53G DIGITIGRADE CAEXIVORA. 



Those that are provided with but a single bhmt-molar 

 behind the Lacerator, form a very natural family, 

 distinguished by the name of Vermiform Carnivora, or 

 in English Vermin {Vermes, a tvorm), on account of 

 their Ibng slender bodies and short legs. They have 

 five toes on all their feet, and exhale an odour, more 

 or less strong, which proceeds from a liquid furnished 

 by two glands situated under the tail. Although of 

 small dimensions, these animals are very cruel, and 

 live principally upon the blood of their victims. To 

 this group belong the Martens, Polecats, Skunks, and 

 Otters. 



The Polecats (Putorius) are the most sangiiinaiy of 

 all ; their head is round, and their short muzzle extends 

 beyond their mouth ; their ears are rounded, and much 

 wider than long, their fur is thick and soft, their tail is 

 long, and the glands beneath it secrete a horribly stinking 

 fluid. Their mode of life is solitary and nocturnal. 

 They are found both in the Old and New World. 



Tlie Common Polecat (Mustela putorius) is brown, with yellowish 

 flanks, and white spots on the head ; it is fifteen to eighteen inches 

 in length, exclusive of the tail, which is six inches long. It takes 

 up its abode in the tbatch of barns, and other unfrequented places, 

 from which it sallies fortli at night in search of prey ; it glides into 

 poultry yards, and mounts into dove-cotes, where, without making- 

 much noise, it commits sad havoc, biting off" the heads of the sleeping 

 birds, and carrying them away. In the country these animals 

 destroy great quantities of game ; they establish themselves in 

 rabbit-burrows, in clefts of rocks, or in the trimks of hollow trees, 

 whence they come forth by night to prowl in the fields. In the 

 woods they seek the nests of partridges, and even climb trees in 

 search of prey ; they devour rats, moles, and field mice, and wage a 

 constant w^ar against rabbits, which they pursue into their holes. 



The Ferret (Mustela furo) very much resembles the Polecat, but 

 its body is more elongated and slender, its head narrower, and its 

 muzzle more pointed ; its colour is a dun or yellowish-brown. This 

 animal is originally from Barbary; it has become naturalized in 

 Spain ; but in this country it is only domesticated. It is emi^loyed 

 to hunt rabbits. When let into a rabbit burrow, it is muzzled, 

 tliat it may not kill the rabbits in their hole, but only compel 

 them to come out, when they are caught by a net placed at the 

 entrance. 



The Weasel (Mustela vulgaris) is of a chestnut-brown colour 

 above, white below, and in lengtli about six inches, with the ad- 

 dition of an inch and a half for the tail. In its general habits it 

 resembles the Polecat, and is equally destructive to poultry and 

 game. In winter it usually takes up its abode in granaries, or 



