168 THE PINE MARTIN. 



a Dog with which it had been bred up ; and would 

 frequently play with him, like a Cat, lying on 

 its back, and pretending to bite him. The cry 

 of these animals is very shrill and piercing; but it 

 is never uttered except when they are in pain or 

 distress. 



We are told by M. de Buffon, that the females 

 do not prepare a bed for their young, and yet that 

 they lodge them very commodiously. When they are 

 near their time, he informs us that they climb to 

 the nest of some unfortunate Squirrel, drive away 

 the owner, enlarge the dimensions of the habita- 

 tion to suit their own purpose, and there deposit 

 their offspring. Sometimes they seize, in a simi- 

 lar manner, the nests of owls, buzzards, or other 

 birds. They breed in the spring of the year, 

 and produce only three or four young ones at a 

 litter*. 



The fur of the Pine Martin is considered greatly 

 superior in fineness, beauty, and value, to that of 

 the last species. The part most in estimation is 

 that which extends along the back, from the neck 

 to the very extremity of the tail. In the northern 

 districts of America, Pine Martins are found in the 

 greatest abundance. At the Hudson's Bay Com- 

 pany's sale, in 1743, no fewer than 12,370 good 

 skins, and 2360 damaged ones, were disposed of; 



* Buffon par Sonnini, xxv. p. 102, 



and, 



