354 



M. C. OSBOURN, Henderson: 



The Skunk I think is a friend to the farmer In many ways; 

 he sometimes may kill a chicken, but this is overbalanced by 

 the good he does in the field by killing mice and other harmful 

 forms of animal life. 



ARTHUR MARTIN, Sandy Lake: 



We have the Skunk; they are the farmer's friend; they de- 

 stroy more mice than any animal we have; we have a great many 

 mice in our clover fields; we will notice late in the fall when 

 a small skift of snow falls, the clover field is travelled over and 

 a great many mice killed in a single night by a Skunk. 



MIFFLIN COUNTY. 



JOS. W. KYLE, Milroy: 

 Injurious. 



MONROE COUNTY. 



H. T. FRANKENFIELD, Prutcheys: 



I would consider Skunks beneficial to the farmer, as they 

 catch the Meadow or Field Mice. 



MRS. AUMA S. WIL.L.ISTON, Frutcheys: 



Last April my boy of ten years trapped a Skunk in our next 

 neighbor's chicken yard and wanting to sell her to a "Skunk 

 Park" on the Delaware, about five miles from here, he put her 

 in a box and kept her until he had a chance to send her to the 

 park; he had her two days when she gave birth to a litter of 

 seven; of course he was more anxious than ever to keep her 

 until the little ones were large enough to sell, so he tried giv- 

 ing her fresh eggs, one three times a day; she liked them well 

 and the whole family throve nicely; she would take the egg 

 between her front feet and bore a small hole in the end with 

 her teeth and suck the contents. We kept them three weeks 

 and then took them to the park. In the meantime the mother 

 became so tame my boy could handle her with impunity, take 

 out the little ones when he liked and look at them without the 

 mother interfering at all. I was sorry he did not keep them 

 until they grew large for at the park they had poor success In 

 raising the young. They said the old ones ate them; I do not 

 know why, as the one we had seemed very fond of the little 

 ones. 



