1013 



MUSTELID.E. 



MUSTELID^E. 



1014 



Mutela Furo, Linn. ( Viverra Fv.ro, Shaw), the Ferret. Yellowish, 

 different parts being more or less white, for the long fur is partly 

 white and the short almost entirely yellow ; eyes pink. Length of 

 head and body 14 inches ; of the tail 5 inches 6 lines. This is Le 

 Furet of the French. It is a native of Africa, but is domesticated 

 in Europe. It is often regarded as a domesticated variety of the 

 Polecat. 





Ferret (Mvatela Furo). 



The Ferret was well known to the ancients ; and it appears that it 

 was used by them much in the same manner as it is employed in the 

 present day. Its use in Spain is noticed by Strabo (iii. p. 144, ed. 

 Casaub.), and Pliny (' Nat. Hist,' viii. 55) speaks of its services under 

 the name of Viverra, in hunting rabbits, by entering their burrows 

 and ejecting them, o that they were taken when they bolted out. 



Its habits are similar to those of the European Weasels, but more 

 bloodthirsty. Capable of a certain degree of tameness, it seldom, if 

 over, becomes attached, and is a dangerous inmate unless properly 

 secured. It has even been known to attack and cruelly lacerate an 

 infant which bad been left unguarded in its cradle, and with such 

 ferocity that after it had been driven away the cries of the tortured 

 child brought it from its hiding-place, eager to renew the attack. 



This species, whose whiteness and red eyes may probably be the 

 result of a long period of domestication, cannot bear cold, and 

 should be kept warm to ensure its healthy condition. It is said 

 to breed twice a year in a state of domestication, unless it devours 

 its offspring, which it sometimes does, and then it has three litters. 

 The gestation of the female continues six weeks, and she then 

 produces generally six or seven young sometimes nine. These are 

 blind for a month, and at the end of two more are considered fit for 

 service. 



Ferret* should be kept in tubs or small boxes ; and cleanliness is 

 very essential to their health and strength. To enter them, they 

 should, when the rabbits are half grown, be sent into the burrow with 

 a line tied round them and unmuzzled. When the ferret seizes a 

 rabbit the line should be gently pulled and the ferret drawn back, 

 holding the rabbit in its mouth. This mode can only be prac- 

 tised where the burrows run comparatively straight and near the 

 surface. .. 



Ferrets should not be fed before they are taken to the warren, for it 

 they are filled with food they will not hunt, but lie sleeping in the 

 burrows for hours. Before they are turned in they should be muzzled 

 or coped, there being no necessity for the inhuman practice of sewing 

 up the ferret's mouth. 



The following has been recommended as the best method ot 

 coping' : Tie a piece of soft string round the neck of the ferret, 

 close to the head, and leave two rather long ends. Tie another piece 

 round the under jaw, pass it under the tongne, bring it round over 

 the upper jaw, and there tie it, leaving the ends long. The mouth 

 will thus be kept closed. Then bring the four ends together, and tie 

 them in one knot on the top of the head : this makes all safe. No 

 pain is inflicted apparently by this operation, for the ferret thus coped 

 hunts as eagerly as if it were unmuzzled. 



Daniel hi his ' Rural Sports,' thus describes the method of ferret- 

 ing " The ferret is coped or muzzled, and a small bell tied round 

 his neck ; and after the holes are as silently as possible covered with 

 purse-nets, called 'flans,' the ferret should be put in the windward 

 side of the burrows, where the person should also place himself, and 

 observe the utmost silence, otherwise the rabbits will retreat to their 

 lower earths and be scratched to death before they will bolt. Hay 

 nets are however chiefly used by experienced warreners, who are loth 

 to turn ferrets into burrows, which invariably give the rabbits a 

 dilike to them." The mode of using these hay nets is then 



atM Five toes on each foot, united up to the last phalanx by 

 a very narrow membrane ; claws, proper for digging, very large on the 



fore feet, moderate on the hind feet. Tail rudimentary. Pupil 

 round ; no external ear ; four pectoral and two inguinal mammae. 



Dental Formula : Incisors, -; Canines, -ZH ; False Molars, -^- ; 

 6 1 1 3 3 



Flesh-Cutting Molars, lui ; Tuberculous Molars, lul =34. 



M. meliceps. Agreeing in size generally with the polecats of Europe 

 and America. Eyes placed high in the head, resembling those of a 

 hog, which animal is called to mind by the appearance of this species ; 

 eyelids rigid, well provided with minutely-bristled eyebrows ; irides 

 dark, pupil circular; ears nearly concealed by hair, but provided 

 externally with an oblong concha surrounding the posterior part, and 

 passing the lower extremity of the meatus auditorius, forming a small 

 curve inward ; no perceptible whiskers, a few long straggling hairs on 

 the upper lip. Fur composed of long, delicate, closely-arranged hairs, 

 silky at the base, and forming a warm coat. Colour blackish-brown, 

 more or less intense on every part of the body, except the crown of 

 the head, a streak along the back, and the extremity of the tail, which 

 are white, with a slight tinge of yellow, but in some individuals the 

 streak is interrupted. The brown colour is generally lighter on the 

 abdomen, and is subject to variations generally from grayish-brown 

 to deep brown with a sooty tint ; the- last the most common. Tail 

 scarcely half an inch long, the hairs projecting above an inch from 

 the body. Limbs short and stout ; feet plantigrade ; claws united at 

 the base by a thick membrane enveloping this part as a sheath: 

 those of the fore feet nearly double the size of the hind feet. Two 

 glands of an oblong form, about an inch long and half an inch wide 

 near the extremity of the rectum, furnished with an excretory duct 

 nearly half an inch long, which communicates with the intestine. 

 Fluid secreted by the glands perfectly analogous in odour to that 

 secreted by several species of Mephitis in America, particularly to that 

 of Mephitis striata, Fisch. Length of body and head, from extremity 

 of nose to root of tail, 1 foot 2| inches ; of naked tail, half an inch ; 

 of tail, with hairy covering, 2 inches. (Horsf.) 



Skull of Mydaus melwept, (profile). Eorsfield. 



Teeth of Mydaus meliceps, 

 a, upper jaw, seen from be.ow ; o, lower jaw, seen from above. Horsfleld. 



frofile of the head of Mydaut meiictpt. 



