BRITISH MAMMALS 



times, alarming. One very fine specimen shown in 

 Letchworth Museum has a self-coat of yellowish-white, 

 and pink eyes. It paid the penalty of death because it 

 raided a hen roost at night, and, with the help of a mate, 

 accounted for the decrease of over thirty valuable hens in 

 double-quick time. 



It is interesting to notice that, in addition to preying 

 upon poultry, rabbits, game-birds and ducks, the Pole- 

 cat also takes frogs and toads, and, being an expert 

 swimmer, it is able to secure eels. Its appetite requires 

 much satisfying, and, in the same way as the Fox, its 

 lust for kilHng is such that it often slays more than it can 

 possibly eat. It carries out its pilferings under the 

 cover of darkness, and it does not require very keen 

 scent to detect the disgusting odour which it emits, 

 nor to disassociate it from any animal upon which it has 

 preyed. 



Woods, plantations, and even more open country are 

 frequented, and in the fore part of Summer a litter of 

 from four to six young are produced, an untenanted 

 burrow of a Rabbit being often used for breeding pur- 

 poses. 



Pine Marten. — This species is commoner than the 



Polecat ; but even so, its days are numbered. Its chief 



stronghold seems to be the mountainous districts of 



Derbyshire and Cumberland ; but it also occurs in 



Ireland, Wales and Scotland. In days gone by, its 



haunts must have been much more extensive, as is 



proved by fossil remains that have been found in many 

 92 



