The Odoriferous Skunk 



By William E. Rixgle 



Professor of Nature-Study, Kansas State Manual Training Normal 



Should one wish to engage in a novel business that offers reason- 

 ably good returns, one would do well to consider the advantages of 

 skunk farming. There is always a market for the animal's beauti- 

 fully marked fur. Furthermore, some experimenters have been so 

 bold as to report that its flesh is sweet and tender. But buyers of 

 meats have their prejudices. 



There are a few skunk farms in New England. Maine probably 

 sends more skunk furs to market than any other state, its annual 

 fall and winter output being between 100,000 and 200,000 furs. 

 After they are dressed at Philadelphia, many of them are shipped 

 to Paris, where they are sold to the dainty Parisienne as "monkey 

 skins." When they are offered to the retail trade in this country, 

 the buyers are frequently assured they are getting Alaska sable. 

 The sum paid annually to trappers for the furs is estimated at 

 $3,000,000. These men gain a further revenue by selling the 

 skunk's bodies, for the bodies yield an oil that is used in making 

 certain liniments. 



The beauty of the fur lies in its contrasts of glossy black and 

 clear white. The white bands and spots are variously arranged but 

 the commonest arrangement is a frontal stripe and two broad stripes 

 on the sides of the back. Because of its fur, the animal is very 

 conspicuous when it ventures forth by day. 



There are few farmer boys who have not known the excitement 

 of trapping and hunting skunks. It is a winter enterprise which 

 the prospective possession of a few dollars of spending money 

 makes very attractive. 



The trapping of one skunk is usually evidence of the proximity 

 of a whole den of the odorous animals. It is the digging out of this 

 den that occasions the excitement. All the dogs on the farm and 

 usually the neighbor's dogs as well, are rallied to the work. The 

 boys put on their old clothes and rally forth, club in hand. 



The scene at the burrow is better imagined than described. 

 There are plenty of opportunities for genuine daring. If the dogs 

 cannot reach the skunks, the boys must punch them out with long 

 sticks. The operation is carried on in an atmosphere that is 

 stiflingly perfumed. And the intrepid youths are indeed fortunate 



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