THE SMALL E R C A R X IVOR A 



119 



bump against my boots each step I took, and come and snuggle in under my coat when I sat 

 down." 



Till R \ I ELS. 



As the mink is adapted for an aquatic diet, SO the Ratels, a link between the Weasels and 

 the Badgers, seem to have been specialised to live upon insects and honey as well as flesh. They 

 are quaint creatures, with rounded iron-gray backs, and black bellies, no3es, and feet. The 

 African kind is found in Cape Colony and East Africa, and is believed to live largely on honey 

 and bee-brood. The habits of the ratel are almost identical with those of the badger, except that 

 it is less shy and very restless. A nearly similar species of ratel is found in Southern Asia from 

 the Caspian to India. 



The ratels are strictly nocturnal, and make their lair by day in hollow trees, though they 

 arc said not to climb. The skin is protected by thick, close hair, so that bees cannot sting 

 through the fur. The skin is also very loose. If a dog bites it, the ratel can generally twist 

 round and bite back. The African ratel is omnivorous. It eats snakes and birds. The body of 

 a cobra has been found in the stomach of one. 



THE WEASF.L TRIBE. 

 The Martens. 



There are two species of marten in Europe — the Beech- and the Pine-marten. The latter 

 has a yellow throat, the former a white one. The fur is almost as fine as sable. All so-called 

 Canadian sables are really martens. These animals are found throughout Northern Europe and 

 Northern Asia, and also in Japan. It is a tree-loving animal, and feeds mainly on squirrels, 

 which it pursues through the branches. It is also fond of fruit. Mr. Charles St. John discovered 

 this in a curious way. He noticed that his raspberries were being stolen, so set a trap among 

 the canes. Next day all he could see was a heap of newly gathered raspberry leaves where the 

 trap was. Stooping down to move them, a marten sprang up and tried to defend itself. The 

 poor beast had come to gather more raspberries, and had been caught. Unable to escape, it 

 gathered the leaves near and concealed itself. 



The Sable. 



This is so little different from the marten that some have thought it only a northern variety. 

 That is not the case, as both are found in the same area, and no one who knows anything of 

 form and colour could mistake the true sable's fur. This fur is so fine and even that each 

 single bair tapers gradually to a point: that is why sable brushes for painting are so valu- 

 able: they always form a point when wet. The price of these brushes, which are of genuine 

 sable fur. though made up from fragments of the worst coloured or damaged skins, varies 

 yearly with the price of sable in the market. 



The Polecat. 



This is now probably the rarest of the European weasels. It is almost identically the same 

 as the polecat-ferret, a cross-breed between it and the domesticated variety. It is an expert 

 swimmer. Its habits are the same as those of the stoat, but it is slower in its movements. 

 It catches fish, and can pick up food from the bottom of the water. Wild ones can be trained 

 to work like ferrets. "They do not delay in the hole, but follow the rat out and catch it in a 

 couple of bounds" (Trevor-Battye). The Ferret is a domesticated breed of polecat. It is iden- 

 tical in shape and habits, but unable to stand a cold climate. 



