Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 257, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 October 1914 — SKUNKS ARE WORTH $3,000,000 A YEAR [ARTICLE]

SKUNKS ARE WORTH $3,000,000 A YEAR

Government Reports Show* Skunks Are Worth Fortune Annually. POLECAT FARMS ADVBBEB Game Law* of Thlrtesa State* Now Protect Boasts Loofl Called Pest*. Washington, D. CL — The skuaOi brings annually to the trapper* at th* United States about $34)00,000. IV stands second in importance only to the muskrat among our fur-bearing animals. The value of a skunk skin is the raw fur market averaged from about 25 cents to $3.50 and usually runs higher. Althougn this fur is not very popular in America, Europeans favor It because it wears well and ha* a luster which makes it rival the R**< sian sable in appearance. These facts are emphasized in a new farmers’ bulletin now being sent out by the Unit ted States Department of which may be had free on application by those who are interested in th* “Economic Value of North American Skunks.** Thirteen States now protect th* skunk by game laws, and a fulle* understanding of the economic vain* of these creatures to agriculture, ai well as to commerce, will no doubt result in protective measures In other localities. The earliest legislation for the protection of these little animal* grew out of appeals from hop grower* in New York, because of their value in killing the hop borer. This was in 1893, and stuce then laws "have been passed for their protection in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Nerw Jersey, Delaware, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Kansa* and North Carolina. The closed season for the skunk varies in the different States, but in th* opinion of the author of thl* bulletin it should be extended to at least nina months in every case, for at present there is a of fur animals and the increased demand for furs has put’ a higher premium on its pelt. Unless given more adequate protection, it cannot long survive a high premium. In advising this close season-it should ba understood that the right of farmers to destroy individual predatory skunks should always be reserved. London is a great market for American skunk skins. Although only a small percentage of pur skins are now dressed and made up here, we have received in years past a good number of them back after they have been made up abroad, and many American ladles who would scorn to wear a skunk skin have been proud of their imported “black marten” or “Alaska sable,” which was merely the American skunk fur more attractively lab, eled. The process of dressing the skunk skin and removing any lingering odor has been improving year by year, and meanwhile the fur has been gaining popularity. The present extreme scarcity of Russian sable because of a law what forbids the taking of that fur favors the foreign market for ths use of its skin is increasing. The recent high prices for skunk skins have led to a discussion of th* subject of skunk raising on a commercial basis. Although some breeder* have encountered difficulties, on the whole, there are good reasons for bet lieving that a profitable industry may be developed. Skunks are less wild! than other members of the family to which the more important small-fur bearers belong, and their diet permit* a good deal o's latitude in feeding, whereas the harten and the mink require a diet almost exclusively of meat The problem of provldilng pens tor rearing them is also less complicated in the case of the skunk. An Inclosure for skunks should occupy a well-drained, sandy hillside, partly shaded by trees, and partly open land covered with grasses. An acre will afford room for about fifty adult skunks. A 3-foot fence made of poultry netting and having an overhanging barrier at the top is sufficient to confine the animate. The wire should be of No. 16 gauge, and th* netting of 1-lnch mesh. This tow fence, however, is not sufficient to keep out dogs, unless the overhang is very large and extends on both sides. Many breeders prefer a tight fence of boards or sheet iron or even a stone wall. The fence should penetrate th* ground to a depth of i or 3 feet tq prevent the skunks from digging under It Besides the general Inctosare, a sap. arete breeding pen tor each Carnal* should be provided. Cheap boxes with wooden floors will serve every perpose, but they must be dry Inside, Contact with the soil improves the fur, but dampness must be guards against Meat fish, insects, bread, oooked add even raw vegetables, and rip* traits are included in the great variety of foods which skunks will eat Table scrape win keep the animals in good eondttkm, and the food tor a large skunk ranch may often be procured tram hotels when usually It win cost nothing but the labor of removing It Hup on tally to be recommended ar* sakes and mosh made of corn meal and bits at meat, fresh milk, cooked gseen oom and hominy. Little mor* than the amount of food required for a oat win supply the wants at * staauk.