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SKUNK (probably derived from " Seecaw...

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Originally appearing in Volume V25, Page 202 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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SKUNK (probably derived from " Seecawk," the See also:
CREE
Cree name for the skunk; another See also:
FORM (Lat. forma)
form given is " seganku ") , an evil-smelling See also:

North See also:

AMERICAN

American carnivorous mammal. Its existence was first notified to See also:

EUROPEAN

European naturalists in 1636, in See also:

GABRIEL (Heb. SKns, man of God)

Gabriel Sagard-Theodat's See also:

HISTORY

History of See also:

CANADA

Canada, where, in commencing his See also:

account, he describes it as " enfans du diable, que See also:

les See also:

HURONS

Hurons appelle Scangaresse, . . . une beste fort puante," &c. This shows in what reputation the skunk was then held, a reputation which has become so notorious that the See also:

mere name of skunk is one of opprobrium. The skunks, of whom there are several See also:

SPECIES

species, arranged in three genera, are members of the See also:

FAMILY

family Mustelidae (see See also:

CARNIVORA

CARNIVORA). The See also:

COMMON

common skunk (Mephitis mephitica) is a native of North See also:

AMERICA

America, extending from See also:

Hudson See also:

Bay to the See also:

MIDDLE

middle See also:

UNITED

United States. It is a beautiful See also:

animal, about the See also:

SIZE

size of a See also:

cat, though of a stouter and heavier build, with See also:

rich lustrous See also:

black See also:

FUR (connected with O. Fr. forre, a sheath or case; so " an outer covering ")

fur, varied on the back by a patch or streak of See also:

white. The muzzle is See also:

long and pointed, the eyes are See also:

sharp and See also:

BEAD

bead-like, and the See also:

grey or white tail is long and unusually bushy. The premolars number -. The following account of the skunk is extracted from Dr C. H. Merriam's Mammals of the Adirondack Region, New See also:

York, 1884: " The skunk preys upon mice, salamanders, frogs and the eggs of birds that See also:

NEST

nest on or within reach from the ground.

At times he eats carrion, and if he chances to stumble upon a See also:

hen's nest the eggs are liable to suffer; and 'once in a while he acquires the evil See also:

HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit of robbing the hen-roost, but as a See also:

RULE

rule skunks are not addicted to this See also:

VICE

vice. Of all our native mammals perhaps no one is so universally abused and has so many unpleasant things said about it as the See also:

innocent subject of the See also:

PRESENT

present See also:

BIOGRAPHY (from the Gr. (3ios, life, and yp&4 , writing)

biography; and yet no other species is See also:

HALF

half so valuable to the See also:

FARMER, RICHARD (1735–1787)

farmer. Pre-eminently an See also:

INSECT

insect-eater, he destroys more beetles, grasshoppers and the like than all our other mammals together, and in addition to these he devours vast See also:

numbers of mice. " He does not evince that dread of See also:

man that is so See also:

MANIFEST (Lat. manifestus, clear, open to view)

manifest in the vast See also:

MAJORITY (Fr. majorite; Med. Lat. majoritas; Lat. major, greater)

majority of our mammals, and when met during any of his circumambulations rarely thinks of See also:

RUNNING

running away. He is slow in See also:

MOVEMENT

movement and deliberate in See also:

ACTION

action and does not often See also:

HURRY (or URRV), SIR JOHN (d. 165o)

hurry him-self in whatever he does. His See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary gait is a measured walk, but when pressed for See also:

time he breaks into a See also:

low shuffling gallop. It is hard to intimidate a skunk, but when once really fnghtened he manages to get over the ground at a very See also:

FAIR

fair See also:

pace. Skunks remain active throughout the greater See also:

PART

part of the See also:

YEAR

year in this region, and hibernate only during the severest portion of the See also:

winter. They differ from most of our hibernating mammals in that the inactive See also:

period is apparently dependent solely on the temperature, while the mere amount of See also:

SNOW (in O. Eng. sndw; a common Indo-European word; cf. in Teutonic languages, Ger. Schnee, Du. sneeuw; in Slavonic snieg', Lith. snegas; Gr. vi4a, Lat. nix, nivis, whence the Romanic forms, Ital. neve, Fr. neige, &c.; Ir. and Gael. sneachd; the original

snow has no See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence whatever upon their movements. " Skunks have large families, from six to ten See also:

young being commonly raised each See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season; and as a rule they all live in the same hole until the following See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring." The overpowering odour which has brought the skunk into such notoriety arises from the secretion of the anal glands. These glands, although present in all Mustelidae, are especially See also:

DEVELOPED

developed in skunks, but are so entirely under See also:

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control that at ordinary times these animals are cleanly and See also:

FREE

free from See also:

SMELL (connected etymologically with " smoulder " and " smoke ")

smell. Similar glands are possessed by nearly all Carnivora, but in the skunks are enormously enlarged, and provided with thick See also:

MUSCULAR

muscular coats.

The secretion—often propelled by the muscles surrounding to a distance of from 8 to 12 ft.—is a clear yellowish liquid, with a marvellously penetrating ammoniacal and nauseous smell. Dr Merriam writes, " I have known the See also:

SCENT

scent to become strikingly apparent in every part of a well-closed See also:

house, in winter, within five minutes after a skunk had been killed at a distance of more than a See also:

HUNDRED

hundred yards," and under favourable conditionsit may be perceived at a distance of more than a mile. Instances are also on See also:

RECORD (Lat. recordari, to recall to mind, from cor, heart or mind)

record of persons having become unconscious after inhaling the smell. The long-tailed skunk (M. macrura), a native of central and See also:

SOUTHERN

southern See also:

Mexico, differs from the typical species by having two white stripes along its sides, and by its longer and bushier tail. The little striped skunk (Spilogale putorius), found in the southern United States, and ranging southwards to See also:

YUCATAN

Yucatan and See also:

Guatemala, is smaller than M. mephitica, and marked with four interrupted See also:

LONGITUDINAL

longitudinal white stripes on a black ground. There are likewise See also:

DIFFERENCES, CALCULUS OF (Theory of Finite Differences)

differences in the See also:

SKULL

skull; and this species is also distinguished from other skunks by its arboreal habits. The conepatl (Conepatus mapurito) represents a third genus, with several species, confined to tropical and See also:

South America. In this See also:

GROUP

group there is one pair less of premolars (p. ; the build is heavier than in Mephitis; the snout and See also:

head are more See also:

pig-like, and the nostrils open downwards and forwards instead of laterally on the sides of the muzzle. (O. T.; R.

End of Article: SKUNK (probably derived from " Seecawk," the Cree name for the skunk; another form given is " seganku ")

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