290 



THE STOAT. 



with red than others, while occasional specimens are found in which the fur is of an exceed- 

 ingly dark brown. 



To persons who have had but little experience in the habits of wild animals, it is generally 

 a matter of some surprise that the celebrated Ermine fur, which is in such general favor, should 

 be produced by one of those very animals which we are popularly accustomed to rank among 

 "vermin," and to exterminate in every possible way. Yet so it is. The highly-prized 

 ERMINE and the much-detested STOAT are, in fact, one and the same animal, the difference in 



the color of their coats being solely caused by 

 the larger or- smaller proportion of heat to 

 which they have been subjected. 



In the summer time, the fur of the Stoat 

 by which name the animal will be desig- 

 nated, whether it be wearing its winter or 

 summer dress, is not unlike that of the 

 weasel, although the dark parts of the fur 

 are not so ruddy, nor the light portions of so 

 pure a white, as in that animal. The toes and 

 the edges of the ears are also white. 



The change of color which takes place 

 during the colder months of the year is now 

 ascertained, with tolerable acciiracy, to be 

 caused by an actual whitening of the fur, and 

 not by the gradual substitution of white for 

 dark hairs, as was for some time supposed to 

 be the case. 



The hairs are not entirely white, even in 

 their most completely blanched state, but 

 partake of a very delicate cream-yellow, 

 especially upon the under portions, while the 

 slightly bushy tip of the tail remains in its 

 original black tinting, and presents a singu- 

 lar contrast to the remainder of the fur. In 

 these comparatively temperate latitudes, the 

 Stoat is never sufficiently blanched to render 

 its fur of any commercial value, and the hair appears to be longer, thicker, and whiter in 

 proportion to the degree of latitude in which the animal has been taken. As may be supposed, 

 from the extreme delicacy of the skin in its wintry whiteness, the capture of the Stoat for the 

 purpose of obtaining its fur is a matter of no small difficulty. The traps which are used for 

 the purpose of destroying the Stoat are formed so as to kill the animal by a sudden blow, 

 without wounding the skin ; and many of the beautiful little creatures are taken in ordinary 

 snares. 



The object of the whitened fur of the Stoat is popularly supposed to be for the purpose of 

 enabling the animal to elude its enemies by its similarity to the snow-covered ground on which 

 it walks, or to permit it to creep unseen upon its prey. It seems, however, that many animals 

 partake of the same tinting, some of which, such as the polar bear, are so powerful, that they 

 need no such defence against enemies, and so active in the pursuit of the animals on which 

 they feed, that their success in obtaining food seems to depend but little upon color. The 

 arctic fox, which has already been mentioned, and the lemming, which will be recorded in a 

 future page, are examples of this curious mutation of color. 



Putting aside for the present the mode in which the fur changes its color, the real object 

 of the change appears to be for the purpose of defending the wearer against the intense colds 

 which reign in those northern regions, and which, by a beautiful provision, are obliged to work 

 the very change of color which is the best defence against their powers. It is well known that 



' 



b'i'OAT OK EKMINE. Mustela ermlnea. 



