204 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
March 16, 1895. 
at me like some tame critter, and I wanted some meat; I 
put up my gun and let her have it right between the eyes. 
Down she went, like as if she had been knocked, and 
just as I got up to her up she jumped and went off like 
murder, 6o I gave her my other barrel and dropped her, 
and all the damage done by the first ball was to knock a 
little skin off the front of the head, a little above and be- 
tween the eyes." 
I tried to tell him many a time that it was bis gun that 
was at fault, but he won't give in; he swears by his trusty 
old gun, or I should say his new one, for tins event oc- 
curred some fifteen years ago, shortly after he lost from 
his canoe a muzzle "loader, which he laments to this day. 
His favorite way of hunting was the still-hunt, and often 
he has explained how a moose, when feeding, always 
travels in such a course that when he lies down with his 
tail to the wind he can scent anyone coming down on him 
from behind; if anyone is following his tracks be can see 
them out of one eye, if anyone comes up in front be can 
see with both eyes, so he has as many guards out as he can 
very well put. 
Amos was a born hunter, as much, and perhaps more 
so, than anyone who reads this article. What a marked 
contrast between him and another old timer I know, 
whose chief delight is to tell how tbey would go out and 
locate the places in the deep snow where the moose were 
yatrdihgj and then all the village would turn out and kill 
from twenty to thirty at a time, and then only take away 
the best part of the meat. It was this that so quickly and 
surely reduced the numbers of the noble animal in our • 
province. The one was a hunter, the other a butcher. 
There is one more story about old Amos, however, 
which is too good to keep. He was out one winter dur- 
ng the first snow with a city gentleman who was very 
anxious to get his moose, and who had made Amos 
promise faithfully that he would give him the first shot if 
they sighted a moose that day. Presently they came on 
the fresh trail of an animal and located him in a small 
clump of spruce. It was getting well on to sunset, and 
the woods were becoming gloomy, and objects at a little 
distance were indistinct. However, they worked round 
towards where they supposed the moose to be. and 
Amos, suddenly stopping, pointed towards the woods and 
ignalled to shoot. The gentleman looked anxiously, you 
may well suppose, but could see nothing to shoot at. 
Finally Amos, getting disgusted at him for not shooting, 
put up his gun and fired, wh^n, with a crash, up jumped 
the animal some distance to the right and made off over 
the hill. But nothing stirred in the direciton where the 
shot proved to have been sent. On investigation, the ob- 
ject aimed at proved to be not a moose but two old roots, 
which from a certain position looked for all the world 
like a moose lying down. Report has it that it is 
dangerous to mention this shot to old Amos even at the 
present time. He redeemed his reputation, though, by 
running round the base of the hill and getting a long 
and effectual shot at the actual moose as it was going 
across a small meadow on the other side. 
A peculiar feature about this moose was that, although 
well on in November, the horns were still in the velvet. 
I know of but one other case of this kind; the head 
is now preserved in the provincial museum here. 
If any reader knows of a similar case and can explain 
the reason. I would like very much to hear from him. 
But laugh as we may over the old man's mistake in shoot- 
ing at an upturned root, how many of us are there I 
would like to know who would not have done the same 
thing:. Many and many a time when waiting for an 
answer to our call I have imagined I saw a moose stealing 
along in the shadows of the side of the woods, and I am 
confident that had I not known that certain black ob- 
jects were old blackened stumps and bushes, which I had 
previously located, I would sur> ly have shot at them, be- 
lieving them to be the game we were waiting for. This 
was near dusk, of course. 
So much for moose as they once were in Nova Scotia. 
Perhaps at some future time, if this finds favor. 1 will send 
you a few notes on moose as thry are at present. 
TlAM. 
SKUNK FARMING. 
In response to a correspondent's request for information 
about skunk farming, we have endeavored to collect some 
data, but it must be confessed without brilliant success. 
Several skunk breeding enterprises have been discovered, 
but we have been unable to ascertain that any one of 
them has as yet progressed heyond the going to do some- 
thing stage. The correspondence is given. We would be 
glad to receive any added information on the subject. 
The accompanying illustration of the skunk, copied from 
the Trapper's Guide, is given to show the markings, one 
expressed intention of all breeders being to eliminate the 
white, and produce a pure black strain 
Philadelphia, Editor Forest and Stream: — I have your 
note about the Shawnee skunk farm. As near as I can 
remember, from a sign posted on the farm house, the ad- 
dress should be Monroe Farming Co., Limited, Shawnee, 
Monroe County, Pa. S. W. R. 
Shawnee, Pa., Editor Forest and Stream:— In reply to 
your favor, I beg leave to say that I am associated with 
some other gentlemen in rearing skunks; that our enter- 
prise has been made as near successful as possible; that 
from experience we have learned a great many things 
about rearing skunks, which have cost much time and 
money, and the public has no right to expect us to sell 
our knowledge in this enterprise for nothing. I would be 
glad at some future time to write an article for publica- 
tion in your paper upon this subject if requested in the 
proper manner. Until that time there is nothing further 
to be learned from this source. 
