HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE MINK. 173 



Polcat. He is long, slender, and every way shaped like him. 

 His Haunts are chiefly in the Marshes, by the Seaside and Salt- 

 Waters, where he lives on Fish, Fowl, Mice and Insects. . . . 

 These are likewise found high up in the Elvers, in whose sides they 

 live ; which is known by the abundauts of Fresh-Water Muscles 

 Shells (such as you have in England) that lie at the Mouth of 

 their Holes. This is an Enemy to the Tortoise, whose Holes, 

 in the Sand, where they hide their Eggs, the Minx finds out, 

 and scratches up and eats," — with more in the same quaint style. 



Buflbu descri-bed '' Le vison " in 1765 from a Canadian speci- 

 men in M. Aubry's museum, the same apparently that served 

 as the basis of Brisson's earlier and Pennant's subsequent ac- 

 count. Pennant indeed has also his Minx or Lesser Otter, but 

 this is simply because he did not recognize that this was the 

 same as his vison. 



Since these earlier authors, the Mink, a very common animal 

 of this country, has been frequently mentioned by writers, and 

 taken its place in all the systematic works. It has served as 

 the basis of several nominal species, but these have occasioned 

 little if any confusion, the zoological characters of the animal 

 being well marked. The only question, indeed, is as to its re- 

 lationships with the European P. lutreola. For many years a 

 specific distinctness was seldom doubted, but of late the opin- 

 ion has tended the other way. The Mink has been placed 

 alternately in the genera Mustela and Putorius^ partly owing to 

 a varying acceptation of these names by authors, partly to a 

 misconception of its dental characters. It is a true " Weasel " 

 with 34 teeth, not a Marten, which has 38. It is of larger size, 

 stouter form, and bushier tail than an average species of Pu- 

 torius, approaching in these respects to the Martens, Mustela. 

 In those points in which it is modified for its eminently aquatic 

 mode of life, namely, the half-webbing of the toes, short ears, 

 and the close set, bristly, glistening pelage, it makes an ap- 

 proach toward the Otters. In fact, the specific term lutreola, 

 '' little otter ", applied to the European form by Linn^us, is 

 highly appropriate. The non-essential modifications which the 

 animal presents have been unnecessarily made by Dr. Gray 

 the basis of a subgenus Vison. 



The peculiar odor which the animals of this genus have in 

 common attains in this large and vigorous species a surpassing 

 degree of fetor, though of the same quality. No animal of this 

 country, except the Skunk, possesses so powerful, penetrating, 



