FOXES FOXHOUNDS & FOX-HUNTING 



The polecat belongs to the Mustelidse and is a 

 true weasel. It is a small creature : a big dog 

 foumart — in the vernacular a " hob" — will not 

 measure more than two feet from nose to tail-tip, 

 while its weight may be about two and three- 

 quarter pounds. The female is smaller still, 

 and will weigh perhaps a pound less. Most 

 people are familiar with the big, dark-coloured 

 ferrets, known in some localities as ' ' fitchet " 

 ferrets. A wild polecat is not unlike one of these 

 ferrets, being marked practically the same, but 

 the coat is much darker and the animal itself is an 

 altogether finer creature than the domesticated 

 ferret. The colour of the polecat's coat is dark 

 brown, merging into black on the legs and under- 

 parts. The muzzle is white and a band of white 

 crosses the face above the eyes, while the ears 

 are tipped with white. Like the American skunk, 

 the foumart is provided with a sac beneath its 

 tail from which, when annoyed, it emits a greenish 

 fluid of a most repulsive odour. Anyone who has 

 had dealings with a skunk will have reason to 

 remember the frightful stink — there is no other 

 word for it — which the pretty black and wbite- 

 striped animal pours forth, when cornered by a 

 dog or caught in a trap. We have seen a dog 

 practically blinded by a charge trom a skunk's 

 " battery," and have recollections of certain of 

 our own garments which had to be burnt after 

 coming in contact with a few drops of the skunk's 

 defensive spray. It is only as a last resort that 

 the polecat emits its odour. When first alarmed 

 it arches its back and fluffs out the fur of its body 

 and tail, until it looks twice its size, accompanying 

 this action with a hissing sound. In a wild state 

 the foumart is really a very cleanly animal, and 

 in its bield, or lair, it has three apartments where 



282 



