646 THE CARNIVORES 



compared to a fox than to a weasel. It measures from twenty-four to thirty inches 

 from the tip of the snout to the root of the tail. Its general color is blackish brown, 

 becoming gray on the head and neck ; while the throat is distinguished by the ab- 

 sence of the light-colored patch distinctive of all the other species. It ranges over 

 the greater part of North America, as far northward as Alaska and the Great Slave 

 Lake, while to the southward it is found in the upper part of Texas and about lati- 

 tude 35. Continual hunting has, however, exterminated the animal from the more 

 settled districts of the United States east of the Mississippi. 



Dr. Hart Merriam observes that ' ' the name of fisher is somewhat of 

 a misnomer, for these animals commonly frequent deep swamps and 

 wooded mountain sides, away from the immediate vicinity of water, and are not 

 known to catch fish for themselves as do the mink and otter. However, they are 

 fond of fish, and never neglect to devour those that chance to fall in their way. 

 They prey chiefly upon hares, squirrels, mice, grouse, small birds, and frogs, and 

 are said to eat snakes. They also catch and feed upon their own congener, the 

 marten, and make a practice of devouring all that they discover in dead-falls and 

 steel traps. ' ' It also appears that porcupines compose a considerable proportion of 

 their food in some districts; specimens being sometimes killed with numbers of 

 porcupine quills in their skin and flesh. Curiously enough, these needle-like quills, 

 which often exceed two and one-half inches in length, seem to cause it but little or 

 no inconvenience. Instances are recorded where the fisher marten has attacked and 

 routed such a comparatively-large animal as the raccoon. 



In its chiefly nocturnal and largely arboreal habits the fisher marten resembles 

 most of the other members of the group; its agility in the forests is, however, very 

 remarkable and when much frightened, or in pursuit of prey, it has been known to 

 leap from tree to tree. The nest is usually built in the hole of a tree at a great 

 height above the ground; the young being generally from two to four in number, 

 and produced at the end of April or beginning of May. 



The fisher marten is trapped for its skins in the northern parts of America from 

 October till May, those captured in the early part of the season being in the best 

 condition. The fur is not nearly so valuable as that of the American marten; the 

 usual price being about a dollar and a half per skin. In the European markets the 

 fur is generally known as the Virginian polecat. 



Readily distinguished from all the other species by its more brilliant 

 coloration, and the greater relative length of the tail, which is fully 

 equal to two-thirds that of the head and body, the Indian marten (M. flavigida) is 

 the handsomest member of the group. The soles of the feet are, moreover, at least 

 partially naked, although this characteristic is less marked in Himalayan specimens 

 than in those from more easterly regions. 



The fur is generally short, although longer in the Himalayan than in other 

 examples, and has a thick, woolly under-fur during the winter. There are two 

 varieties of this animal, one of which is more brightly colored than the other. In 

 the former, or common Indian type, the upper part of the head and neck, the rump, 

 the tail, and the limbs, are either glossy blackish brown or black; while the middle 

 of the back is of a paler brown, sometimes with a whitish tinge. The chin and 



