MAMMALS 



to be trusted not to attempt to injure him, 

 while the polecat, who knew quite well the 

 dog's amiable disposition, would come flying 

 out of a bush or other cover, springing high 

 and far, making feints at the dog's nose. 

 Some two or three times I had occasion to 

 chastise the dog while the polecat was loose 

 on the lawn. Directly he saw his friend in 

 a scrape, describing a circle as I held on to 

 his collar, the little wretch would fly at the 

 dog's tail or hind quarters, and be whisked 

 round at the outer axis of the circle. I have 

 no idea how many times the keeper who 

 then had charge of my animals came to me 

 and declared that 'Snap' had had the last drop 

 of his blood that he ever should have ; but 

 probably within a week the same declaration 

 would be repeated ; and this, time after time. 

 There was something extremely fascinating 

 about the little varmint ! On one occasion 

 when my old friend, Captain F. H. Salvin, 

 came to pay me a visit, being engrossed I 

 suppose in interesting conversation, I left 

 ' Snap ' tethered on the lawn when we went 

 indoors for dinner. During the meal I 

 recollected him, and as soon as we had 

 finished we went out after him, only to find 

 that ' Snap ' had slipped his collar and 

 vanished. I hunted the Lapland dog round 

 the various shrubberies after him, while Salvin 

 stood more or less still in the open. Presently 

 I heard a loud view hollo from him, and 

 hastening back, he told me that while stand- 

 ing quite still he was startled by ' Snap ' run- 

 ning up his leg. The view hollo had how- 

 ever apparently caused him to relinquish his 

 hold and drop, and scuttle off again into the 

 darkness. The dog however very soon found 

 him and I ' collected ' him. On some two 

 or three occasions when there were rats in 

 the cowhouse or other conveniently enclosed 

 place, I tried him in the capacity of ferret. 

 But directly he smelt rat, long before he saw 

 one, he became so demoniacal from excite- 

 ment that I was glad to catch him up in a 

 wire trap and not attempt to handle him 

 again that day. I never ventured to try him 

 at rabbits, or at rats anywhere in the open, 

 because he was such a galloper. There was 

 no running into him in a fair stern chase so 

 long as he went on, but fortunately he never 

 ran (at any rate if pressed) for more than 

 about a hundred yards (generally less) without 

 taking cover, where one got a chance of pick- 

 ing him up. He greatly appreciated being 

 carried about in one of the ' hare pockets ' of 

 one's jacket, and would often sit in it with 

 his bright little eyes looking out at the top 

 and taking in all there was to be seen. 

 Rabbits, rats and mice form unquestionably 



the staple articles of polecats' diet ; but no 

 species of bird which roosts on the ground 

 (or is otherwise to be caught there) would 

 come amiss, unless perhaps the great bustard 

 may have been in its day considered too 

 large. It may be doubted also whether swans 

 would be attacked. Hedgehogs when skinned 

 form of course good food for nearly all carni- 

 vorous animals, and the skins with their fleshy 

 panniculus carnosus and the bristles, go to my 

 polecats and hybrid stoat-ferrets, who always 

 eat them bristles and all ! Eels are much 

 appreciated, and frogs also. Polecats (in a 

 wild state) are during the autumn much in- 

 fested with ticks. 



1 6. Common Stoat. Putorius ermineus. Linn. 



Bell Mustela erminea. 



Still fairly common (and in some places 

 decidedly so) in spite of the unremitting per- 

 secution to which it is subjected in conse- 

 quence of the prevailing system of game 

 preservation, but must inevitably become 

 scarce before many more years are past. It 

 is the most douce and phlegmatic of the British 

 Mustelida, rarely showing rage in captivity, 

 the very opposite of its near relation the 

 excitable weasel. A few white examples 

 occur probably every winter, or at least when 

 there is a spell of unusually cold weather 

 before Christmas. In this county, as else- 

 where in the southern part of England, the 

 white coat is rarely perfect, but generally a 

 little colour remains on the back of the head 

 and neck. A white example was caught in 

 a wire trap at Lowgrounds farm, Great 

 Marlow, on 30 December 1877, which had 

 been seen on several previous days. A large 

 white one was shot at Turville Court in 

 December 1901 ; and stuffed white speci- 

 mens are to be seen in probably nearly every 

 parish in the county. I have been told 

 of a buff young one in a litter of ordinary 

 colour; probably this was an albino. A 

 stoat sent me by a friend from Banffshire in 

 October 1901 had, in the following January, 

 a band of white about ^ inch wide across 

 the upper jaw, just behind the naked nose. 

 About two years later, in January 1903, it 

 again had the same narrow band of white 

 across the nose, the normal white on the 

 lower side then extending considerably more 

 than half way up the flanks, and including 

 the whole of the legs, and the cheeks with 

 the insides of the ears ; and in addition the 

 rump and tail, with the exception of course 

 of the black tip of the latter, are white. It 

 seems probable, though I write under reserve, 

 as I have only recently formed the opinion, 

 and regret not having utilized all opportunities 



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