132 Transactions of tJie [Sess. 



trasting as it does with the bright black of its tail. It is the skin of 

 this lowly creature that has for ages ornamented kings, and adorned 

 alike grave judges and gay ladies. The name of Stoat, given to this 

 variety of Weasel, is said to be merely a corruption of the word 

 " stout," in reference to its robust make ; while the designation of 

 " ermine " is believed to have been given to it because Armenia is 

 suj^posed to be the country where it is most abundant. 



The question as to the cause of certain mammals and birds chang- 

 ing their varied summer colour to pure white in winter is a very 

 interesting one, and in some respects I think a very obscure one. 

 Of course, roughly speaking, it seems to be a provision .of nature to 

 assimilate the colour of the bird or animal to the snow -covered 

 ground, of which, for some months, they are to be inhabitants. This, 

 no doubt, must act as a protection to the creature itself, and also, as 

 regards the carnivora, it must facilitate their securing their prey. 

 But the question which must immediately arise is this, If Providence 

 is so kind to the Stoat, why is it so unkind to its cousin-german the 

 Weasel % No two creatures can be more alike. They are alike in 

 race, in appearance, in habits, and, I may add, in habitats. Yet the 

 Stoat is furnished with a snowy coat for winter, and the poor Weasel 

 is left out in the cold. It has been matter of discussion among 

 naturalists whether, in changing their colour to white in winter, 

 animals change their hair, or whether the existing hair becomes 

 white. This question, I think, was set at rest by Captain Eoss, the 

 famous J^orth Sea navigator. He placed a Lemming which still 

 retained its summer fur where it was exposed to a cold of 30° below 

 zero, and the result was that it became partially white on the day 

 following, and at the end of a week was entirely so. Stoats do not 

 become white all over at the same time, but break out in white 

 patches, and in passing from brown to white there is a transition 

 state when they have a j)iebald appearance. It requires a consider- 

 able amount of cold to turn Stoats white, and this winter has been 

 so mild that I do not believe there will be a single white Stoat in 

 Scotland. In a severe winter I have shot a Stoat as white as the 

 new-fallen snow I trod on, whilst on the 16th of January of a mild 

 winter I have shot a Stoat which had not in any way changed its 

 colour. I should like to try the experiment of subjecting a Weasel 

 to a cold of minus 30°, as Captain Eoss did the Lemming, to see if 

 it too Avould turn white, — but woe to the man who did so ! He 

 would have aU the anti-vivisection old ladies down upon him, who 

 would place him in an atmosphere disagreeably warm. Though fl 

 have been familiar with Stoats all my life, it is during the last nine 

 years that I have been in Islay that I have had the most frequent 

 opportunities of observing their habits. 



Stoats in Islay are only too abundant, yet there is not a single 

 Weasel in the island, which is in itself a rather singular variation in 



