Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 154, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 June 1916 — FARM GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM GARDEN

Successful Skunk Farms Within tb* corporate limits of a I small Ohio city are three skunk farms. On each farm are maintained an average of 80 skunks. The little patches of ground, occupied by. tlis skunks are called farms by courtesy, says E. P. Snyder in Farm and Home, but none of them occupy more than a half acre. The farms are surrounded by close woven galvanized wire fence set two feet in the ground to prevent the animals from burrowing out. On top of the fence is laid at right angles A strip of 18-inch chicken wire to keep them from climbing over. These three farms are on side hills. Near the top of the hills are built diminutive little coops or bouses for "dormitories." .In these are boxes of clean straw or other nesting material, and hfcre the animals live inoßt of the time. These homes are reached thru six inch tile laid two feet underground and the whole plant- is made to conform as nearly as possible to the conditions that surround the animals in their wild state. Their feed consists mostly of meat scraps from the butcher shops, eggs that are candled out by shippers, sweet corn in season and table scraps. While they are carnivorous they relish some of the garden vegetables. They hibernate a good part of the winter, not coming out of their dens during severe weather. In the wild state they burrow but little and at the approach of cold weather go Into the dens of the marmots and appear to live with them peaceably. There seems to be a sort of affinity between the two animals. These farms are stocked by catching wild skunks and putting them in the inclosure. It might be thought that they would be a little disagreeable to handle alive, but it has been found that if the tail can be kept in line with the spinal column they cant eject the fetid, acrid fluid, their most effective means of defense. One hunter who makes a specialty of capturing live skunks has a dog trained to bay them; that is, he circles around and areund them at a respectful ’distance, keeping them from running away and all the time barking for help. All the time the skunk has hia “plume" high in the air ready to eject the offensive fluid if his -enemy gets too close. The hunter watches his opportunity and when the skunk’s attention is entirely occupied by the dog he slips up behind, grabs him by the tail and jerks him into the air. With his feet off the ground and his tail in line with his spinal column he can’t threw his odor. It is then easy for the hunter to transfer him to the farm and introduce him to his comrade in captivity. After a few months of captivity they become quite as tame as domestic animals. They are fed once a day and will come at the call or whistle of their master like a herd of little pigs, crowding into the basket of meat and fighting among themselves for the best scraps. The process of removing the scent pouch is a simple one and requires .no more skill than the castration of * a pig They recover readily from the operation and can thereafter be handled with perfect safety. Skunks breed once a year. The young are born in May, from five to eight in each litter. By the following December or January they have attained their growth. The fur is then prime and they are killed and the furs put on the market. When furs were high pelts brought $2.50 to $4.75 each. Ladies’ skunk fur capes sell as high as $65. In England the furs of skunk are called skunk, but in America milady calls it ‘‘Alaska sable."

Diversity of Farm Enterprises In most eases where studies on the profits in faming have been made particularly in our oldest agricultural districts, such studies indicate that the fnost successful farms are those which have from two to four major sources jjf income; i. e., they_have a well balanced and diversified business In certain Instances It may pay better to have only one enterprise, but Usually when one crop pays better than all others the production of it increases rapidly and soon the price falls to the .point where other crops or products are equally as profitable. Diversified farming is often confused with farming where there Is a little of everything and not much of anything. Either extreme lessens the chances of success When the price of certain crops is very low then live stock usually becomes desirable. However, if the returns per animal are poor, cash crops even at a low price are essential. A well balanced business insures against losses and provides a much better utilization of the labor and equipment.

In localities where soy beans or rowpeas are grown extensively, experience has shown that the price of the seed on the home market holds up well so long as there is local demand enough to take all the seed grown, but faUs to about $1 a bushel when it becomes necessary to Bbip to find a market.

The silo has become a great factor in dairy success, . __ ..