THE RACCOON 435 



Contrary to the general belief, skunks are, on the whole, 

 useful to the farmer. They eat grasshoppers, tobacco worms, 

 army worms, white grubs, potato beetles, and other insects; they 

 also feed on field mice, young rabbits, chipmunks, etc. They 

 may occasionally take bees, which depredation the bee-keeper 

 can easily prevent by having his hives sufficiently high above the 

 ground. 



In times of scarcity of other food, individual skunks may 

 acquire the habit of eating poultry; but a skunk can reach only a 

 fowl that is roosting on or near the ground, or a setting hen close 

 to the ground. Only one fowl is killed at a time. The ordinary 

 steel trap affords an easy means of capturing an animal which has 

 this habit. 



The fact is now recognized by scientists that skunks are useful 

 to the farmer. Acknowledgment of this usefulness is shown in the 

 enactment of state laws protecting skunks. The adaptability of 

 the animals to fur-farming projects places them on a very valuable 

 footing. 



The Raccoon. This clumsy animal has a gray coat and 

 bushy tail, the latter barred with black. It weighs from ten to 

 twenty pounds or more. It has a wide range over the entire 

 United States. In the North in severe whiter weather it hiber- 

 nates, coming out from its retreat on warm days. In the southern 

 states there is no hibernation. In Florida there occurs a more 

 yellowish form. 



The raccoon prefers a retreat among rocks or a hollow tree for 

 its residence. It is frequently injurious to corn when in the milk 

 stage, wantonly destroying much more than it needs. It also 

 feeds upon insects, grapes, berries, nuts, crawfish, and occasionally 

 catches fish swimming in shallow streams. It also preys upon 

 ground-nesting birds, and even robs the nests of birds and squirrels 

 in trees. The peculiarity which gave it its scientific name, lotor, 

 which means "a washer," consists in its always washing meat 

 before eating it. The young are born in April and May, four 

 being the number in the usual litter. 



Negroes"in the southern states delight in "coon" hunts, and 

 the animal is easily trapped. The flesh is used for human food, 

 having a resemblance to fat pork. There is much demand for the 

 fur of the raccoon. It may be said that the annual kill of rac- 

 coons in North America amounts to something like four million 

 individuals. 



