FOXES FOXHOUNDS & FOX-HUNTING 



kept for foumart hunting had something to do 

 with the eventual disappearance of the polecat 

 in Lakeland, but we imagine the increase of game 

 preservation rang the animal's death knell. There 

 were many local characters famous for their love 

 of hunting the foumart and otter in the old days. 

 One of these was a shoemaker named Kew, who 

 was of rather a fractious disposition. In an old 

 hunting song are the following lines : 



Wbile Jack Dockray was fratching with Shoemaker Kew 

 The otter shot off and again was in view. 

 Hark forward, my lads ! 



Turning from the polecat to the pine marten 

 or " sweet mart," we have another animal belong- 

 ing to the weasel family, although it is not a true 

 weasel. Viewed at close quarters it has a de- 

 cidedly foxy appearance, as it carries a bushy tail 

 about a foot long. In size and weight martens 

 like foxes vary considerably. An old ex-hunts- 

 man of mart hounds told us that in his day, it 

 was a good Lakeland marten which weighed four 

 pounds. A specimen killed in Ireland in 1918, 

 a female, pulled down the scales to exactly this 

 weight, its length from tip of nose to tip of tail 

 being two feet, seven inches. The head is broad 

 and the muzzle pointed, while the ears are well 

 developed ; being broad and rounded at the ends. 

 The feet are large and powerful, with considerable 

 fur between the toes. When descending the 

 trunk of a tree the marten turns its hind feet 

 outwards exactly like a squirrel. The colour of 

 the coat when the latter is at its best is a rich 

 sable brown with an under fur of reddish grey. 

 The hairs of the outer coat are of considerable 

 length and are glossy. The throat shows a 

 patch of lemon or orange colour, the shade of 

 which varies considerably in individuals. On 



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