88 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



for his work. About the first of August, the skunks dug a hole in the 

 pen and made their escape. Tliat veritably settled my skunk-raising, 

 but, in the fall and winter, I do considerable night hunting with dogs, 

 which I have trained not to take hold of them. I catch them alive and 

 use the pen I have to keep them in until their fur is prime. In that 

 way I have live skunks from the first of November to about the first 

 of .January." 



The following notes are made from the accounts of Ernest Thomp- 

 son Seton, who has kept these animals in captivity: 



" Gestation is about six weeks. The young run from 4 to 9 in a 

 litter. The young come out to eat when two months old and can be 

 admitted to the general run when four months old. They should be 

 fed heavily in autumn in order to produce the fat on which they mostly 

 exist in winter. The colder the weather, the better the fur. Not more 

 than 50 or 60 can be kept on an acre. A diet of all meat will kill 

 every skunk. Feed once a day in the evening. If the bodies of the 

 skinned animals are fed, they should be thoroughly boiled with vege- 

 tables. The oil rendered from the skunk fat is valuable."' 



. The skunk is a burrowing animal and, therefore, like the 



the Skunk fox, requires a sunken fence around the enclosure in which 

 he is kept. Woven wire is best for all underground fences 

 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 higli with no 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 will be found 

 tlie 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 hydrocyanic 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, wliich 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. 



