222 WILD NEIGHBORS CHAP. 



that the hibernating animal is occasionally aroused 

 from his torpidity to relieve his physical uneasiness 

 in this respect. Dr. C. C. Abbott agrees with him 

 as to the necessity of occasional relief, but says 

 that a series of observations in 1872 led him to 

 believe that this forced discharge was made by the 

 skunk into a hole dug for the purpose, where it 

 was carefully covered over. This strikes me as a 

 credible, and, indeed, very natural example of pru- 

 dence on the part of the animal (which must fully 

 understand what an advertisement of its presence 

 to its enemies the effluvium would be), closely com- 

 parable with the covering of its excrement prac- 

 tised by so many wild animals, — an act doubtless 

 precautionary against pursuit. In winter, however, 

 the frozen ground would prevent doing this, or, at 

 any rate, prevent doing it well. Certainly skunk 

 dens are rarely any more offensive to the nose than 

 is the home of a weasel or marten. 



He is a persistent digger, and delights to scratch 

 holes in ploughed fields, where, if he is alarmed, he 

 will bury himself out of sight with amazing rapid- 

 ity, and then may push his way through the light 

 earth for several yards before he comes to the sur- 

 face again. Another cunning trick he has, when 

 trying to escape from a dog that is not right at his 

 heels, is to climb upon a rail fence and walk along 

 its top for a considerable distance, so as to break 

 the scent of his trail; but any further climbing 

 than this seems beyond his ability, so that the 



