36 RAMBLES ABOUT HOME. 



fectly quiet and in hiding, I have usually been rewarded 

 by seeing the minks moving about as soon as their confi- 

 dence was restored by the absence of all signs of life in 

 or about the boat. They would come out of their bur- 

 rows, or from under large roots, and dive into the water, 

 or it might be that they carried some food from the shore 

 to their retreat. Any act of this kind, free from the re- 

 straint of fear, is in the case of all animals the most inter- 

 esting and instructive, and, were our opportunities of this 

 kind more frequent, our knowledge of animal life would 

 soon be largely increased. Important as it is to measure 

 their bones and count their teeth, most of the great prob- 

 lems of biology can, after all, only be solved by careful 

 study of animal life in its native haunts, and in an envi- 

 ronment not essentially influenced by the presence of 

 man. 



A few words as to the animals upon which the mink 

 preys. While from its quick movements and weasel-like 

 capability of stealing quickly along through tall grass, 

 without adding a tremor to a blade, the mink has 

 everything in its favor, it limits its attacks to those birds 

 that are not capable of serious resistance. In August, 

 when the marsh-meadows are teeming with the sora-rail, 

 the minks have a jolly time, and capture hundreds of 

 them, in spite of the speed at which these birds can run, 

 and of their moderate power of flight. In early summer 

 minks destroy many young ducks by seizing them by the 

 feet and drowning them, as does the musk-rat, the snap- 

 ping-turtle, and, as claimed by some, even the big bull-frog. 

 But when it comes to attacking the herons and bitterns, 

 except perhaps the least bittern, it is a question whether 

 the mink would not be at a serious disadvantage in ap- 

 proaching them. Unless they could seize these tall birds 

 by the throat, which would not be easily accomplished, 



