FAMILY MUSTELnXffi; POLE-CAT, STOAT, ETC. 215 



quadrupeds and birds, pursuing the latter to the tops of trees ; 

 some of them also resort to the water, to feed on fishes ; and it is 

 said that they have less indisposition to carrion than the other 

 members of the family, and will follow the Lion and other large 

 beasts of prey, for the purpose of feeding on what they leave. 



192. The animals of the family MUSTELIDJE are smaller, for 

 the most part, than those of the preceding group, and conse- 

 quently less formidable, as far as Man is concerned ; but they 

 are equally sanguinary in their propensities and habits, and are 

 equally destructive to the races on which they are appointed to 

 prey, the smaller mammals, with birds, reptiles and fishes. 

 From the shortness of the legs, the elongation, slenderness, and 

 flexibility of their bodies, and their gliding movements, they 

 have been not unaptly called Vermiform (worm-like) Carnivora. 

 They are silent, cautious, and creeping ; and attack their prey 

 with unflinching resolution. Having seized their victim, they 

 never let go their hold. They generally aim at the neck below 

 the ear, where they pierce the large blood-vessels with their 

 teeth ; or they fix upon the back of the head, and drive their 

 teeth through the skull. Few quadrupeds surpass them in 

 agility and address ; they bound and spring with vigour, and 

 climb trees with astonishing dexterity, traversing the branches 

 with a rapid gliding motion. Their habits are nocturnal ; and 

 they pass the greatest part of the day in their retreats, which 

 are the hollows of decayed trees, burrows, holes in walls, and 

 similar places. With the approach of night, they rouse from their 

 slumbers, and, greedy for blood, begin their prowl. A Pole-cat 

 in the neighbourhood of a farm-yard, is a direful pest ; and will 

 destroy in one night a whole brood of poultry, for the sake of the 

 blood and the brains. Most of these animals have a strong disa- 

 greeable odour; which is extremely offensive in some species. 

 Several of the most costly and beautiful furs are obtained from 

 this family ; among them those of the Sable and Ermine. The 

 Pole-cat, Stoat, Ferret, Marten, and Weasel, are British repre- 

 sentatives of this family : they strongly resemble each other in 

 structure and habits ; and all present the characters which have 

 been just detailed. The Stoat is of the same species with the 



