JANUARY 1, 1916 



17 



Mr. Seabright aims to keep about forty 

 colonies of bees, and these are arranged in 

 four rows all facing the same direction. 



Previous to taking up beekeeping Mr. 

 Seabright was an expert blacksmith. He 

 is still using a wagon built some forty years 

 ago which is trimmed with hand-forged 

 ironwork. It looks better than the wagons 

 of today. He followed his trade until his 

 health failed, and he was advised to take up 

 some outside work. Thru the influence of 

 his wife, who had some knowledge of bee- 

 keeping, he started on a small scale. Grad- 

 ually he got the " bee fever " and went 

 about the country buying up all the bees 

 available to get the combs if for nothing- 

 else. He has now been in the business thir- 

 ty-eight years, and says in all his experi- 

 ence he has no fixed rule for handling bees. 

 He is a student of Moses Quinby. 



Mr. Seabright has had a great many dif- 

 ferent styles of hives, but now uses an 

 eleven L-frame chaff hive with a tall outside 

 top rim. He built these hives in 1883 so 

 he could handle two-pound sections. Re- 

 cently he went thru some old discarded ap- 

 pliances and found some two-pound sections 

 of honey twenty years old. He has tools of 

 every description for use in the apiary. 

 One thing worth mentioning is a steel 

 bracket which he hangs on the inside on the 

 rim of the hive in which he can place two 

 or three frames. 



It can be said that all Mr. Seabright 

 makes is " on the square." He has a power 

 saw and a chest full of forms for putting 

 frames and sections together. He says, "If 

 you have a hobby, have it right," which is 

 good advice if the hobby is a paying one, 

 as his has j^roven to be. 



Wheeling, W. Va. 



THE HABITS OF THE SKUNK 



BY FRANK C. PELLETT 



For several years I have been carrying 

 on observations of the food habits of vari- 

 ous wild creatures of more or less unsavory 

 reputations. In some eases most uncompli- 

 mentary criticisms have fallen upon my 

 head after the publication of the results of 

 these investigations. The skunk has been 

 of special interest, and the study of this 

 animal has extended over several years, 

 with perhaps three dozen individuals under 

 observation. This animal is so generally 

 condemned that it requires some courage to 

 say a word in its defense. 



Nearly every one has known of cases 

 where chickens were destroyed by these 

 animals, and, as a result, the common im- 

 pression has grown up that skunks as a 

 class are poultry-killing animals. On one 

 occasion I confined a hen in a pen with two 

 large skunks, and, altho they sniffed the 

 bird, and it was apparently a source of 

 gi'eat curiosity, they did not offer to injure 

 it. I have at times released cajotive skunks 

 on my gi'ounds where poultry was easily 

 available, and have done everything to learn 

 the real food habits of these little animals. 

 Some individuals have remained about the 

 place for weeks at a time without disturb- 

 ing the poultry in the least. 



On one occasion some boys found a very 

 young skunk, and, thinking to have some 

 fun, wrapped it up carefully and gave it to 

 a young lady, a daughter of a friend of 

 mine. When she opened her ])ackage she 

 was at a loss to know what disposition to 

 make of the animal, but finalh- gave it to 



the cat, thinking that she would kill it. The 

 cat, however, took the little creature to her 

 nest and reared it with her kittens. This 

 animal remained with that family for more 

 than a year, and never once showed the 

 slightest inclination to disturb the poultry. 

 As nearly as I can tell from my observation 

 of the animals, both in confinement and 

 unrestrained, not to exceed one in ten of 



It requires considerable courage to say a word 

 in his behalf. 



them will form the poultry-killing habit. I 

 feel very sure of my ground when I say 

 that as large a percentage of the house cats 

 are destructive to poultry as are the skunks. 

 It would require altogether too much space 

 to describe in detail the various experiences 

 that we have had with the numerous skunks 



