84 
THE OREGON NATURALIST. 
ing atthe end. The Pine Martin lacks 
audacity and seeks the seclusion of our 
mountains for its home, the nest being 
sometimes in a tree or in the ground 
amongst the rocks left by a land-slide. It 
has not a special predilection for pine 
woods as its name would imply. The 
Conifere simply happen in its geographi- 
cal range. Itis generally found near to 
water. 
In sections where Martin are contin- 
uously hunted they are said to entirely 
disappear every few years and at such 
times not one can be taken in the traps. 
The cause of their disappearance or what 
becomes of them is a mystery but the fact 
is too well established to be disputed and 
the same is true of the Ermine-Weasel 
and the only conclusion to be arrived at is 
that it is a provision of Nature to prevent 
their total extermination. 
Martin may be easily taken with a steel 
trap baited with a bird or squirrel. 
THE MINK 
Lutreola vison 
In Oregon, Mink are so commonly seen 
and so often make their presence felt in 
the barnyard that a description would 
seem unnecessary yet not many years ago 
a white Ferret that had gotten loose, was 
shot by a residentof Portland and taken 
to a well known taxidermist to be mounted 
who pronounced it a white Mink and a 
great rarity and in due time it appeared in 
a store window labeled as such. 
Now this man had seen many Mink in 
his time probably many hundreds and had 
mounted a goodly number yet he did not 
know the unmistakable sign of a Mink 
the half webbed foot. Therefore a short 
description of this well known mammal 
may be of service to some. A full grown 
Mink will measure about eighteen inches 
aand the tail is nearly as long as the head 
and body. In shape it greatly resembles 
the weasels and by many naturalists it is 
classed in the same genus (/#/orins) but 
its aquatic habits and half webbed feet 
have led to its being placed in a sub-genus 
by itselfand named Lwtreola (little otter.) 
Mink are strictly aquatic although they 
often leave the stream or slough in which 
they live to make a raid on a_ neighboring 
farmer’s hen roost. Their natural food is 
reptiles, fish, frogs, fresh water bivalves 
and cray fish. 
The nest is in a hole in the bank of a 
stream or sometimes in a hollow log. The 
young, generally five or six are born in 
April and for the first five weeks are en- 
tirely naked and blind. The Mink is, 
without doubt, the most vicious of any of 
the American mammailia and wiil readily 
attack a man in defence of it’s young. 
When caught in a trap their fury is some- 
thing horrible to witness. 
The color of the fur ranges from a yellow- 
ish brown to almost black and this again 
has led some naturalist into dividing them 
into two species namely Z vison and L* 
nigrescens but there is no doubt that the 
difference in pelage is climatic yet the 
writer believes that when the Biological 
Explorations now being carried on by the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture are com- 
pleted it will be found that there are more 
than one species of American Mink. 
Mink are trapped in dead falls, figure 
fours and twitch-ups but the best method 
is to use a number O. steel trap. A num- 
ber 1. will do but 1% is too strong and 
breaks the bones of the leg when the ani- 
mal will knaw it off and escape. 
The place to set a Mink trap is on the 
bank of a stream close to the water and 
the way to set it is as follows. Cut a 
number of sticks about three feet long and 
drive them into the ground in a circle and 
about a half inch apart. Leave an opening 
in one stde just large enough to admit the 
open jaws of your trap. Place a freshly 
killed bird or fish in the center of the pen 
thus built and peg it down. Set your trap 
in the opening and cover it over with loose 
