76 FUR FACTS 



in the Spring he is up and out all of the time and has an appetite that 

 is never satisfied. He looks for big black beetles, insects, field mice, 

 moles, lizzards, etc. In the grasshopper season he devours these 

 insects in large quantities as he is very fond of them. The skunk 

 is really the farmer's friend and will catch more rats and mice, bugs, 

 beetles, etc., that damage the farmer's stock of grain and his crops, 

 than any domestic animal on the place; and while occassionally he 

 may kill a chicken it is not very often, especially with the careful 

 farmer, who takes the proper care of his poultry and puts them up 

 at night out of the reach of prowling varmints. The skunk is a very 

 interesting little animal and has been and will continue to be a source 

 of unusual revenue to the boy and man in the country and a delight 

 to the woman who wears furs for protection against the winter 

 blasts. 



The skunk is not particular about his residence, but can be found 

 in hollow logs, woodchuck burrows, caves in the rocks, and any open- 

 ing that will suit its purposes. The full grown skunk is about the 

 size of the house cat and the tail of the skunk is broad and plume like. 

 The skunk is one of the most valuable fur bearers that we have in 

 America and is being properly taken care of and conserved in nearly 

 every state in the Union. The big fur houses of the country have 

 contributed a great deal to this conservation by calling the attention 

 of the farmer and trapper to this fact and urging him to take the 

 same care of the skunks and other fur bearers in his section as he 

 would of his own live stock, and to trap them only during certain 

 months of the year, when the fur is prime, and at a time that will not 

 interfere with the breeding season. The skunk is not at all suspicious 

 and for this reason can be trapped comparatively easy. One 

 method of taking skunks that has come into vogue in recent years, 

 and which has many advantages if it is done properly, is that of 

 smoking the skunks out of their hiding places and then killing the 

 large prime male skunks, letting the others escape to be taken at a 

 more opportune time. For this purpose there has been developed 

 several devices for scaring the animals out of their dens. The 

 majority of the skunks are taken in the steel trap, and this, after all, 

 is the simplest and safest way. Traps are now made that not only 

 catch the animal but also kill it. We recommend this style of trap 

 which is known as the Two Trigger Trap. Most trappers use Fun- 

 sten Animal Bait in connection with their food bait, and as the 

 Funsten Animal Bait is designed to attract the large male to the 



