CHAPTER XXX. GROUND VERMIN. 



THE MARTENS. 



WE advisedly take the beech and pine martens 

 together ; because there seems to be some difference 

 of opinion amongst naturalists as to whether the distinction 

 which gamekeepers, trappers and sportsmen in general 

 make between the white and yellow-throated martens is 

 really a distinction of species or one of a common variety in 

 the colour of different animals of one species. The chief 

 apparent difference between the two animals is in the 

 colour of the throat which in the pine marten is of a dirty 

 yellow, while in the beech marten it is white. But, besides 

 these apparent differences, there seem to exist many in the 

 habits of the two animals which should go far to prove the 

 existence of two species of the marten in the British 

 Isles, at all times a scarce and little-noticed animal, 

 but slightly known in England and rarely captured. Shy 

 and wary, the pine marten never seeks to intrude upon 

 the sight of man, and fearing to approach dwelling houses 

 or other frequented places, it has not obtained the reputa- 

 tion of being a destructive creature, nor is its existence 



