Feb. i, 1908.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
1 73 
Skunk Habits. 
Beckley, W. Va., Jan. 7, —Editor Forest and 
Stream: I have noticed several articles in your 
paper on the subject of carrying a skunk by the 
tail. I am still in the dark in so far as enlight- 
ment comes from these articles, and could not at 
this times from the information imparted, say 
to a friend that he “could carry the aforesaid 
by the tail in safety,’’ expressing a personal view. 
Had I an enemy with whom I wanted to “even 
up,” and without special regard to the laws of 
truth, I would advise him that a skunk could 
be carried by the tail in perfect safety. But 
why discuss and leave in doubt a subject that 
can be reduced to a centainty. It is an old 
maxim, “All things are certain that can be made 
certain.” Now let the good fellows who assert 
the affirmative of this proposition be each pro¬ 
vided with a good full grown live skunk, and on 
a day to be agreed upon, let them give a public 
exhibition of their ability to carry him by the 
tail, in the case of a young man the condition 
being that he shall wear the same clothes to 
see his best girl the following Sunday. 
Now, by your permission, I will digress and 
give a little incident in which the skunk was the 
central figure that came under my personal ob¬ 
servation about eighteen years ago. All agree 
that the skunk is the natural enemy of insects, 
and it is for this reason that the farmers in a 
great many agricultural districts have secured 
legislation for his protection; but did you ever 
think what ingenuity is employed by the little 
fellow in the capture of his prey? Does he 
charm like the snake; does he lie in wait, or 
does he provoke them to assault? It is the 
latter. A skunk can catch any insect that he can 
get to fight him. On the occasion referred to I 
went to the woods in quest of squirrels. It 
was a warm cloudy afternoon in September. 
While standing on a log waiting for a squirrel 
I saw a large object moving through the weeds 
toward me, which I first took to be a gray fox. 
I raised my gun and prepared to shoot, but as 
the animal advanced I noticed that it was not 
a fox, but a skunk, and the largest I had ever 
seen, his color being very much like that of a 
gray fox. When he first saw me he was about 
twenty steps away, but instead of making an 
effort to retreat he rose on his toes, fluffed up 
his hair and tail, and jumped up two or three 
times, lighting on the ground stiff-legged, after 
the fashion of a sheep on the entry of a dog to 
the barn lot, at the same time hissing and blow¬ 
ing as a mad house cat will do. I kept him 
covered all the time with my gun. 
In a few minutes his anger seemed to sub¬ 
side; he then walked a few feet away, and with 
his left paw he made a few quick digs in the 
leaves, and then turning around began to slowly 
switch his tail over the place where he had 
scratched. At each movement I became more 
and more interested, and watching I saw a swarm 
of yellow jackets emerging from the ground. 
Hot and furious they darted at the little fellow’s 
tail, which was kept constantly in motion, each 
one sticking tight to the long fur and doing no 
damage. I never shall forget his keen black 
eyes as he looked at me as, if to say, “Watch 
me; I have done it before.” 
With a tail covered with jackets, like so many 
hurs, he walked a few feet away and began to 
Pick them off and eat them as a hungry boy 
would so many berries. This act repeated once 
more, the little yellow warriors were gone, and 
their home left defenseless and desolate, was 
dug out and carried away by the victor who left 
apparently without any fear that I would do 
him harm. And I, then a boy, now grown to 
manhood, am glad that I did not shoot. 
M. F. Matheny. 
The Ruffed Grouse Scarcity. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Much has recently been written in regard to 
the diminishing numbers of grouse from Maine 
to Minnesota. I know they are very scarce in 
Massachusetts. 
Many reasons have been given for these con¬ 
ditions, some charge it to foxes, hawks and other 
natural enemies; others claim it to be climatic 
conditions. Of course all those do their part, 
as they always have. But man, the rebel man, 
who, scientists tell us, is the only animal on the 
r ^pl«g£ji•'>- r*. - 
CANADIAN BEAR CUBS. 
