THE WEASEL. <)5 



with a kind of fold, which gives the creature the ap- 

 pearance of having two pair. 



Diminutive as the weasel is in. size, it is capable of 

 doing a great deal of harm ; it is an insidious enemy 

 to the farm-yard, and will even suck the blood of 

 young lambs. It is naturally a timid but untameable 

 animal, and seems to have an instinctive dread of the 

 human kind : when confined in a cage, for experiment 

 or show, it appears in a constant state of agitation ; 

 and unless there is a sufficient portion of wool or hay 

 for it to conceal itself from observation, it would soon 

 expire from alarm and fright. Like most of the spe- 

 cies, it has a foetid smell, occasioned by some glands 

 near the tail being filled with a substance resembling 

 pomatum. The female prepares an easy bed for her 

 young, and carefully lines it with hay or moss. It is 

 as great an enemy to rats and mice as it is to the 

 young fowls ; and it is always observed, that in making 

 depreciations upon a hen-house it never attacks the 

 cocks and hens ; but, with a true epicurean taste, prer 

 fers those which are delicate and young. It likewise 

 has a great fondness for eggs, and sucks or destroys 

 all that it can find. 



THE ERMIN, OR STOAT. 



The ermin, or stoat, differs from the weasel in size, 

 the body of it being about nine inches in length ; the 

 tail is always tipped with black, and, instead of fur, 

 is covered with hair. 



The fur of this little animal is highly esteemed, both 

 for its downy softness and warmth. In summer its coat 

 is of a lightish brown, but in winter becomes a cream- 

 coloured white, and at that season of the year is pecu- 



