450 
THE SKUNK. 
young of the crocodile as well as to its eggs, 
which it searches for and eats with great 
eagerness, thus rendering an essential ser¬ 
vice to the inhabitants of the valley of the 
Nile. 
“We now come to a class of plantigrade 
animals which contains some of the most 
odious of the four-footed family; and, as a 
near acquaintance with them is not desirable, 
we will merely glance at them in passing. 
The first genus is called Mephites; and the 
name is given them on account of their 
strong, penetrating and disgusting odour. 
To this genus belongs the common skunk. 
It is rather a pretty creature, with a modest 
livery of black and white, and a long and 
elegantly-fringed tail; and a person unac¬ 
quainted with the animal, seeing it at a 
distance, might probably desire a nearer 
view. Should he approach, however, he 
would have cause to repent of his curiosity; 
for the skunk is provided with a pouch 
containing a liquid of the most abominable 
smell and penetrating quality, which it can 
throw to some distance. Every article upon 
which this liquid falls is rendered forever 
useless, as no pains of cleaning or washing 