Photographed by Milandeau & Campbell. 
face of the earth who breaks nature’s laws, is 
largely responsible for the existing conditions. 
He destroys the balance. An army of men and 
boys with dogs and guns, constantly increasing 
each year, will soon exterminate our wild grouse 
unless we take steps to protect it. Some favor 
a shorter season for shooting, but that would 
tend to concentrate too many gunners in the 
covers at the same time, as we have only October 
and November as an open season, and the wood¬ 
cock leave by the first of November in Massa¬ 
chusetts. Others claim that we need a close sea¬ 
son for a term of years. This we may be forced 
to later on. 
Let us first try reservations for the wild birds. 
In every town in every State in the Union, set 
apart certain tracts of forest land suitable to 
these birds, from 100 to 1,000 or more acres, 
where they can rear their young and feel safe 
from the snare of the prowler, and the dogs and 
guns of the gunner. They would soon come to 
understand these conditions. Let these reserva¬ 
tions be placed in charge of the States’ fish and 
game commissions as are the ponds and streams 
that have been stocked with fish. Many owners 
of forest lands would be only too glad to place 
their land under the protection of the State com¬ 
missioner, as it would tend to lessen forest fires 
set by careless gunners. There are many tracts 
of forest land in Massachusetts as well as in 
many other States that would make excellent 
reservations for all our wild life. I know of 
several such in my native town. 
If in every State in the Union evqry town 
would provide such reservation, our birds of the 
field and forest would always be with us. 
Massachusetts has quite a number of State reser¬ 
vations that have been of great benefit in this 
direction, and there is room for a great many 
more. I hope other readers of Forest and 
Stream will give their views on this question of 
reservations. Geo. L. Brown. 
Fleas and Flea Remedies. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
When it comes to talking about fleas the 
writer knows just where he is at. When he 
was a boy the country swarmed with them, and 
perhaps one of the things he will remember 
longest will be the sleepless nights and the tor¬ 
ments that the fleas gave him when sitting in 
Quaker meetings where he did not dare to 
scratch. For many years the people seemed to 
put up with them as an evil from which there 
was no escape, yet there was an efficient remedy 
growing on every farm in the shape of a modest 
little plant called pennyroyal, which is familiar 
to every country bred boy. The odor of this 
plant seems very offensive to many kinds of in¬ 
sects. A freshly bruised bunch of the plants put 
in a small bag and rubbed on the bed linen and 
then left in the bed will evict the last flea in a 
very few minutes. A few drops of the essential 
oil of the plant, which can be got at any drug 
store, rubbed on one’s underclothing, will drive 
them from the person immediately, and if sprink¬ 
led about a room infested with fleas will clear 
them out. 
A brown fly called the deer fly I think used 
to greatly torment the horses whenever they were 
driven through the woods. They attacked only 
the ears and necks of the horses, lighting there 
without any preliminary skirmishing, and held 
on with the tenacity of ticks until they were 
gorged with blood. A bunch of bruised penny- 
royal, which was to be found most anywhere 
along the roadside, rubbed on the ears and neck 
of the horse made him immune to their attacks 
for several hours, and it will also protect the 
legs of cattle and horses from the biting of the 
small black flies that make life a burden for 
horses and cattle during the latter part of sum¬ 
mer. 
While it does not act so effectively as a mos¬ 
quito remedy, it is the best that I have ever tried. 
Just now my wife came in, and after reading 
the above she demands that I ask whether there 
is any known remedy for the “buffalo moths” 
that are about to eat up all the carpets in this 
town. O. H. Hampton. 
THE CAMPER’S FRIEND. 
Pure Milk is desirable wherever you camp 
Borden’s Eagle Brand Condensed Milk always 
opens up perfectly fresh, pure and satisfactory. 
It is the first item thought of by the veteran 
camper.— Adv. 
