7 g THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



sheep, 15,182; lambs, 726; goats, 2,545; kids, 183; 

 swine, 4,190 ; young pigs, 312 ; dogs, 703 ; geese, 673 ; 

 fowls, 1,243." Happily, these savage brutes have been 

 extirpated from England since 1281 ; but it is stated 

 that they existed in large numbers in Scotland until 1577, 

 and in Ireland until the beginning of the last century. 



The Jackal partakes of the habits and appearance 

 of both the Wolf and the Fox ; it attacks animals smaller 

 than itself, but, as a rule, feeds on carrion and offal of 

 every description. 



Poxes differ from Dogs and Wolves by their large 

 bushy, or rather " brushy " tails, and in their muzzles, which 

 are narrower ; they resemble the Cats by their elastic 

 and comparatively light skeleton. Their eyes, too, are 

 like the Cat's, as the pupil in the day-time is a narrow 

 vertical ellipse. " As sly as a fox " is, you know, an 

 old saying, and he is cunning indeed. There arc not 

 many of them now in this country, and there would be 

 less still were it not that some are preserved to afford 

 sport for the huntsman. 



The Polecats constitute a group of the Digitigradc 

 Carnivora, called vermiform* because their bodies are 

 so very long and thin, and their legs so short. Besides the 

 common Polecat, this group comprehends the Ferret, 

 the Weasel (Fig. 39), the Ermine, the Marten, and the 

 Skunk. All of these prey on smaller animals, particu- 

 larly rats, mice, and birds; but they also feast on the 

 eggs, if they do not happen to " come across " the birds 

 themselves. In the summer the Ermine wears a beau- 

 tiful brown coat, but in winter he changes it for pure 

 white, the tail being just tipped with black. Ermine 

 is procured from most countries in Europe, but the best 

 skins come to us from Norway, Sweden, and Russia, 



* Vermes, a worm 



