FUR FARMING. 37 



are also partial to corn, sweet potatoes, melons and fruit. 

 In captivity they should be fed at regular intervals, and 

 given as far as possible a mixed diet part animal and 

 part vegetable. Bread and milk should be fed them oc- 

 casionally, and if the farm is near a slaughter house the 

 offal can be made to take the place of carrion. As it is 

 lack of food that causes the older animals to eat their 

 young, breeders should see to it that they have plenty of 

 the right kind of food during the spring and summer sea- 

 sons, and thus prevent one of the great causes of loss. 



Skunks mate in February or early in March, the period 

 of gestation is about nine weeks, and the young are usu- 

 ally produced in May, though occasionally some are born 

 in April. The number of young to a litter is from four to 

 ten, and sometimes even more. The interior of the en- 

 closure should be so constructed that there will be separ- 

 ate compartments for the males, and the females and their 

 young, the larger space being given to the latter. Some 

 breeders have small yards to accommodate two or three 

 families after the young are born, but this is not necessary, 

 the main object being to keep the males apart from the 

 rest of the family until the young are able to take care of 

 themselves. Of course when the number of animals in- 

 creases, it is advisable to have separate breeding yards 

 large enough for say a dozen females. 



Great care should be exercised in the selection of males 

 for breeding purposes. Only large healthy animals of good 

 color should be used, the rest of the males being killed and 

 their skins marketed. One male Skunk will serve ten 

 females, and should be left in their company several days. 

 To make sure of results another male should be installed 

 for a few days after the first has been removed, but two 

 males should never be allowed with a party of females at 

 the same time or a fight will ensue. Fresh breeding stock 

 should be secured each year from other localities, as the 

 results will be disastrous if related animals are allowed 

 to inbreed for a few years. The animals do not always 

 breed strictly to color, but the white markings can be re- 

 duced and the stock improved by selected breeding. A 

 full black mated with a long stripe should produce shorter 

 stripe animals, and these if mated with full blacks should 

 give still better results. The color of Skunks can be bred 



