106 CARNIVORA. 



STONE MARTEN. 



Mustelafoina. 

 French : Fouine. German : Stein Harder. 



The Stone Marten is called the Beech Marten in most 

 works on Natural History. It is still extensively found 

 in Em-ope — Eussia, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, 

 Greece, Turkey, Bosnia, Herzegovina being its chief 

 habitats. It is also found in Scotland, Switzerland, 

 Denmark, Ireland, and perhaps in North Wales. It is 

 probably extinct in England. It is also met with in 

 Cashmere, the North-west Provinces of India, and 

 other parts of Central Asia. The fur is harsh to the 

 touch, but it is much softer and finer in the Asiatic 

 type. This change is produced by the greater altitude 

 and lower temperature of those regions. 



The general colour of the longer hair is purplish - 

 brown, and nearly the whole of the body is of this 

 colour ; the ground or under fur is white ; the throat 

 is pure white, and marked generally like a horse- 

 shoe ; the tail, which is bushy, is from 6 to 9 inches 

 long, and is of the same colour as the body ; the tail is 

 very rarely tipped with white, and occasionally sprinkled 

 with W'hite hairs. 



The furs from Spain, Italy, and France are darker than 

 those from most other European countries: the Bosnian, 

 how^ever, excel most in richness of colour. The Russian 

 skins, although found in greater quantities, are lighter, 

 and of coarser quality. The Cashmere animal is small, 

 and of light colour. 



The tails are valuable, and much sought after. They 



