I'UTORIUS VISON. 



67 



terrible expression the animal's face assimies as the captor ap- 

 proaches. It has always struck me as the most nearly diabolical of 

 an) thint;' in animal physiognomy. A sullen stare trom the crouched, 

 motionless form o'ives way to a new look ol sur|)rise and iear, ac- 

 companied with the most violent contortions of the body, with re- 

 newed champing of the iron, till breathless, with heaving- flanks, and 

 open mouth dribbling saliva, the animal settles again, and watches 

 with a look ot concentrated hatred, mingled with impotent rage and 

 frightful despair. . . . As may well be supposed, the creature must 

 not be incautiously dealt with when in such a frame of mind." ''' 



When taken sufficiently young he is easil)- tlomesticated, and makes 

 one of the very best of " ratters." He follows these common pests 

 into their holes, and tlestro)s large mmibers of them. The remainder 

 are so terrified that the}- leave the pren-iises in great haste and are not 

 apt soon to return. 



The Mink carries a pair of anal glands that secrete a fluid of an ex- 

 tremely fetid and disgusting odor. It cannot be ejected to a distance, 

 like that of the skunk, but is poured out imder sexual excitement, and 

 when the animal is enraged. It is comn-ionly emitted when the beast 

 is trapped, and sometimes becomes insufferably sickening while re- 

 moving the skin. It is the most execrable sn-iell with which my nos- 

 trils have as yet been offended, and is n-iore powerful and offensive in 

 some individuals than in others — the difference probably depending 

 upon season and age. In one specimen the fetor was so intolerably 

 rank and loathsonie that I was unable to skin it at one sitting; and I 

 am free to confess that it is one ot the few substances, of animal, 

 vegetable, or mineral origin, that has, on land or sea, rendered n-ie 

 aware of the existence of the abominable sensation called uaiisea. 



The fur of the Mink being valuable, the species has been exten- 

 sively trapped and is consequentl}- not nearly so abundant here as 

 formerly. It is prime early in November. 



* Fur-I'.earins; Animals, 1877, p. 176. 



