Vl THE SKUNK, CALMLY CONSIDERED 221 
in the snow,—the feet stepping at equal dis- 
tances apart and in advance, — thus: 
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Dwelling under such varied conditions, it is’ 
not surprising to find it making its home in a 
variety of tenements. Its fore feet are armed 
with long and strong claws, so that it is able 
to dig well, and it habitually excavates burrows 
in light soil. On the prairies, as Kennicott ascer- 
tained, they are five to ten feet long and a foot 
or so below the surface; but sizes vary. At the 
innermost end is hollowed out a chamber well 
bedded with grass. In the high Western moun- 
tains and other rocky places, it usually takes 
possession of a crevice; and hollow trees and 
stumps are now and then adopted as homesteads. 
Burroughs says it appropriates woodchuck-holes 
in New York State; and, in New England, stone 
walls often form part, at least, of the shelter 
needed for its den. Lastly, it has adopted every- 
where the uncomfortable habit of seeking a lodg- 
ing beneath the houses and barns of farmers and 
ranchmen, making its presence known sooner or 
later during the winter by a stench that compels 
the landlord to evict the intruder straightway. 
Dr. Elliott Coues avers that this stench is the 
result of the necessity the animal feels to evacu- 
ate his scent-glands from time to time, when they 
are not emptied by some provoked discharge, and 