M. Luhther Michael, Supt. 
Washington, Editor Forest and Stream: — Referring to 
the query about skunk farm, I would say that about two 
years ago there were three skunks on exhibition in the 
Zoological Park in this city, which came from A. E. 
Kibbe, Mayville, N. Y. I believe that Mr. Kibbe was at 
not breed the skunks more than two seasons, perhaps I 
am not competent to give the necessary information; but 
as I made it a deep study while I did keep them, I know 
something of their nature. I began in the spring of 1891 
with five females, they all had young in the first 
part of May, ranging from five to seven; one in 1892 had 
nine, young. When they were two weeks old I removed 
the scent sack, for I lived in the corporation and knew 
that I could not keep them unless I could remove the 
scent. I lost some of them, but succeeded in making a 
few of them live. In 1892 I raised a few more and per- 
formed the same operation; but as I had to be away from 
home a share of the time they did not do as well, 
although I raised a few. In the spring of 1893 I was 
called away to be gone for several weeks, and so con- 
cluded to give it up, for I was fully satisfied that it could 
be performed successfully only if one's time were not 
taken up some other way. I am perfectly satisfied that 
they can be bred with the best of success, and I think that 
by careful breeding one could breed black skunks in five 
years. In the summer I kept them in a yard with a 
twelve-inch plank imbedded in the earth, and the fence 
was eight feet high, with a six-inch board on top project- 
ing in the yard with an artificial burrow for each skunk. 
An o'd fur buyer here said the fur would not get prime; 
but with the last skunk I had I thought I would test this. 
I had had it in captivity two and one-half years, killed it 
in March, and sold it to a town fur buyer and told him to 
call the old veteran's attention to it, but not let him know 
that it was a domesticated skunk. The old veteran got 
fooled, for he said it was A 1. 
Skunks are easy to handle, but are nervous animals, 
and one wants to use care with them. I wintered eleven 
in a small building 10x16, ten females and one male. These 
did not have the scent sac removed, and I was in and out 
two or three times a day, and did not have any trouble 
with them. When I say that they are easy to handle, I 
do not mean to pick them up; if vou do, shut your eyes 
and mouth, and be careful and not let them bite, although 
I never had one even offer to when I would take the 
voung out of the nest for the operation. 
A. E. Kibbe. 
They all became quite tame, and their owner congratu- 
lated himself upon his good fortune until one day a dog 
was allowed to approach too near, when, in a twinkling, 
the mother fox caught each little one by the back, and, 
with one quick snap and jerk, broke its back. Evidently 
she reasoned that if they must die it would be better if 
she did the killing rather than have them fall in the 
jaws of the enemy to be worried to death." 
While many reports have obtained circulation concern- 
ing the breeding in confinement of various fur bearing 
animals, most of them have no doubt had their origin in 
the brains of the ingenious writers, and have no founda- 
tion in fact. An Ontario inquirer sends the request for 
information about fox-breeding: "Mr. I. L. Borrowman, 
a well known fur dealer of Western Ontario, has entered 
into a somewhat novel enterprise to breed black and 
white foxes in a domestic state. He has purchasd five 
young foxes — one black,two cross and two red — which he 
has confined in an inclosure about 12x25 ft., surrounded 
by a woven wire fence, underneath which is a trench 
filled with stones to prevent them from burrowing. In 
the centre of the pan he has placed a box about ten feet 
long and two feet wide containing straw for their beds. 
He, as well as others of your readers here, would be glad 
to learn through the columns of Forest and Stream 
whether any of your subscribers have ever known of any 
case where those valuable fur-bearing animals have ever 
been successfully bred and raised in the domestic state, 
and if so, what would be the proper method of treatment 
in order to secure the best results. E. C. R. 
that time engaged in raising these animals. 
A. B. 
Mayville, N. Y., Editor Forest and Stream: — As I did 
Ithaca, N. Y., Editor Forest and Stream: — The Ithaca 
Fur Co. has a farm located a few miles south of this city 
devoted to the breeding of skunks. The farm is sur- 
rounded by a deep ditch filled with stones, over which is 
built a high board fence. This insures a secure confine- 
ment of the malodorous little fur bearers. The com- 
pany expects to populate the premises with at least 5,000 
skunks within twelve months, and is breeding and buy- 
ing with a view of obtaining a strain as nearly all black as 
may be. The skunks are fed largely on milk, water, and 
bits of meat more or less aged. 
When "killing time" arrives, the gentle but impudent 
little beast is put in a tight box and chlo- 
roformed. The value of the skunk is not 
entirely in its fur. An adult animal in 
fine condition will yield almost a pint of 
oil. The oil finds a ready sale in New 
York markets at a good figure. 
The skunk makes a pretty reliable pet 
if taken in hand before the habits of a 
mature age become ingrafted into his con- 
scienceless being. Mr&. Bush, of Lansing, 
this county, recently made pets of a 
whole litter of young skunks that were 
born in the immediate neighborhood of 
the farm house. Mrs. Bush could handle 
the little rascals with impunity, and her 
success would seem to suggest a new field 
of experiment along the lines of the 
skunk industry. A school of performing 
skunks would prove a novelty in almost 
any direction of the wind. 
