MA RTE N. 



usti in the grsttid commerce and accommodation of 

 the world. It may be said that the furs of Siberia 

 and Canada are "luxuries." But we ask, what is 

 meant by a luxury, if the thing alluded to contributes 

 to human enjoyment, and the possessor can afford it? 

 If these two conditions are involved in it, everything 

 .is a necessary of life, and sable and ermine are just 

 as much so to one who can afford them, as rags are 

 to a beggar, or as the wool on its own back is to a 

 sheep. It is often thought, and not unfrequently 

 said, that the possession of such misnamed luxuries 

 as those to which we are alluding, produces envy 

 and discontent in all who cannot afford them, and 

 tempts many to endeavour to obtain them by impro- 

 per means. This, however, is the vice of the parties, 

 and not the fault of the things complained of. There 

 is an honest way of getting at them, and that is " to 

 win them," and there is or ought to be the greater 

 struggle for improvement, in proportion as there is 

 more to be won. The fable, and though it is a fable 

 it has a moral, says that the mighty Macedonian sat 

 him down and cried when the world was won ; but 

 it will be remembered that he was bold, and ven- 

 turous, and cheerful, during the winning of it. The 

 moral of this fable is, that while there is anything 

 to be won we ought never to abate our cheerfulness, 

 or slacken the hand of our industry ; and really, 

 ; in the natural view of the case, the man who has least 

 .has the vantage ground in this respect. 



We have thus endeavoured to show not only that 

 the martens have a use and an important use in na- 

 ture, proportionate to their numbers and to their 

 general distribution over the earth ; but that they 

 are valuable to man in many respects. Some races 

 which will not quit, but rather which come and mul- 

 tiply, in proportion as man cultivates, are useful in 

 the direct preservation of his property from enemies 

 against which he himself has no defence. Others 

 again find employment and furnish wealth, and the 

 wealth so furnished, if contemplated in the proper 

 .spirit, ought, as all wealth ought, to be converted into 

 .a stimulus to intelligence and industry in those who 

 .possess it not. 



This is the most important light in which we can 

 view any production of nature, and consequently it is 

 the light in which we ought to view it, and if we do 

 not view it in this light we deceive and degrade our- 

 selves. The express declaration of One whose word 

 admits of no question is, that the dominion of the 

 whole is given to man for his use : " Replenish the 

 earth, and subdue it : and have dominion over the 

 fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over 

 every living thing that moveth upon the face of 

 the earth." This grant is universal free to all, ac- 

 cording as their capacity may enable them to avail 

 themselves of it ; and in virtue of this it follows that 

 whenever anything in nature is endowed with great 

 activity and power, this activity and power can be 

 made greatly useful to man, and man stands con- 

 victed of " burying his talent in the earth," if he does 

 not avail himself of them to the full extent. 



We have shown that the martens are remarkable for 

 their energy and activity, and having done so we 

 shall now proceed to a brief notice of the three genera, 

 which it is our more immediate business to explain. 



The three sections of these animals as established 

 by Cuvier are Pulorius,the polecat; Mustcla ; and 

 Mephitis, the offensive-smelling animals of South 

 America, which have no common English name. 



PUTORIUS. The animals of' this genus; though by 

 no means the most handsome, are the most sangui- 

 nary of the whole. Their carnivorous tooth in the 

 lower jaw has no tubercle in the inner side ; their 

 tuberculous teeth in the upper jaw are broader than 

 long, and they have two false molars above and three 

 below. Externally their muzzle is shorter and thicker 

 than that of the martens, properly so called, and this 

 shortness and thickness of the muzzle in a carnivorous 

 animal, always indicates an accession of carnivorous 

 character. They do not bear so striking a contrast 

 to the martens in this respect as the cats bear to the 

 dog, and there is not so much difference in their cha- 

 racters, but still there is enough for entitling them to 

 be considered as a separate genus. The species are 

 numerous, and distributed over many parts of the 

 world ; and the individuals in most of the species are 

 abundant, 



Common Polecat (P. communis). The polecat is 

 one of the most common of the genus, and also one 

 of the most powerful and the most mischievous, while 

 its fur is of very little value, and its flesh so rank as 

 to be rejected even by hungry dogs. Generally 

 speaking, it is about a foot and a half long, and the 

 tail is about half a foot more. Its general colour is 

 brown, passing into yellowish on the flanks, and with 

 some white spots on the head. It is a very active 

 and nimble animal, and remarkable for its boldness. 

 Its body is long but its legs are short, and therefore 

 while it is running its belly appears to touch the 

 ground. It can leap to a great height and distance 

 for its size ; and when it leaps for the purpose of 

 seizing its prey, it hits a mortal part with the certainty 

 and the force of a javelin well directed, so that when 

 a rabbit, or even a hare is killed by a polecat, only 

 one feeble shriek is uttered by the victim. It climbs 

 walls with great facility, and no animal is better 

 adapted for getting over rough ground, through brakes, 

 or through crevices in walls and holes in fences, 

 which one would scarcely deem large enough for 

 admitting a rat. It can also upon emergency climb 

 trees ; and, indeed, there is no animal which can so 

 readily find access to all sorts of places. In case of 

 necessity it can subsist upon rats and mice ; but in 

 general it prefers game of a higher description, and 

 is not very particular as to the kind. It is very de- 

 structive of hares, and still more so of rabbits, which, 

 as they are social and hares are solitary, are its 

 favourite prey. Those who have rabbit-warrens 

 endeavour to destroy polecats by every scheme they 

 can invent, indeed it is< understood that a single 

 polecat would in time desolate a warren, because if it 

 finds plenty of prey it merely sucks the blood, and 

 eats the brain of one victim and then passes on to 

 another ; and in this way it will destroy a great num- 

 ber in the course of one day. It is very apt to infest 

 the neighbourhood of houses, where it prowls nightly 

 for such prey as it can find access to. In the poultry- 

 yard, or in the pigeon-house, it is equally destructive 

 as it is in the rabbit-warren ; and, if it can find no 

 other prey, and these are accessible, it will contrive 

 to plunder bee-hives of their honey. In places where 

 there are many rabbits and poultry, and also slovenly 

 hedges and brakes to afford it cover, it is a perfect 

 pest to the farmers. It is very daring, and will not 

 hesitate to take up its abode in barns, hay-lofts, and 

 other places, the possession of which it defends as 

 resolutely as if they were its own property. In the 

 summer season it often frequents brakes and copse* 



