fence. Then he trapped or bought a few pairs of Skunks, and 

 placed them in the inclosure. The experiment was a success 

 from the first. The Skunks increased so rapidly as to become 

 at length somewhat of a nuisance within the corporate limits 

 of a village, and Mr. Gurnsey decided to remove them to some 

 point in the country where he could engage in Skunk farming 

 on a scale worthy of the name. He found a suitable location 

 about three miles east of Lima village, and formed a partner- 

 ship with Mr. W. Shaddack, who owns a part of the land now 

 occupied by the farm and who assists in caring for the ani- 

 mals. 



THE FARM. 



"About five acres were inclosed. A trench was dug in line 

 with the proposed fence, and planks were sunk in it a depth 

 of two feet; then it was filled in on both sides of the fence with 

 small stones, which were covered with earth. The part of the 

 fence above ground is tight and four feet high. On a recent 

 visit to this farm a faint but characteristic odor warned us of 

 the proximity of the "ranch." On arriving, it became evident 

 at once that a steep sidehill, underlaid by a tenacious clay 

 subsoil and which would be worthless for other purposes, is the 

 proper thing for Skunk breeding. It is only on steep land that 

 the burrows can be made with ease, and all of them have good 

 drainage. The hill rises to a height of perhaps 150 feet above 

 the road which runs along the base. 



"The face of this incline is honeycombed all over its surface 

 by hundreds of Skunks' "nests," but during the greater part 

 of the day a casual passer-by will see little of interest within 

 the inclosure at any season. Only occasionally will a Skunk, 

 driven out by hunger, make its way to a portion of some 

 freshly slaughtered animal that has been placed there for 

 food. But about six P. M. on summer days, and somewhat 

 earlier in the spring and fall, the colony begins to show signs of 

 activity, black heads appear, then bodies emerge and make 

 their way down zig-zag paths of their own making toward the 

 point where food is placed; from this time on during a consid- 

 erable portion of the night the hillside may be said to be 

 literally alive with Skunks. 



THEIR FOOD. 



"The question of obtaining food for them is the all-absorbing 

 one with the proprietors of the ranch. During the Woodchuck 

 season they are out day after day scouring the country for 



