THE MARTEN FAMILY— MARTEN GROUP. 



153 



ous, the Marten gave it a bite that broke off the 

 tail, which it ate. Then it carried the Snake into its 

 nest, from which the reptile escaped and hid in the 

 hay, but was drawn from this retreat by its adver- 

 sary. The Marten then bit off another piece of the 

 tail, but did not dare take the Snake by the neck and 

 kill it until about two hours later, when it carried 

 the dead reptile to the nest and ate it with evident 

 pleasure, but not with avidity. It had not finished 

 this meal when I threw another Snake, twenty-four 

 inches long, toward the Marten, which tried to ap- 

 proach it, but drew back frightened, as the Snake 

 resented its advance and hissed. Then I brought a 

 large Snake of another kind, freshly killed. After 

 it had become convinced that this one was dead, the 

 Marten carried it back 

 and forth and an hour 

 later ate it, head, venom- 

 ous fangs and all. Then 

 I gave it a Lizard, which 

 was greeted with a sniff; 

 the little animal hissed 

 hoarsely, nearly like a 

 Snake, opened its mouth 

 and jumped at the Mar- 

 ten about ten times. 

 The Marten evaded its 

 bites, but soon became 

 bolder, as it saw that the 

 Lizard could not harm 

 it, and after an hour 

 killed and devoured the 

 reptile. 



" This goes to prove 

 that by nature the Mar- 

 ten has no inclination to 

 kill Snakes and similar 

 animals, yet in the light 

 of this experience it is 

 not improbable, that in 

 winter, when it finds 

 them in a defenseless 

 state, it kills and eats 

 them, for it probably 

 suffers severely from the 

 pangs of hunger at this 

 time of year, as it is ex- 

 tremely voracious. 



"I wish to call atten- 

 tion to an erroneous 

 opinion that prevails 

 generally. It is com- 

 monly believed that the 

 Martens, in killing any 

 animal, always find the 

 carotid arteries and sev- 

 er them with their strong 

 teeth. This is not correct. They do seize larger 

 animals by the throat and strangle them, but with- 

 out touching the carotids ; therefore they cannot 

 suck their blood, but content themselves with lick- 

 ing the blood that chances to ooze out, and then eat 

 the animal, beginning at the neck. The larger ani- 

 mals, like Rats of good size, Chickens, etc., do not 

 have the tough, yielding skin of their necks even 

 lacerated by the Marten while it is killing them, but 

 -only when it begins to devour them. 



" While my captive Marten was little it was very 

 fond of playing with people who started the play, but 

 later on play was not advisable, for when it was grown 

 ■up it used its teeth rather freely, although without 



THE STONE MARTEN. Sometimes also called the Beech Marten, is 



distinguished by its short tail, small ears, ■white throat and beautiful, grayish 

 brown fur, darkening on the legs and tail as shown in the picture. It attacks all 

 small mammals and birds, and is particularly partial to poultry, as European and 

 Asiatic farmers frequently find. A log pile near a dwelling is a favorite resort 

 with it, and the animal in the picture seems to be in a locality especially favor- 

 able to its habits. (Mustelafoina.) 



intending to do harm. Once it bit my hand through 

 thick gloves, drawing the blood, although the bite 

 was meant in a friendly way. It does not express 

 real affection in its face and gestures, but it never 

 intentionally harms those with whom it is well ac- 

 quainted when it is kindly treated. Its black eyes 

 express only avidity and sanguinary proclivities. 

 When it lies comfortably in its nest, it often utters a 

 long, drumming, murmuring sound. I never heard 

 it produce sounds similar to those made by the Pole- 

 cat. When it was angry, it growled violently." 



Pine Martens The Pine Marten is hunted in all 



Vigorously Hunted possible ways, not so much with a 



for their Fur. view to checking its murderous 



career, as for the sake of its fur. It is most easily 



pursued on freshly fallen 

 snow, as its spoor may 

 then be seen not only 

 on the snow-covered 

 ground but also on the 

 branches of trees. Oc- 

 casionally it may be en- 

 countered lying in the 

 wood, usually stretched 

 at full length on the 

 branch of a tree. When 

 found in this position it 

 is easy to shoot it, for 

 if the first shot misses 

 the gun may be reload- 

 ed and a second shot 

 taken, as the animal 

 does not flee but fixedly 

 looks at its assailant. 



In hunting the Pine 

 Marten one needs a 

 good Dog, which will 

 seize it boldly and hold 

 it fast, for the animal is 

 wont to jump at its pur- 

 suer and will frighten a 

 Dog that is not very 

 courageous. It is easily 

 caught in traps, which 

 are prepared in a very 

 ingenious way. The 

 bait is usually a piece of 

 bread, fried with a small 

 piece of onion and a lit- 

 tle honey in unsalted 

 butter and strewn with 

 camphor. Other baits 

 are ingeniously mixed 

 from various strongly 

 scented materials. 



The fur of the Pine 

 Marten is the most valu- 

 able of European furs, and in quality resembles that 

 of the Sable more than any other found on this con- 

 tinent. The best skins are found in Norway, the 

 next best in Scotland and others are brought from 

 Italy, Sweden, north Germany, Switzerland, upper 

 Bavaria, Tartary, Russia, Turkey and Hungary. 



The Stone The Stone or Beech Marten {Mustela 

 Marten or Beech foina) is a little smaller than the 

 Marten. p me Marten ; the legs are propor- 

 tionately shorter, the head longer notwithstanding 

 the shorter face ; the ears are smaller, the fur shorter 

 and of a lighter hue and the throat is white. The 

 total length of a full-grown male is twenty-eight 

 inches, a little over the third of which is taken up by 



