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SKUNK. 



This animal is one which few care to study or observe 

 being very disagreeable to the olfactory nerves. The 

 color is black and white, and the fur much prized 

 and sought, especially in winter. The nose is long and 

 pointed. Their food consists of small birds, eggs and 

 chickens, which they steal from the poultry yard, often 

 destroying many fowls. They may be caught in steel- 

 traps, snares or dead-falls carefully set. These animals 

 live in large burrows in the ground. There is only one 

 thing named after this animal, which is skunk cabbage. 



THE FOX. 



We now have a very shy and cunning animal to deal 

 with. He is about the size of a dog, of a reddish brown 

 color, and a long bushy tail; the head has many of the 

 features of the wolf. The fox is a good runner, and 

 delights to baffle dogs which follow him, by jumping 

 a long distance, thus making a break in the trail of 

 scent. He lives in holes in the ground, and sometimes 

 there are three or four together, forming a fortress or 

 station. I have seen as many as four holes near 

 together. In the center was a large stump used by 

 them as a watch tower, and it was worn smooth by 

 the constant tramping of their feet. A fence near by 

 had been used as a lookout post and was worn in the 

 same way. There were paths around the four en- 

 trances. 



Fox-hunting is a past-time resorted to by some per- 

 sons. Occasionally a number of men upon horses, both 

 being gaily dressed, with a number of hounds, which 



