176 TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 



of birds that nest on or within 

 reach of the ground, and if he 

 chances to stumble upon a hen's 

 nest the eggs are liable to suffer, 

 etc. 



"Of all of our native mammals, 

 perhaps no one is so universally 

 abused and has so many unpleas- 

 ant things said about it as the in- 

 nocent subject of the present bio- 

 graphy; and yet no other species 

 is half so valuable to the farmer. 

 Pre-eminently an insect eater, he 

 destroys more beetles, grasshoppers 

 and the like than , all our other 

 mammals together, and in addition 

 to these he devours vast numbers 

 of mice. 



He does not evince that dread 

 of man that is so manifest in the 

 vast majority of our mamriials, 

 and when met during any of _ his 

 circumnambulations rarely thinks 

 of .running away. He is slow in 

 movement and deliberate in action, 

 and does not often hurry himself 

 in whatever he does. His ordi- 

 nary gait is a measured walk, but 

 when pressed for time, he breaks 

 into a low shuiffling gallop. It is 

 hard to intimidate a skunk, but 

 when once really frightened, he 

 manages to get over ground at a 

 very fair pace. * * * 



"Skunks, particularly when 

 young, make very pretty pets, 

 being attractive in appearance, 

 gentle in disposition, interesting 

 in manners, and cleanly in habits. 

 They are playful, sometimes mis- 

 chievous, and manifest consider- 

 able affejction for those who have 

 care of them. * * * " 



The writer, I beg to_ remark, 

 approves the above classical trea- 

 tise on the skunk in toto, but, at 

 the same time, I am not inclined 

 to blame any farmer catching and 

 killing a skunk in his chicken- 

 coop, or after receiving a syringe- 

 full of the "pestiferous aroma" 

 from his mephitic majesty! 



Often in my younger years on 

 a farm, have I met during hunt- 

 ing trips, a skunk leisurely ramb- 

 ling about in search -of food, and 



we came quite close to the animal 

 the least annoyed as far as its "per- 

 fume" is concerned. When dogs 

 attack it, or when shot at or other- 

 wise annoyed, "then she lets loose," 

 and, oh my! such an odor! es- 

 pecially ii it happens we should 

 receive ' ' a full load of it. ' ' 



Hand in hand with the above 

 personal observations of Dr. Mer- 

 riam, it is in place to again call 

 attention to some of the sugges- 

 tions the Editor of Texas Field 

 and National Guardsman also has 

 called attention to — the wanton 

 killing of so many other useful 

 animals of the prairie plains, especi- 

 ally the armadillo, one, it seems 

 to me, of the most innocent and 

 useful of all animals in zoologydom! 

 These animals, we all are aware, 

 destroy vast numbers of harmful 

 insects and their larvae, and still 

 the crave to kill them by the whole- 

 sale for onamental purposes has 

 nearly entirely exterminated them 

 in many parts of Texas. 



In one of the original photo illus- 

 trations herein, of Texas animals, 

 is seen a splendid reproduction of 

 our common and rather a,ttractive 

 polecat or skunk, and it shows the 

 great difference in its striped body 

 as compared to the specimen en- 

 countered at Mitchell's Lake and 

 described already. 



This group of animals, with a 

 skunk in its center, represents a 

 number of strictly typical Texas 

 animals occasionally encountered 

 in the Mitchell's Lake hunting 

 grounds, or close environment of 

 the jungles, forests and hilly re- 

 gions around San Antonio- and 

 other Southwestern localities. The 

 group was photographed by the 

 writer from a collection of typical 

 Texas animals at our San Pedro 

 Springs Zoological Museum, and 

 represents only a small parts of 

 the collections to be seen there — 

 some ten years ago. 



On the left and in the rear of 

 this illustration is seen a number 

 of various types of Texas prairie 



