172 MARTEN. 



its ravages. If the statements of authors be correct, 

 .lowever, it is sufficiently prolific, as it is said to have 

 several litters of five or six cubs in the year. When 

 taken young, it is capable of being tamed, when, as 

 Mr Bell observes, " the remarkable elegance of its 

 form, the beauty of its fur, and the playfulness of 

 its manners, render it one of the most pleasing o 

 pets." 



Desmarest, who distinguishes the yellow-throated 

 from the white-throated Marten, gives the following 

 account of their habits, which will be found to 

 comprise every circumstance related by our more 

 recent describers of British animals. The former is 

 "of a wild disposition, keeps at a distance from 

 human habitations, and resides in the least fre- 

 quented forests, and the thickest woods. It climbs 

 trees with facility, by means of its sharp claws, 

 and pursues birds, of which it seeks out the nest. 

 It also attacks Squirrels, Mice, and other small 

 quadrupeds. In spring it gives birth to two or 

 three young ones, which it deposits in the nest of a 

 Squirrel, after driving away or killing its owner, or 

 in the old nests of Buzzards, Owls, and other large 

 birds of prey." Of the white-throated Marten he 

 says, " It prefers the vicinity of country dwellings, 

 and even sometimes litters in the barns or hay- 

 stores. At other times it makes its abode in the 

 hole of a rock, or a hollow tree, in which it has 

 previously made a bed of moss. It produces from 

 three to seven young ones at a time, according to 

 its age, and there is reason to think that it has two 



