THE FERRET 



249 



The female has six to ten mammae : she goes with young nine 

 weeks as a rule. The pups are born blind, their eyes opening in 

 ten to tw r elve days ; their first teeth begin to shed at the fourth 

 month ; their growth ceases at two years of age. The ordinary 

 period of life is about ten to twelve years, but dogs not uncom- 

 monly live till considerably over this age, and sometimes as long 

 as twenty years. 



FERRET (Mustelo furo). Cuvier considered the ferret an albino 

 form of the polecat (M. putoria). It is a native of Barbary, na- 

 turalized in Spain, where it was introduced to rid that country 

 from the multitudes of rabbits. The colour of its whole body is 

 a pale yellow, nose sharp, ears round, and eyes red and fiery. It 

 is lively and active, and an inveterate destroyer of rabbits and 

 rats. If a dead rabbit or rat be presented to a young ferret for 

 the first time he will fly at it with great fury ; but if a young rab- 

 bit or rat be presented alive, the ferret will seize it by the throat 

 and suck its blood. The inherent tendency thus passes from parent 

 (Fig. 139) to offspring in a very decisive manner. 



FIG. 139. FERRET AND RAT. 



Great numbers of these animals are imported into or bred in 

 this country for the purpose of driving rats from buildings, corn- 

 stacks, etc., also rabbits from their burrows. In such cases the 

 ferrets are muzzled, otherwise they would destroy the rats in their 

 retreats and rabbits in their holes. The rat-catcher has dogs to 

 worry the bolted rats and the warrener places nets over bolt- 

 holes, shoots bolted rabbits, and digs out unbolted, the direction 

 being indicated by a string attached to the ferret. Where ferretting 

 has been practised, both rats and rabbits fight shy of the retreats 

 or burrows thus tainted for some time. 



The ferret breeds freely, bringing forth five to nine young ; but 



