ding it of these last two pests. Then, although he is provided with 

 the formidable weapon of defense peculiar to his kind, he becomes 

 very tame and proves himself a true ally of man. 



A sleek and beautiful creature is he, smaller in length than the 

 northern skunk, but of more slender and shapely form, and of far 

 more graceful movements. His fur, also softer and thicker, is stri- 

 kingly marked with alternate bands of black and white, running for 

 the most part lengthwise of the body, and always handsome in their 

 pattern, although varying much in the dozen or more different 

 species. 



Nimble and quick at climbing, he does not need to confine his 

 selection of a dwelling to a burrow either dug by himself or made 

 over to him, whether voluntarily or otherwise, by the previous ten- 

 ant. In some localities to be sure, as in the lowlands beside a river or 

 along the coast, this is just the best possible sort of a home and he 

 has no scruples about appropriating to his own use any he may be 



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