178 CARNIVORA FISSIPEDIA. 



color at the top, with a reddish grey tint to the under coat, 

 and a white, yellowish or bright orange patch on the 

 throat. The soles of the feet have a thick coat of fur be- 

 tween the bare pads. This animal is arboreal in its habits 

 and averse to the open country, but remains in the bosom 

 of the forest ranging through the thickets, or creeping 

 from branch to branch of the towering trees, where its 

 sharp claws aid it in procuring a firm hold. "When domesti- 

 cated it is said Pine Martens will eat fruit, but in their 

 natural state they subsist entirely upon mice, rats, moles, 

 and poultry ; and in the neighborhood of the sea they sup- 

 plement this diet with mussels. They can be domesticated 

 and taught to eat fruit. 



The skins of the Pine Martens, like those of the Sable, 

 are used principally either in the natural color or dyed 

 for the manufacture of muffs and neck pieces. When 

 blended it is hard to distinguish the fur of the Pine Mar- 

 ten from that of the Sable; in fact even in their natural 

 color it is sometimes difficult for any one but an expert to 

 tell some of the finer skins from Hudson Bay Sable. 



BEECH MARTEN. 



The white-breasted Beech or Stone Marten (Mustela- 

 foina), is much more common than the Pine Marten; in- 

 habiting the whole of central Europe, parts of 

 European Russia, Asia Minor, and some sections of North 

 America. Although a frequenter of woods and trees this 

 animal is more often found among rocks and stones, and 

 has therefore been called stein-marder, or stone marten, by 

 the Germans. The fur is coarser than that of the other 

 Martens and different in color ; the roots of the fur being 

 of ash color, the middle of chestnut and the points black, 

 giving to the whole a greyish brown effect. The Turkistan 

 and Afghanistan skins have beautiful, long, glossy black 

 top hairs and very pale ashy under fur. They were once 

 regarded as belonging to a distinct species, but are now 

 considered a variety of the foina. The Beech Marten is 

 bolder than the other members of its family, being fre- 

 quently found in the neighborhood of human habitations, 

 and sometimes even making its nest in an old barn or 



