The great-horned owl, hoot owl, or cat owl, is the only bird that from choice will feed upon skunks. Although rabbits are abundant and easy to capture, his Owlship seems to prefer to battle against the long teeth and disagreeable odor of the skunk in order to dine upon its flesh. Nearly all owls of this species that are killed in winter are strongly scented with the skunk's odor. Notes December Seventh The two glands that hold the skunk's vile-smelling fluid are about the size and shape of a pecan nut. They are strictly _organs of protection_ and are never used except in _extreme_ cases of defence. They are situated between the skin and the flesh near the root of the tail. When brought into use, a number of strong muscles encircling them contract, and a fine spray of the fluid is thrown off; the tail taking no part in its distribution. December Eighth Snakes are not slimy and clammy; they do not cover their food with saliva before swallowing it, and the forked flexible member which darts in and out of their mouth is not a "stinger," but the tongue. They do not swallow their young in cases of danger, and they have no power to "charm," or hypnotize. December Ninth The bald-faced hornet attaches his large, cone-shaped, paper nests under the eaves of houses, in garrets, or to the limbs of trees. Collecting the minute fibres that adhere to the weather-beaten fences and buildings, the hornets mix it with saliva and make a crude quality of paper. To enlarge a nest, the inside walls are torn away and the material is used to add to the outside layer. Like bumblebees, the workers and drones die in the fall, the queen hibernating. Notes December Tenth Beautiful as the deer are and innocent as they seem, they cannot be trusted, as attendants in zoological parks can testify. A bear will seldom attack a keeper without provocation, and when he does he will usually give warning before he charges. Not so with a buck of the deer family. Greeting his best friend in the most cordial manner, he may, without warning, charge when the man's back is turned, and gore or trample him to death. December Eleventh The American eagle is more often spoken of as the "bald eagle," a name which misleads many people since the bird is not "bald" at all. The top of its head is as thickly feathered as the heads of most birds. Probably some one thought that the white head and neck made the eagle appear bald, hence the name. The birds reach the third year before the head and tail begin to turn white. December Twelfth The little striped skunk, or hydrophobia skunk of the South, West, and Southwest, is about half the size of our common skunk. It frequently goes mad and attacks people with great fury. Cowboys and other persons compelled to sleep on the ground in the open have been bitten by it and have died of hydrophobia. _It is the only_ North American animal that will deliberately _attack a sleeping person_. Notes December Thirteenth