47 
Mr. Gibson, author of the “Complete American Trapper,” states that the 
nest is in the burrow, and the young are three or four in number. 
Richardson, in speaking of its hibernation from November to April, in 
British America, states that, like bears, the animals do not lose flesh 
during the winter, but come out fat in the spring; he adds that, as they 
pair at once, they soon become lean. 
The Badger yields a valuable, and at times, a fashionable fur; it is 
used for robes, muffs, tippets and trimmings. a 
The London sales of Badger skins in 1873 were 2,700, bringing from 
one to seven shillings, averaging 1s. 6d. In 1875, they sold in this 
country for from $1 for best, to fifty cents for “seconds” and ten cents for 
“ thirds.” 
Thousands of shaving brushes are made from the long hairs; they are 
also used for artist’s brushes; one is known as the ‘“ Badger blender.” 
“ The fur,” says Audubon, speaking of his tamed specimen, “had become, 
by the month of February, the most effectual protection against the cold 
that can well be imagined. 
The coloration is not striking, but the intimate blending of gray, 
tawny, black and white is pleasing. The general tone, however, isa 
grizzled gray, from which arises the common expression, “as gray as a 
badger.” The flesh is catable; so is that of the skunk, but neither are 
inviting, scarcely palatable. 
GrENus Mepuitis. (Cuvier.) 
Etymology: Lat Mephitis, a foul or noxious exhalation. 
< Viverra 8}, of early authors. 
< Mephitis, Cuvier, “Lecons d’ Anat., i, 1800” (coextensive with the sub- 
family), and of authors generally.—Baird, M. N. A., 1857, 191. 
< Chincha, Less., Nouv. Tab. R. An., 1842. 
> Spilogale, Gray, Proc. Zodl Soc, 1865, 150. Type, S. interrupta—M. 
putorius. 
> Mephitis, Gill, Arrang. Fam. Mamm., 1872, 66. 
Generic Characters.—Teeth 34; pm. $3; end of muzzle truncate verti- 
cally ; palate ending about opposite last molar; coronoid process of jaw 
conical, erect, its fore and hind borders converging to a vertical apex, 
in advance of condyle; angle of mandible not exflected; nostrils lat- 
eral; tail very long and bushy; soles comparatively narrow, hairy, at 
least in part; body elongated; snout prominent, not depressed. 
The Skunks are terrestrial animals, closely related to the Badgers in 
external conformation; the walk is plantigrade; the habits more or less 
fossorial ; the fore-claws are large, straight, and well fitted for digging. 
The Skunks neither climb nor swim; they are slow and lumbering ; 
