MAMMALS. 59 



so cruel, are very playful, and the writer once watched 

 a group of five on the towing-path of the Canal, near 

 Shrewsbury, having a regular romp chasing each other 

 round in circles and leaping over one another with the 

 utmost grace. They kept this game up for a considerable 

 time, until some movement made them aware of a man 

 in the vicinity, when they instantly vanished through 

 the hedge. On examination, the body of a Stoat shows 

 that the animal is endowed with enormous muscular 

 strength for its size, and the length and flexibility of its 

 body account for the extreme grace and agility which it 

 displays in all its movements. Besides the animals, etc., 

 which they kill, Stoats are very fond of eggs, especially, 

 according to Mr. de Winton, " old Stoats whose teeth 

 are worn." He " took 42 Pheasant eggs from one hole 

 in May, 1894, an ^ got the skin of the old * Hob' who 

 amassed this larder." Stoats generally feed on the spot 

 where they have taken their prey. They can climb 

 trees and swim readily, and the writer knows of a case 

 where a female came down to the edge of a wide Canal 

 uttering a peculiar squeaking call ; she plunged straight 

 into the water, and was immediately followed by ten more, 

 apparently young ones, though it is hard to believe they 

 were all one family. The most marked peculiarity of the 

 Stoat is the change which takes place in the colour of its 

 coat. In cold countries the fur becomes entirely white 

 every winter, except the end of the tail, which is always 

 black. In Shropshire this change is rarely complete, 

 though all gradations are found between the pure white, 

 pied, and brown dress. In the white condition the 

 Stoat is known as Ermine, and numbers of skins are 

 imported annually from Russia and N. America to adorn 



