222 WILD NEIGHBORS CHAP. 



that the hibernating animal is occasionally aroused 

 from his torpidity to relieve his physical uneasiness 

 in this respect. Dr. C. C. Abbott agrees with him 

 as to the necessity of occasional relief, but says 

 that a series of observations in 1872 led him to 

 believe that this forced discharge was made by the 

 skunk into a hole dug for the purpose, where it 

 was carefully covered over. This strikes me as a 

 credible, and, indeed, very natural example of pru- 

 dence on the part of the animal (which must fully 

 understand what an advertisement of its presence 

 to its enemies the effluvium would be), closely com- 

 parable with the covering of its excrement prac- 

 tised by so many wild animals, an act doubtless 

 precautionary against pursuit. In winter, however, 

 the frozen ground would prevent doing this, or, at 

 any rate, prevent doing it well. Certainly skunk 

 dens are rarely any more offensive to the nose than 

 is the home of a weasel or marten. 



He is a persistent digger, and delights to scratch 



oles in ploughed fields, where, if he is alarmed, he 



rill bury himself out of sight with amazing rapid- 



y, and then may push his way through the light 



arth for several yards before he comes to the sur- 



ace again. Another cunning trick he has, when 



rying to escape from a dog that is not right at his 



heels, is to climb upon a rail fence and walk along 



its top f or Inconsiderable distance, so as to break 



the scent of his trail ; but any further climbing 



than this seems beyond his ability, so that the 



