108 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



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 an 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 wUl 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 prussic acid. The latter is a deadly 

 poison and is very dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced 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. 



Practical Hints '^^® following practical hints on skunk-farming have 



on Skunk- been recently published in circular form by the 



farming Biological Survey, United States Department of 

 Agriculture : 



In General: — Many attempts have been made to raise skunks for 

 their fur, but the enterprises have usually been given up as unprofitable. 

 The chief causes of failure have been : cost of fencing inclosures, cost of 

 maintenance, or lack of experience, leading to overcrowding and over- 

 feeding the animals. In many cases, where the animals were success- 

 fully reared, it was foimd that the expense of feeding them to maturity 

 exceeded the value of the fur, while in other instances, the antipathy 

 of neighbours led to the abandonment of the experiments. At present 

 the value of the best black skins would probably allow a margin of 

 profit in rearing this class of skunks. 



Food: — ^The chief aim is to supply a suitable and sufficient diet 

 at reasonable cost. A certain proportion of meat is necessary, but the 

 animals eat also bread, green corn, clover, tomatoes, and many other 

 vegetable substances. Butcher and table scraps given when fresh are 

 the main reliance. The food should not be salted, and fresh water 

 should be supplied regularly. Skunks are especially fond of insects, 

 and, if the pens are large enough and favourably placed, the animals 

 will forage for a part of their food. 



