Feb., 191 2. Mammals of Illinois and Wisconsin — Cory. 343 



in the evening is slightly luminous. On standing in a bottle, a flocculent, 

 whitish precipitate separates and falls to the bottom. The fluid some- 

 times shows a decided greenish cast, and it always possesses an odor 

 that is characteristic, and in some respects unique. Its all-pervading, 

 penetrating and lasting properties are too well known to require more 

 than passing comment. I have known the scent to become strikingly 

 apparent in every part of a well closed house, in winter, within five 

 minutes after a Skunk had been killed at a distance of a hundred metres 

 (about twenty rods) ! The odor generally remains noticeable for weeks 

 and sometimes for months, about the place where one has been killed. 

 The condition of the atmosphere has much to do in determining the 

 matter, for the more humid the air and the higher the temperature, 

 the farther is the scent discernible, and the longer does it last. Under 

 favorable conditions it is certainly distinctly recognizable at a distance 

 of a mile, and DeKay quotes a statement from the Medical Repository 

 that a Dr. Wiley of Rock Island 'distinctly perceived the smell of a 

 Skunk, although the nearest land was twenty miles distant.' 



'^The scent glands of the Skunk may be removed, bodily, without in 

 any way affecting the health or happiness of the animal. The gizzard- 

 like mass of muscle in which they are imbedded completely surrounds 

 the gut, just at the outlet of the pelvis, and is attached to the tuberosities 

 of the ischium. The chief danger attending the operation is the liabil- 

 ity of wounding the rectum, or of creating so much irritation about it 

 that the subsequent inflammation and cicatrization will result in 

 stricture of that important viscus. Care must also be exercised in 

 order to avoid wounding the genito-urinary passages. I have operated, 

 with complete success, both with and without antiseptic precautions. 

 A much simpler operation, where the end in view is merely to disarm 

 the animal, is that performed by Dr. J. M. Warren of Boston, in the 

 year 1849. It consists of making an incision through the skin, directly 

 in front of the anus, and in snipping the ducts of the glands, at the bases 

 of the nipple-like papillae which project into the gut, just within the 

 sphincter. Adhesive inflammation follows and permanently occludes 

 the ducts at the point of division." 



Much has been written about ''mad skunks" and the danger of 

 hydrophobia if bitten by them. While there is no doubt that Skunks 

 can contract hydrophobia, in my opinion they rarely do so. I have 

 myself been twice bitten by Skunks and know several people who have 

 been bitten by them, but in no instance was there any after ill effects 

 other than would be produced by any simple wound. Dr. Merriam, 

 who has been bitten several times by Skunks, does not consider their 

 bites more dangerous than any other of our common mammals. Cases 



