Vol.1. BROOKPORT. N. Y., AUGUST, 1885. No. 2. 
Published Monthly, 50c. per Annum. 
THE SKUNK. 
The Skunk and Polecat are sup¬ 
posed by a great many to be the 
same. The reason ot this is because 
they both have a strong stench or 
odor somewhat alike, the only dif¬ 
ference being that the odor of the 
Polecat may be washed out while 
that of the Skunk never can. They 
both inhabit the New England states. 
The Polecat, commonly called 
Mink, is amphibious, frequenting 
streams, rivers and lakes. It is 
longer than the Skunk and more 
slender like the weasel, being larger 
than a large cat. 
The Skunk is a digitigrade, that 
is, it walks on its toes like the cat 
and dog, carnivorious animal,living 
chiefly upon flesh and blood, such 
as young poultry, eggs, crickets,and 
the roots of certain sweet grasses. 
They live in deserted woodchuck’s 
holes, and it is said that they will 
even fight the woodchucks out of 
their homes and then take possession 
of them. They rarely ever take up 
their abode in the open fields, but 
live in the woods, under fences and 
in barns, in the latter place they 
burrow under the floor and stone 
walls, steal whole nests full of eggs, 
killing poultry and doing a consider¬ 
able mischief. 
-The Skunk is nocturnal, comming 
from its burrow mostly in the night. 
It especially prefers a moonlight 
night, and this is the time that hunt¬ 
ers generally hunt them; although I 
have heard an old darkey say that 
no old skunk would come out on a 
light night. 
Some evenings they may he seen 
running along on the tops of fences 
or digging on the hillsides for food. 
Their odor is not noticeable until 
they are caught or disturbed, when 
in defence they eject, from some an¬ 
nul glands located under the tail, a 
few drops of a yellow liquid in quick 
succession, which is so strong that 
it can be smelt one-half of a mile or 
over, and so penetratable that it can 
not be washed from clothes. The 
only way in which to cleanse them 
being to have them buried in the 
earth. This liquid contains valuable 
medical powers, hut its extremely 
ofiensive odor interferes with its use. 
If it enters a dog’s eyes it will put 
them out. 
In size the skunk is nearly double 
that of the woodchuck. * 
In front the skunk is armed with 
a row of sharp teeth- like the cats, 
and on each ■ foot with six sharp 
claws, two more than the cat has. 
They have small head and eyes, 
something between the weasel and 
otter. Its color is black and white 
and some are marked quite prettily. 
It has a large bushy tail, and is cov¬ 
ered all over with long, soft and silky 
fur. This fur is quite valuable, form¬ 
ing an article of commerce in the 
for trade, a large black skin bring¬ 
ing from 76 cents to |1.75 raw from 
the trapper. 
A tat skunk yields over a quart of 
oil, which is used by the doctors as 
