WOOD-DWELLERS 265 



snout, which is employed in digging. It is when 

 thus occupied, too, that the short, stout limbs are 

 seen fulfilling their end; and when no natural cavity 

 exists it is these limbs and snout that provide one. 

 Both are brought into frequent requisition when 

 digging for roots, of certain of which the badger is 

 particularly fond. Badgers are quite susceptible 

 of domestication, and a friend had a pair which he 

 led about in collars. They are possessed of great 

 affection for their young, and rush blindly into 

 danger, or even suffer themselves to be killed, in 

 attempting to rescue them. 



II 



THE WEASEL FAMILY 



THE beautiful martens take up their abode in the 

 rockiest parts of the wood where the pines grow 

 thickly. They are strictly arboreal in their habits; 

 and, seen among the shaggy pine foliage, the rich 

 yellow of their throats is sharply set off by the deep 

 brown of the thick glossy fur. With us they do not 

 make their nests and produce their young in the 

 pine trees, but among the loose craggy rocks. 

 Martens rarely show themselves till evening. They 

 prey upon rabbits, hares, partridges, pheasants and 

 small birds; and when I say that, like the rest of 



