106 BULLETIN OF THE 



" It is difficult to describe," he says, " the color of the marten fur ac- 

 curately. In a large heap of skins (upwards of fifty) which I have just 

 examined minutely, there exists a great variety of shades, darkening from 

 the rarer yellowish-white and bright orange into various shades of orange- 

 brown, some of which are very dark. However, the general tint may 

 with propriety be termed an orange-brown, considerably clouded with 

 black on the back and belly, and exhibiting on the Hanks and throat more 

 of the orange tint The ears are invariably edged with a yellowish- 

 white, and the cheeks are generally of the same hue. The forehead is of a 

 light brownish-gray, darkening towards the nose, but in some specimens it is 

 nearly as dark as the body.* The yellowish marking under the throat (con- 

 sidered as a specific distinction of the pine marten) is in some well defined, 

 and of an orange tint, while in others it is almost perfectly while. It also 

 varies much in extent, reaching to the forelegs on some occasions. At 

 other times it consists merely of a. few spots, while in a third of the specimens 

 under consideration it is entirely wanting." In respect toother charac- 

 ters he observes: '-The tail is considerably less than half the length of 

 the body generally, though it is sometimes longer ; it is well covered and 

 tolerably busby. The feet are comparatively large, densely covered with 

 short woolly fur, mingled with stiller hairs, which prevent the naked balls 

 from being visible in winter, though they are distinctly so when the animal is 

 in summer pelage." f Respecting the seasonal changes he says: "When 

 casting its hair the animal has far from a pleasing appearance, as the under 

 fur falls off, leaving a shabby covering of the long, coarser hairs, which 



have then assumed a rusty tint After the fall of these long hairs, 



and towards the end of summer, a fine, short fur pushes up. When in 

 this state the pelage is very pretty, and bears a strong resemblance to a 

 dark mink in its winter coat." He further observes : " In summer, when 

 the long hairs have fallen off', the pelage of this animal is darker than in 

 winter. The forehead changes greatly, becoming as deeply colored as any 

 other part of the body, which is of an exceedingly dark brown tint on the. 

 back, belly, and legs. The yellow throat markings are much more, distinct 

 at this season, but vary much both in color and extent, though in only our 

 summer skins are they entirely wanting." Mr. Ross also adds, that the 

 martens of the Mackenzie's River district " bear a greater resemblance to 

 the sable of Eastern Siberia than to the martens of Europe, holding, as it 

 may be with propriety said, an intermediate position." 



Dr. Gilpin, in bis paper on the Nova Scotian Mammals already cited, 

 has the following remarks on the variations presented by different indi- 



* Tin' italicizing in these quotations is my own. 



f This may explain the differences in the hairiness of the soles pointed out by differ- 

 ent authors, ami claimed as a distinctive character of considerable importance. 



