Fes., 1912. Mammats 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 papilla 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 
