BEAES 57 



To the countryman in sonth-east Surrey the name 

 "weasel" is unknown. They call the animal a "kine" 

 or "coin" — I can never be sure of the spelling, 

 because I have never succeeded in inducing any of 

 my friends to write the word, but Bell, in his ' British 

 Quadrupeds/ (2nd ed., p. 187), gives the word "kine," 

 and derives it from the French word chien. Since 

 writing the above I have heard the weasel called a 

 " keen " in east Kent, and I believe the name repre- 

 sents his powers as a keen, quick, sharp fellow at 

 killing vermin. "We have no rats in our stacks," 

 said the farmer^ " there is always a keen about." 



Marten. 



Mustela iiiartes (Linn). 



• The marten is now a rare animal in England, 

 though formerly common. As the country became 

 deforested the marten has been driven further and 

 further north, and is now practically confined to 

 north Lancashire, Westmoreland and Cumberland. 

 It is still found, but not in large numbers, in Scotland, 

 Wales, and Ireland. It is a bigger animal than the 

 stoat, the head and body together being 18 inches 

 long, and the tail, which has a bushy tip, is 13 inches 

 in length. The coat is thick and glossy, and on the 

 back is deep reddish-brown Avith a yellowish-grey 

 under-fur. The throat and chest and insides of the 

 ears are yellow and the rest of the under-surface grey. 

 Until 1879 two species of martens were thought 

 to inhabit England — the pine marten and the beech 

 marten, but naturalists have now decided that there 

 is only one British marten — Mvstcla martes (Linn), 



