341 



these animals, and other hunters are also kept busy. But 

 Woodchuck, 'coons and other small game are not found in 

 sufficient numbers, and a large supply of meat is obtained in 

 the shape of domestic animals which have outlived their period 

 of usefulness, or have met an untim,ely death. The wants of 

 the Skunk breeders are pretty well known all through this sec- 

 tion of county, and they are often summoned by telephone, 

 letter or verbally to go and relieve a man of a decrepit horse, a 

 dead cow, or abandoned sheep. When the supply of meat be- 

 comes too great for immediate use, it is cut from the carcasses 

 and salted down in barrels in the cellar of one of the buildings 

 which are attached to the ranch. Later on this meat is taken 

 up and boiled in a large cauldron, meal is added, and the mix- 

 ture as well as water fo-r drinking, is placed in a series of 

 troughs along the base of the hill. As Skunks become semi- 

 dormant, they consume but little food during the coldest parts 

 of winter. In spring and fall, carcasses are left out for several 

 days until consumed. As this can not be done in hot weather, 

 the cooked ration is fed largely. The Skunks breed in early 

 spring, eight or ten making a litter. By fall the young ones 

 are full-grown, and cannot be told from the old. Overfeeding 

 must be guarded against, as it reduces the size of the litter. 



THEIR NESTS. 



"Recently I visited the farm during the annual killing, which 

 begins about December 1. Six or eight men were at work on 

 the steep hillside digging out the Skunks, which are placed in 

 sacks, held by helpers. These holes or nests are made by the 

 proprietors with spade and shovel, by digging downward into 

 the bank for three or four feet. As it is hard to dig under it 

 without causing it to cave, an earth roof is not generally made; 

 instead, the large cavity is nearly covered with rails and boards, 

 and dirt is thown over. 



"Skunks burrow but little, and in a wild state appropriate the 

 holes of Woodchucks and other burrowing animals. New 

 holes are made as fast as the colony seems to require them. 

 There is no regularity as to the number inhabiting a hole; not 

 less than two or three were found, but in some cases fifteen 

 or twenty had crowded together in one hole. 



IN SLAUGHTERING SEASON. 



"The males also were found collected in one portion of the 

 grounds. At the "Skunk harvest" the roofs are thrown off 

 the holes, and a little digging brings out all that are inside. 



