THE MARTENS, POLECATS, AND WEASELS 645 



ditions after the sable toward the end of September; but, if the^istrict is nearer, 

 they wait until the first fall of snow or about six weeks afterward. If a single 

 hunter takes twenty sable skins in a season he considers himself fortunate ; but Dr. 

 Guillemard mentions that in a little-known district one party bagged upward of 

 one hundred and forty skins. The total number annually taken in Kamchatka 

 must be very large; the number exported in the year 1882 from Petropaulovski 

 (which receives the marjority) being over two thousand. The price of a single 

 sable skin in St. Petersburg ranges from nine dollars to one hundred and twenty-two 

 dollars, according to its quality and condition. The Kamchatkan peasant receives 

 an average of twelve dollars for each skin; and this he has to take out in kind. 



This species (Af. americana) is so nearly related to the pine-marten 



and the sable that there may be a question whether it should be re- 

 Marten 



garded as anything more than a variety. The long hair is very like 



that of the pine-marten, to which it is most nearly allied ; its general color being 

 more or less uniformly brown, the breast-spot yellow, and the head and ears gray or 

 whitish. 



It is found in the Hudson's Bay district, Labrador, Alaska, and other parts of 

 North America, descending on the eastern side as far south as the Adirondack 

 mountains, near New York. 



In habits it appears to be similar to the pine-marten. In the Adirondacks it 

 inhabits the evergreen forests, and is chiefly, although not exclusively, nocturnal. 

 Its food consists of partridges, rabbits, and other small Rodents, birds' eggs, young 

 birds, frogs and toads, and large insects. It is said to display a distinct preference 

 for forests of conifers, and is thoroughly arboreal, never venturing into the neigh- 

 borhood of human dwellings. Although generally gentle looking in appearance it 

 is related that when attacking animals larger than itself v such as hares, it becomes 

 as fierce in demeanor, in proportion to its size, as a tiger. When one is seen among 

 the tree tops, the hunter has but to whistle and thus attract its attention, when it 

 will afford a ready shot. 



The fur is of great commercial value; the best skins selling at about eighteen 

 dollars each. Of recent years the annual exports to England have exceeded 100,000. 

 Curiously enough, at certain periods this species becomes exceedingly scarce ; the 

 periods of scarcity recurring with great regularity at intervals of about ten years. 

 How the animals disappear is, however, unknown, since there is no region into 

 which they can migrate without the knowledge of the hunter, and none are found 

 dead. The best season for obtaining the skins is in November ; the animals being 

 generally caught in wooden traps, which are set in lines for miles across the 

 country. In spite of the incessant persecution to which it is subject, it does not ap- 

 pear that this species has appreciably diminished in number in the wilder regions of 

 its habitat. 



The largest of all the martens is the so-called fisher marten (M. 



pennanti), an animal rejoicing in a number of names both popular 



and scientific being variously designated as the "pekan," "Pennant's marten," 



"black fox," and "black cat." The two latter titles are due to the large size, 



stout build, and dark color of the animal, which in point of form may be more aptly 



