SpeaJcing Time ; 10 Minutes. 



AMOUNCaiSTT: And now for another visit 77ith Uncle Sam's Natui'alists of the 

 United States Department of A^ri cult •ore. As usual^ youx Wildsrnan calls our at- 

 tention to some of the facts d3out wild life as he picks then up from Department 

 specialists. — 



Again we hear reports from some sections of the country, that the grass- 

 hopper has "become a burden in the land. 



But I'm not going to talk ahout tiiat all-devouring host of grasshoppers, 

 I just mention it in passing, by way of illustration of the importance of some 

 other things, particulaxly our much maligned friend, the slcunk. 



Such serious scourges caused by tremendous multiplication of this or tlmt 

 pest might happen oftener but for the forces of nature which tend to keep such 

 things in control. Of course, the veather is generally the big factor in the 

 case of grasshoppers, but there are a number of other forces. Our old friend, 

 the muclv- despised skunk, is one of them, 



A lot of people have always held slnmks in bad odor, but skunlcs do yeoman 

 service in destroying grasshoppers. Specialists of the Bureau of Biological Sur- 

 vey, who have inside information on the subject, tell me that in July, August, 

 and September, when grasshoppers are most abundant, they form the chief food of 

 skumks. In fact, d-oring some of the previous invasions of our plains country by 

 grasshoppers the skunk was credited with being the principal marjmal destroying 

 those insects. 



But grasshoppers are not the onlj'- damaging crop insect on the skunlc's bill- 

 of fare. The skunlc is also the bost-lcaown mammal enemy of army worm, the common 

 army worm, the wheat-liead army worn, and the fall amy worm, vrtiich are so destruc- 

 tive to smo-ll grains, and corn, and grasses, 



Slcuiilis are fond, too, of the insects laiown as tobacco worms which do so 

 much damrgo to tobacco and tomato plants. In fact, they eat a great nuibor of in- 

 sects o-nd mostly the kinds that arc highly damaging to plant life, such as cut- 

 worms, cicadas, criclcets, andbcetles injurious to sweet potatoes in the South, 



They also seen to consider the Colorado potato beetle a delicate morsel 

 and spend many a busy evening in potato patches catching and eating the grubs and 

 mature booties. 



