418 



FERRET. 



Viverra Furo. V.Jlava, oculis rubicundis. 



Yellow W. with red eyes. 



Mustela Furo. M. oculis rubicundis. Lin. Syst. Nat. GmtLp. 97. 



Furo. Gesn. Quadr. 762. 



Mustela Sylvestris. Aldr. dig. 327. 



Furet, & Furet-putois. Buff. J.p. 209. pi. 2$, 26. 



Ferret. Pennant Quadr. 2. p. 40. 



OF similar manners to the Polecat is the Ferret, 

 the natural history of which has been so well de- 

 tailed by the Count de BufFon, that it is scarce 

 possible to add any thing material to that ele- 

 gant author's description. The Ferret in general 

 form resembles the Polecat, but is a smaller ani- 

 mal; its usual length being about fourteen inches, 

 exclusive of the tail, which is about five. Lin- 

 na3us, in the twelfth edition of the Systema Na- 

 turse, seems to entertain a doubt whether it may 

 be truly distinct from the Polecat : it is, however, 

 a native of Africa, and not of Europe, and sup- 

 ports with difficulty the cold of an European win- 

 ter; whereas the Polecat is found not only in the 

 temperate, but also in the colder parts of the Eu- 

 ropean regions; to which may be added, that, ex- 

 clusive of its smaller size, it is of a more slender 

 shape, and the snout is sharper in proportion than 

 in the former animal. The Ferret is used for 

 rabbet-hunting in preference to the Polecat, be- 

 cause it is more easily tamed; but it is necessary 

 to keep it in a warm, box, with wool or some other 

 substance in which it may imbed itself. It sleeps 



