THE POLECAT-FERRET. 357 
“One evening I called upon an acquaintance of mine, and found him just going to 
decide a wager respecting a large male Ferret of the polecat breed, which was to ; destroy 
fifty rats within the hour. It must be borne in mind that this Ferret was trained for the 
purpose. 
The rats were placed in a large square measuring eight or ten feet from corner to 
corner. The Ferret was put in, and it was astonishing to see the systematic way in which 
he set about his work. Some of the larger rats were very great cowards, and surrendered 
with scarcely a strugele; while some of the smaller, or three-parts-grown ones, fought 
most desperately. One of these drew my particular attention. The Ferret, in making 
his attacks, was beaten off several times, to his great discomfiture ; for the rat bit him 
most severely. At last the Ferret bustled the fi fight, and succeeded in getting the rat upon 
its back, with one of his feet upon the lower part of its belly. In this position they 
yemained for some minutes, with their heads close to each other and their mouths wide 
open. The Ferret was rather exhausted with his former conflicts, and every move he 
made the rat bit him. At last he lost his temper, and making one desperate effort, he 
succeeded in getting the rat within his deadly grasp. He threw himself upon his side, 
and drawing the rat close to him, he fixed his teeth in its neck. 
While thus engaged, a rat was running carelessly about. All at once, when near the 
Ferret, it threw up its head as if a new idea had struck it: it retreated till it met with 
another, and it was astonishing to see the instantaneous effect produced in the second. 
Off they ran together to the corner where the Ferret lay. The fact was, they scented the 
blood of either the rat or the Ferret, which in both was running in profusion. Without 
any further ceremony they seized 
the Ferret fast by the crown of the 
head, and drew themselves up for 
a comfortable suck of warm blood. 
The Ferret, feeling the smart, thought 
it was his old opponent that was 
struggling in his grasp, and bit his 
lifeless victim most furiously. Pre- 
sently he let go the dead yat and 
seemed astounded at the audacity 
of the others. He began to strug- 
gle, and they seemed quite offended 
at being disturbed at their repast. 
He very soon, however, succeeded 
in eatehing hold of one of them, 
and the other ran away ; but only 
for a few seconds. The Ferret de- 
molished the whole fifty consider- 
ably under the hour.” 
POLECAT-FERREY. 
Two kinds of Ferrets are em- 
ployed for the purpose of hunting 
game ; the one, a creamy-white creature, with bright pink eyes, and the other a much 
darker and fiercer-looking animal, which is the mixed offspring of the polecat and the Ferret. 
This is the animal which is called the Polecat-ferret in the above mentioned anecdote. 
The same author mentions several curious instances of single combat between rats 
and Ferrets, in which the latter animals were successfully resisted. On one occasion, 
when he was walking in the fields, accompanied by the tame Ferret which has already 
been described, a sharp conflict took place between the Ferret and a female water-rat 
which was defending her young. Not seeing the first attack, the owner of the Ferret 
thought that his favourite had wounded its nose against a spike, for it was bleeding 
profusely, and seemed to be in great distress. Presently, however, the cause of its wounds 
became apparent, in the person of a large rat, which darted fiercely at him from the cover 
of a bunch of grass, and with the force. ioe her spring fairly knocked him off his legs. 
