332 



MUSTELA AMERICANA, (Turton). 



THiiJ SABLE OR MARTEN. 



Specific Character. — Legs and tail blackish. General color reddish yellow, 

 clouded with black ; above becoming lighter towards the head, which is some- 

 times white. A broad yellowish patch on the throat, widening below so as to 

 touch the legs. Central line of belly sometimes yellowish. Tail vertebraj, about 

 one-third the head and body. Outstretched hind feet reach about to middle of 

 the tail, with the hairs. Feet densely furred. 



The body is stouter than that of the ermine or weasel. Head somewhat 

 depressed, acute, and broader than might be looked for, with so lengthened a 

 skull. 



The ears are large and thickened, both sides densely coated with short vel- 

 vety hairs, overlaid by stiff longer ones, which do not extend to the margins of 

 the ears. The tail is nearly two-thirds the length of head and body. The legs 

 are short and robust, the feet densely coated with fur. The balls of the toes are 

 naked and the claws distinctly visible, though inserted among stiff hairs as long 

 as themselves. 



The fur is very full and soft, with many long coarse hairs interspersed. It 

 is difficult to give an accurate idea of the colour, owing: to the variation in different 

 parts of the body. 



On the upper parts and sides generally, the hair is of a rusty red colour, which 

 is gradually merged into a brownish ash, becoming still lighter and lighter, until 

 the tints about the head are very pale, sometimes almost white. 



Habitat. — New England eastward to the Pacific coast, northward to the 

 Arctic coast, including Ontario. 



Average Size. — Equal to that of a very large ferret. 



Average Weight. — 4 pounds. 



Average Height. — G inches. 



Average Length. — 21 inches ; nose to tail, 16 inches ; tail, 5 inches. 



Value of Fur. — Per skin, average $1 to $1.50. 



The body of the sable is stouter than that of the weasel. 



The head is somewhat depressed, acute, and broader than might be looked 

 for. 



The ears are large and thick, and densely coated with short velvety hairs 

 overlaid by stiff longer ones which extend to the margin of the ears. 



The tail is nearly two-thirds the length of the head and body, the legs are 

 short and robust, the feet densely covered with hair, the balls of the toes naked, 

 and the claws distinctly visible although inserted among stiff hairs as long as 

 themselves. 



The prevailing tint of the tail is a lustroun black. The margins and exter- 

 nal surfaces of the ears are nearly white. 



The sable take up their abode near the banks of rivers, and their homes are 

 generally burrowed in the earth, although they are occasionally found in the 

 hollows of trees. 



The food used is partly vegetable and partly of an animal nature. 



The fur is very valuable and much sought after, but as the sable is a cau- 

 tious animal it is not easily caught and the skin supply is not large. 



The sable is not a pi-olific animal, the female producing as a rule only three 

 or four at a birth in June. 



