of the British Mustela. 203 



some time after she passed again in the contrary direction, as 

 if pursued and somewhat wearied. This roused his attention ; 

 and, after a minute or two, he observed a large weasel, or 

 stoat, following the hare, with its head to the ground like a 

 hound. The hare and the weasel passed and repassed 

 several times, and every time the poor hare seemed more 

 exhausted, until at last he heard her scream, and, running to 

 the place, he found the hare lying struggling, and nearly dead, 

 and the stoat running off. He found her enemy had seized 

 her between the ears, and bit her into the brain ; the way in 

 which it is said in this country that they always kill hares 

 and rabbits, and in which ferrets, when not muzzled, kill the 

 latter. 



The Marten (M?isteia foina) is likewise a general depre- 

 dator, and a ruthless bird's-nester, as he climbs trees with 

 any bare-headed ragamuffin that ever shammed headach in 

 the blithe month of June, that he might leave school for the 

 woods. Sometimes, in the Highlands, where it is common, 

 it takes to killing lambs, and makes sad havoc. It is there 

 called tuggin, for what reason I do not know, as the word is 

 Gaelic. Luckily it is now nearly rooted out in the south of 

 Scotland ; but it may probably return, as roes are doing, since 

 the country began to be more covered with woods. 



Itsjlrst Cousin, the Polecat, or Foumart (Mustela Putbrius), 

 is a fisher at times, and somewhat of a Frenchman in his 

 tastes ; and seems above all things to prefer frogs. But to 

 put this beyond dispute, I must, with your leave, tell another 

 story or two, if I may not be thought garrulous. Yet I am 

 encouraged by the great interest that your correspondents 

 evidently take in whatever relates to this genus. 



It was, no matter how many years ago, that I observed, 

 one winter morning, the track of a foumart among the snow, 

 about the side of the burn that passed close by the house. 

 Being thoroughly acquainted with the footprints of all wild 

 animals, and fond of tracking them, I waited until one of my 

 father's shepherds came home for his " parritch," and we 

 started in pursuit, determined to track the foumart to his 

 hole, wherever that might be, for it was a glorious day for 

 the purpose, dead calm, with a clear sky, and just " a grymin 

 o' a new fa'n snow." The creature doubled here and there, 

 backwards and forwards, along the banks of the stream, 

 sometimes ascending one of the boggy rills to its source, and 

 returning by another to the main stream. We well knew 

 we had no way of threading the mazes of the indefatigable 

 creature's track, but by carefully observing when he left the 

 sides of the burn, and then following it. In this way we had 



