- 
114 BULLETIN NO. VII. 
criminately persecuted. Ifdetected in the poultry house, there 
is some excuse for destroying it, as, like the dog that has once 
been caught in the sheepfold, it may return to commit further 
depredations; but when it has taken up its residence under stone 
heaps and fences, in his fields, or his barn, the farmer would 
consult his interest by suffering it to remain, as by thus invit- 
ing it to a home, it will probably destroy more formidable ene- 
mies, relieve him from many petty annoyances, and save him 
many a bushel of grain.” 
The same author, alluding to the Weasel’s want of shyness, 
and its ready capture in any kind of trap, continues with a 
matter that may next interest us—its relative abundance in 
different localities:—‘‘This species does not appear to be very 
abundant anywhere. We have seldom found more than two or 
three on any farm in the Northern or Eastern States. We have 
ascertained that the immense number of tracks often seen in the 
snow in particular localities were made by a single animal, as 
by capturing one, no signs of other individuals were afterwards 
seen. We have observed it most abundant in stony regions; 
in Dutchess and Ontario counties in New York, on the hills of 
Connecticut and Vermont, and at the foot of the Alleghanies 
in Pennsylvania and Virginia. It is solitary in its habits, as 
we have seldom seen a pair together exceptin the rutting season. 
A family of young, however, are apt to ,.remain in the same 
locality until autumn. In winter they separate, and we are 
inclined to think they do not hunt in couples or in packs 
like the wolf, but that, like the bat and the mink, each indi- 
vidual pursues its prey without copartnership, and hunts for 
its own benefit.”” In Massachusetts, according to Allen, it is 
comparatively common. I myselfsaw none in Labrador during 
my summer visit; but it must be quite abundant, to judge from 
the number of skins I saw in possession of the natives at various 
places. According to Richardson, ‘‘Ermine-skins formed part 
of the Canada exports in the time of Charlevoix; but they have | 
so sunk in value, that they are said not to repay the Hudson’s 
Bay Company the expense of collecting them, and very few are 
brought to the country from that quarter.’”’ Nevertheless, it 
would appear that the Ermine is much more abundant in British 
America generally than it is in the United States. Over three- 
fourths of the large miscellaneous collection of skins we have 
examined in the preparation of this article came from this coun- 
try and from Alaska. The writer last mentioned speaks of it 
as ‘‘common’’, and adds that it often domesticates itself in the 
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