48 



a skunk, if not molested, is very inoffensive and need not 

 necessarily be avoided. Nor was this skunk an excep- 

 tional one. I have repeatedly passed them at distances of 

 from three to six feet without their acting in any untoward 

 manner. Those who have kept them in confinement agree 

 that they are very mild mannered. 



Economically^ the skunk is both good and bad. When in- 

 sects are to be had, the bulk of his food is made of them, 

 chiefly grasshoppers and crickets. !Many mice are dug 

 from their burrows, snakes are caught, an occasional rabbit 

 is captured while asleep. All their prey must of neces- 

 sity be caught by stealth for they are very clumsy animals 

 and can neither spring nor run fast. If they did not so 

 often destroy the eggs and young of ground-nesting birds, 

 they would be regarded as very useful creatures. 



POND AND SWAMP LIFE. 



Many of my pleasantest excursions have been those 

 around, about or even in small ponds such as are to be 

 found dotting the country everywhere. Such localities 

 furnish a great wealth of the most interesting material 

 for study and thought. 



Our approach is heralded by the warning rattle of a 

 Kingfisher, perched on a dead branch whei'e he can easily 

 watch the placid waters in hopes of securing some of the 

 small fish living therein. A bittern, standing knee-deep 

 in the water, waiting for a chance to spear a venturesome 

 frog, raises his head and assumes a rigid attitude mimick- 

 ing the rushes about him, but as we continue to approach 

 he flaps heavily and disgustedly awaj-. 



Wliirligig-beetles chase themselves in eccentric circles, 

 water-striders skim over the surface, mosquito larvae, back- 

 swimmers, water-boatmen, caddis-worms, salamanders, tad- 

 poles, frogs, turtles and hosts of other creatures may be 



