ABOUT A FEW COMMON MAMMALS 275 



raccoon and other animals, they do not hibernate in the 

 Southern States. 



The food of skunks consists of young birds, eggs, frogs, 

 mice, insects, and any small creatures they can catch on the 

 ground. If they live near a farm, they frequently draw 

 upon the farmer's poultry for a supply of meat and eggs ; 

 and being rather slow and stupid animals, they are often 

 caught by dogs, shot by the farmer's boy, or even clubbed 

 to death. The only effective means of defence they have is 

 their terrible squirt-gun. The foul fluid is secreted and 

 emitted by two special glands situated near the root of the 

 tail ; it is not the urine as some people think. The skunks 

 never soil themselves with this fluid ; they are very cleanly, 

 and often no smell is perceptible near the mouth of a bur- 

 row in which a whole family is living. Their black and 

 white colors and their bushy tail are probably a warning to 

 the larger beasts of prey, and thus protect the animal by 

 making it conspicuous. 



66. The Common Mink. Putorius vison. 



MATERIAL: A mounted mink ; skin or picture. 



Description. The color of this well-known farmer's pest 

 is a uniform chestnut-brown, not appreciably lighter below ; 

 but the tail is darker, the end of the chin is white, and there 

 is also a white spot between the fore legs. The general 

 appearance of the mink is that of a long, slim cat, with 

 a somewhat bushy tail which is from six to eight inches 

 long. The head and snout are more elongated than those 

 of a cat, and the animal shows its amphibious nature by 

 having all the toes webbed ; it measures about twenty -eight 

 inches from the nose to the end of the tail bone. 



Habits and food. The mink, like other small mammals, 

 has found it advantageous to live near the abodes of man. 



All these animals can be seen in Lincoln Park, Chicago. 



