near the house. Hitherto he has given these animals a wide 
berth, merely barking from a safe distance when he has found 
one; but he has now discovered some apparently secure way 
of seizing and killing the Skunk before it can discharge 
its fluid. Bensen says that he simply rushes upon it 
and kills it by breaking its back with a single vigorous 
shake of the jaws. He has seen him kill one in this man¬ 
ner. I examined the Skunk where it was killed and can 
testify that neither it, nor the ground, nor the dog gave 
out the slightest odor. Two years ago I found a Skunk 
which a Fox had left at the entrance to his hole and which 
was wholly odorless. Its fur was wet and matted on the 
back where the Fox had evidently mouthed it. The Skunk 
killed by Bensen’s dog had been dragged about on wet 
ground and nearly half of it had been eaten by something 
so that I could not tell just where or how it had been 
originally seized 
There are plenty of Mice in the cabin but they 
do not seem to be as destructive as they were at first. I 
have trapped about half-a-dozen this autumn -- all White¬ 
footed Mice. Thus far I have caught only this species and 
in the cabin. The House Mice have not found 
me out yet. The Field Mice stay outside in the meadows 