If you will write to Mr. J. B. Todd, of 
this city, I think you may obtain a lot of 
practical information cohcering skunk 
farming. M. Chill. 
Ithaca, N. Y.. Editor Forest and 
Stream:— Yours of the 9th inst. is at 
hand. I am not in the skunk-breeding 
business. 
There are two gentlemen in this city 
who some months ago started what they 
term a fur farm about eight miles from 
here, for the breeding of skunks -for fur 
and oil. They have now about five acres devoted to that 
purpose, and contemplate adding seven more next spring. 
So far, they have derived little or no money theretrom. 
As regards the financial returns of such an undertak- 
ing, I can only say that while such a scheme looks very 
feasible, one of the persons interested told me that the 
idea of this farm originated from his positive knowledge 
that acquaintances of his in the West had become very 
wealthy at it. To this I might add that although skunk 
furs are nice and fashionable, they are going up higher 
in price each year, and I read only a few days ago that 
they had avdanced 15 per cent, in the London market. 
After careful investigation, this locahty was found 
to be the most conducive of the breeding of skunks, lbe 
company has now since the killing of thirty or forty 
males, about 115, from which they hope to get by breeding 
mostly, about 5,000 by another year. Then they will begin 
to receive returns from their outlay. They are now 
breeding for size and color (black), and I'm told they have 
one male that weighs 20 pounds. Each one, if m good 
condition, will yield nearly one pint of oil. They use only 
the leaf fat when trying for oil, and since ithe animals are 
fed on clean meat, are well-cared for, and are killed by 
chloroform, neither the fur nor the oil can be other than 
first-class. J™>SON B. Todd. 
The American Agriculturalist of May, 1894, had an illus- 
trated account of the skunk breeding establishment of 
the Michigan Fur Co., at Buchanan, Mich, which was 
said to have invested several thousand dollars in the 
enterprise, with resultant profits not definitely stated, lbe 
Buchanan company also proposed an attempt to breed 
silver gray foxes; and cites a curious instance of mother 
fox presence of mind and promptness of action. A tew 
years ago," says the Agriculturist writer, so the man- 
ager told me. a female silver-gray fox was caught m the 
vicinitv of Buchanan, and kept in captivity. She gave 
birth to a litter of young soon after she was caught. 
Jack Babbits in Confinement. 
Shut up in the city as I am and unable to wander in 
the forest and by the stream, thanks to Forest and 
Stream, I can enjoy hunting in imagination. But I 
long for something more real. One day I noticed an ad- 
vertisement, by Chas. Payne, of live jack-rabbits for 
sale. The thought struck me — why not have some of those 
wild animals in my empty stable and unused yard? 
Capital! I sent for some, and the result was I received 
four pair for a modest sum. They came in excellent con- 
dition, and I don't know what $16 I ever spent previously 
in my life afforded me greater pleasure. ^ 
To watch them from a third story window coming out 
of the stable just as though they were on springs into the 
yard and back again. They will easily spring over a fence 
eight feet high, but I keep them in by wire netting, reach- 
ing up twelve feet. 
The other day an amusing incident occurred, the joke 
being on me. We had a heavy fall of snow here, which 
caused the snow in my yard to be banked up four feet 
high. I came home late that night and fed my jacks 
hay and oats without looking at them. The nextrnorn- 
The Sktjhe. 
ing I was surprised to find not a living r sign of jacks in 
the yard or stable. I hunted behind every barrel and 
box, but still no sound. Loud mutterings and still louder 
exclamations revealed nothing but a lot of boys and 
passers-by looking through the cracks of the fence. 
Who could have played this trick on me? I inquired of 
the whole neighborhood— nobody could give me the least 
clue. Two days afterward, I noticed some rabbit tracks 
in the snow. I then went into the stable and turned 
everything over for the hundredth time but no result. 
The thought occurred to me that they must have bur- 
rowed into the snow. I soon found out, with the aid of a 
snow-shovel, to my great surprise and joy, that each one 
had burrowed three feet straight down while it was snow- 
ing heavily for the second time and formed a cosy little 
place for itself. C. H. C. 
A Moose Head. 
There is now on exhibition at the art rooms of Knoed- 
ler & Co., Fifth avenue and Twenty-second street, this 
city, an oil painting of a moose head which ought to 
be seen by every big game hunter. It is the work of a 
young artist, Mr. Karl Rungius, and is wonderfully life- 
like. It is moreover as unconventional as possible. The 
ordinary picture of a moose head is either full face or in 
profile, and the most is made of the spreading antlers. 
This painting, however, shows the moose head not quite 
in profile and only part of the antlers. The animal ap- 
pears to be making his way through the snow covered 
forest, and the back ground of white throws out in a 
wonderful way the dark color of the head and the lighter 
brown of the horns. The rime of the frost clings to hair 
and antlers, and in one or two places are patches of snow 
knocked down from^the overhanging branches in the ani- 
mals passage. The modelling of the face of the moose 
especially, about the muzzle, a subject of such great 
difficulty to taxidermists, and one on which almost all 
