HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



59 



THE POLECAT (Mustek putorius). 



ONE morning during the past summer, I was 

 taking a stroll before breakfast, when, going 

 down a "shady lane," I was amused by one of our 

 sturdy villagers shouting out as loud as his famous 

 lungs would permit him. " A fitchett," " a fitchett," 

 " a fitchett just gone down the marsh." Thought I, 

 what can the man mean ? Acting upon the thought, I 

 stopped him to inquire, when. I was roughly answered, 

 "A fitchett dunno' ye know ; well, then, I canna' tell 

 ye." Of course, all this was excused, for my friend 

 was quite wild with excitement. Scarcely knowing 

 for the moment what to do, I did what I conceived 

 to be the best, joined in the eager pursuit, along with 

 a score of lads and men, as fast as our legs could 

 carry us. At length panting, and out of breath, I 

 jumped with the rest over a five-barred gate, and 

 entered a meadow to find my fellow villagers pursuing 



V7 s*& 

 Fig. 57. — Polecat (Muste'.a putorius). 



a dark looking animal along a thick edge. Before 

 proceeding further in my description of this Cheshire 

 hunt (you know we are noted for hunting in the 

 cheese-making country), permit me to add by way of 

 excusing my conduct, in joining in the chase, that I 

 was really anxious to know what a fitchett was. It 

 might be a large animal, just escaped from a strolling 

 menagerie, so it was important that the village should 

 be speedily free from its presence. 



However, I at length caught a glimpse of this 

 intruder on the peace of our quiet village. It was a 

 long and elegantly shaped animal, of a rich black 

 colour along the back. The chase continued with 

 considerable excitement for almost half an hour. The 

 animal had the advantage over its opponents, by being 

 sheltered with the thick hedge bottom— it dodged 

 first to one side, then to the other, until it was 

 evidently weary ; then making a spring for liberty 



and life, it was most humiliatingly held fast with a 

 large shovel tightly laid over its loins. The next 

 question was, should it be at once killed or preserved 

 alive ? The majority voted for a kind treatment, so a 

 boy was despatched to the nearest farmhouse for a bag, 

 in which to carry it safely. To make a long story 

 short, we soon had our captive in a large barrel, 

 where it was kept for a few weeks, until it was pur- 

 chased by an exhibitor. 



I learned what I wished to know when I ' leg or 

 nothing ' joined heartily in the hunt. The fitchett was 

 a polecat, an animal not at all common in this county, 

 and I gained my knowledge, not by hearsay evidence, 

 but by my olfactory nerves, for no sooner was the 

 captive held tightly under the labourer's spade than 

 we were regaled by a most horrible stench. Talk 

 about bone-works in active operation, it is a pleasant 

 perfume when compared to the polecat ! Another 

 point was learned. The habits of this animal in 

 captivity were so similar to the ferret that I 

 have now no doubts the latter animal is a 

 domesticated polecat. Of course, by con- 

 tinued breeding in-and-in, to use a live-stock 

 phrase, it is now weakened, as well as puny, 

 compared with its original parents from the 

 "wild wood." 



I account for the common or local name 

 "fitchett" from the fact that the long shining 

 hairs are used to manufacture the brushes 

 used by artists,^ under the name of fitch, or 

 fitchet ; we thus perceive the name is not far- 

 fetched. The colour of the polecat is a 

 deep blackish-brown ; the head, tail, and 

 feet almost black ; the under parts yellowish, 

 the ears are edged with white, with a whitish 

 space round the muzzle. The hair is of two 

 kinds, — a short woolly fur which is pale 

 yellow, or somewhat tawny, and long shining 

 hairs of a rich black, or a brownish-black 

 colour, which are most numerous on the 

 darkest parts. 

 For the unpleasant odour exuded from the animal, 

 we find a pouch, or follicle just under the tail, which 

 emits a yellowish, cream-like substance, of a very fetid 

 odour ; this is particularly strong when the polecat is 

 excited or irritated. It is an active little animal, 

 scarcely ever idle, and never still, except when it is 

 asleep, and it is one of the best friends a farmer can 

 have about his premises, if he can keep it away from 

 the hen-roost, for it is very partial to poultry, and 

 commits great destruction if the game is plentiful. 

 It destroys the latter solely for the brains and blood, 

 for the birds are never torn or mangled. It is how- 

 ever, indefatigable in its pursuit of rats, and its 

 presence in the rickyard is quite sufficient to drive 

 away all the vermin. 



Another local name for the polecat is te foumart" 

 by many supposed to be a corruption of foul marten, 

 in allusion to the odour it leaves behind. From its 



