THE WEASEL FAMILY MARTEN GROUP. 177 



and to some extent in Labrador and Alaska, and is some- 

 times met with as far south as the Adirondack Mountains 

 in New York. It never ventures near the habitations of 

 man; and while gentle in appearance, when it attacks an 

 animal larger than itself it becomes as fierce as a tiger. 

 One strange peculiarity about the Brown Marten is the 

 fact, that while in some years as high as one hundred 

 thousand pelts are taken, at other times they are very 

 scarce; the periods of scarcity recurring at regular inter- 

 vals of ten years. 



The skins are at their best when the animal is taken 

 in November, and are worth raw from fifteen to forty-five 

 dollars each, some choice specimens even bringing as 

 high as ninety dollars. The color of the fur is brown, but 

 of a more reddish cast than that of the Russian Sable. 

 As in the case of its European cogener the value depends 

 upon the color, density and silky gloss of the top hair, 

 rather than upon the nature of the under fur. The head 

 and ears are grey, and the breast spot is yellow. 



American Martens are generally taken in wooden traps 

 set up in line by the hunters for miles across the country. 



In Labrador Martens are large and rich in fur, but 

 very scarce, the same is true of Nova Scotia. The skins 

 received from Alaska are large, but the fur is coarse 

 and light in color, occasionally being entirely white. The 

 skins from the East Maine and Fort George districts of 

 the Hudson Bay territory are the finest and darkest, 

 some of them being almost black. 



PINE MARTEN. 



The typical representative of the Martens is the yel- 

 low breasted Pine Marten (Mustela-martes). Its range 

 is in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, but 

 one species is found as far south as India and the Malayan 

 region. It has a sharply-pointed muzzle with nose ex- 

 tending far beyond the lip, and ears that are thickly cov- 

 ered with fur on both sides. The length of the body is 

 from sixteen to eighteen inches, and the bushy tail is from 

 nine to twelve inches long. The fur is of a rich brown 



