110 Polecat, Ferret, and Polecat-Ferret Hybrids 



far more nervous than ordinary ferrets. They were easily frightened, and 

 when startled would emit the horrible odour from the anal glands that 

 constitutes one of the defences of the polecat. I have only known a 

 ferret do this under stress of great fear and excitement — e.g. when 

 pounced upon by a terrier in mistake for a rat ! They also hissed at the 

 least thing. They were far quicker and had more vitality than ordinary 

 ferrets, romping and dancing together in the most delightful manner. 

 When used for rabbiting they proved almost too quick, for it was quite 

 difficult to pick up the nimble females as they darted in and out of the 

 holes. They were deadly workers, killing their rabbits in a few seconds 

 by biting them over the eyes, but never behind the ears after the manner 

 of a stoat. A male (No. 10) was a good ratter, and I have seen him chase 

 a rat that had bolted in the open. He was a great pet but had some 

 undesirable traits in his character, his genius for escaping from all 

 descriptions of cages being extraordinary. He would bite and tear his 

 way through wire netting in a very short time, an ordinary wooden cage 

 never kept him at home for long, and the only place where he was really 

 safe was a loose-box with a strong well-fitting door. In his old age he 

 climbed over a four foot pig-sty wall, made his way into a fowl-house, and 

 therein slew six cockerells. When he died at four years old his teeth 

 were the worn stumps of a very old animal. It then also transpired 

 that though so polecat-like in appearance and behaviour his skull was 

 that of a typical ferret. When placed side by side with the skull of a 

 ferret of pure ferret ancestry it resembled it in all respects, being dis- 

 tinguishable at a glance from that of a polecat. Here we have an 

 interesting case of the colour and temperament of one parent, and the 

 cranial characters of the other, being dominant in the Fx gen^ation. 



(c) Notes on the Development of the Young Hybrids. Before going on 

 to another litter of hybrids it may be worth while to give details of the 

 growth and development of the first family. They were born on June 26th, 

 1912, and on July 10th two crawled out of the nest, being then covered 

 with milk-white hair^ so short that their greyish-blue skin showed 

 through it. Their mother dragged them back into the nest at once. At 

 17 days old they had grown a great deal, were darker, and had traces of 

 the typical polecat facial markings. At 24 days old they were much 

 browner, but with yet a mane of "skim-milk" coloured hair down the 

 neck. The largest males' eyes had begun to open, and they were all 



^ Young ferrets, whether dark or albinos, and likewise young polecats, have a white baby 

 coat. They are born naked, but quickly grow a scanty covering of milk-white hair, which 

 as described above then gives place to the dark fur. 



