuation of 

 its peculiar perfume, it is only necessary to deal it a smart rap across 

 the back. If the animal is in a trap he should be approached slowly 

 and cautiously, for, under these circumstances it is prudent not to be 

 in too much of a hurry, and to avoid making sudden moves. If you go 



