PINE MARTEN. 65 



an interesting story in this connection which illustrates the 

 Marten's cleverness in hiding. He says : " I saw in my garden 

 in Inverness-shire that some animal came nightly to the rasp- 

 berry bushes ; the track appeared like that of a rabbit or hare r 

 but as I also saw that the animal climbed the bushes, I knew 

 it could be neither of these. Out of curiosity, I set a trap for 

 the marauder ; the next morning, on going to look at it very 

 early, I could see nothing on the spot where I had put my trap 

 but a heap of leaves, some dry and some green ; I was just 

 going to move them with my hand, when I luckily discovered 

 a pair of bright eyes peering sharply out of the leaves, and 

 discovered that I had caught a large Marten, who, rinding that 

 he could not escape, had collected all the leaves within his 

 reach, and had quite concealed himself under them. The 

 moment he found that he was discovered, he attacked me most 

 courageously, as the Marten always does, righting to the last. 

 I had other opportunities of satisfying myself that this animal 

 is a great fruit-eater, feeding much on the wild raspberries, 

 and even blackberries, that grow in the woods." It also robs 

 beehives of their honey. 



The female Marten forms a nest of grass among the rocks, 

 in a hollow tree, or utilises an old crow's nest by relining it, 

 and produces a litter of four or five -sometimes varied in 

 number from two to seven and there are at least two litters 

 each year. The young are exceedingly pretty and are easily 

 tamed ; though a captured adult is savage and untameable. 



The dentition of the Marten is : i , c \, p , m I = 38. 



Cuvier divided the Linnean genus into two subgenera, 

 Mil stela and Putorius, the first. Martens and Sables, 

 possessing an additional small premolar on each side of the 

 jaw ; the second including the Polecats, Stoats, and Weasels. 

 At a later date Nilsson called these subgenera genera, sub- 

 stituting the name Maries for the Martens and giving that of 

 Mnstela to the Weasels. This has the effect of making the 





