FAMILY D IGITIGRADA. TOE-TREADERS. 



23 



albino variety of the Polecat ; its length is fourteen inches, and the tail five ; 

 the head is narrower, and the nose sharper than in the Polecat ; its colour 

 is pale or whitish-yellow, and the eyes red and fiery. They are easily tamed, 

 but are very soon irritated, and when angry are very apt to bite severely. 

 As they suffer much from cold, they require to be kept in boxes filled with 

 wool. They are never found wild in England. 



The Sarmatian Weasel (M. Sarmatica) is in its general form similar to 

 the Polecat. It is very voracious, commonly lives in deserted holes of other 

 animals, is very active, moving along by jumps ; is fierce, untamable, and 

 watchful ; is said to bring four or eight young at a birth. 



The Siberian Polecat (M. Sibirica) is of a more slender form than the 

 Polecat, and rather resembling that of the Stoat ; is about twelve inches 

 long, and the tail six ; the general colour is deep yellow, approaching to fox 

 colour ; tail full of hair, and darker than the body ; soles of the feet thickly 

 covered with fur ; the fur is longer and coarser than in the Polecat. 



The Stoat or Ermine (M. Erminea) is about ten inches long, the tail five 

 inches, and tipped with black ; the edges of the ears and tips of the toes 

 yellowish-white, upper parts of the body reddish-brown, throat, breast, and 

 belly, white. Such is its summer coat, and it is then called by the French 

 Roselet, whilst we distinguish it by the name Stoat. But in winter it 

 becomes white, except the tip of the tail, which retains its black colour, 

 occasionally in England, but always in higher northern latitudes ; it is then 

 called the Ermine. In manners it resembles those of the Common Weasel. 



The Common Weasel (M. Vulgaris) measures about six or seven inches 

 in length, its tail two and a half more, and its height two and a half inches. 

 During winter it becomes white in the fur countries, and is not distinguished 

 by the traders from the Ermine. The Weasel readily takes up its residence, 

 during winter especially, near habitations, for the purpose of living on 

 poultry-yards and dovecots ; but in wanner weather it retires to planta- 

 tions, where it makes its nest either under the roots or in the hollow of a 

 tree ; it brings four or five young at a time, which are found in spring hidden 

 in a bed of straw or stubble. The Weasel may be tamed so as to feed out 

 of the hand, and follow like a dog ; it soon learns to know persons, and 

 will lick the hand which feeds it. 



Besides these there are the African Weasel (M. Africana) ; the Striped 

 Weasel (M. Striata), found in Madagascar ; the Naked-footed Weasel (M. 

 Nudipes), native of Java; the Zorilla, of the Cape of Good Hope; and the 

 Jackash, or Vison Weasel, which is common throughout the whole breadth 

 of the American continent. The Vison lives much in the water, and when 

 pursued prefers sheltering itself there to endeavouring an escape by land, on 

 which it moves but slowly ; its short, smooth fur, Otter-like tail and short 

 legs, point out its aquatic habits. When irritated it emits a smell nearly 

 as fetid as that of the Skunk. The Vison is easily tamed, is fond of being 

 caressed) but is very easily offended, and will then bite sharply. 



The second division of this genus includes the several species of Martens : 

 The Marten (M. Martes) is about eighteen inches long, and the tail ten 

 more ; the head is of a more elongated form than in the Weasels ; claws 

 white, large, and sharp, well adapted for climbing trees, in which it here 

 constantly lives. The colour of the Marten varies to ash according to its 

 age and the different seasons in which it is taken. The skin of the Marten 

 has a fine musky smell. It lives solitarily in the woods and never approaches 

 habitations ; but deposits its young either in the nests of birds, or in the 

 drays or nests of Squirrels, and in winter very often shelters itself in Mag- 

 pies' nests. It brings four to six young at a birth, which as they grow it 

 feeds with fresh eggs and live birds, which it brings to the nest. When 

 taken young, it is easily tamed. Poultry, game, and small birds, are its 

 common food. The Marten is the most handsome of our indigenous beasts 

 of prey ; its motions are very elegant and nimble, and its eyes lively. 



The Pine Marten (M. Foina) is about twenty inches in total length, 

 eight of which belong to the tail ; all the upper parts are yellowish-brown, 

 but the head is paler ; tips of the ears and cheeks white ; throat and breast 

 yellow ; tail bushy, and of a deeper colour than the body. It is very rare 

 in England, but in Scotland, where it inhabits the pine forests, it is, accord- 

 ing to Pennant, the only one known. It prefers cold to warm regions, 



hence it is very common in the north of Europe, and especially in North 

 America, but it does not extend further north than 68' latitude, where the 

 woods cease. The Pine Marten feeds on Mice, Partridges, and Hares, and 

 it often destroys the stores of meat and fish laid up by the Indians. When 

 pursued and unable to escape, it sets up its hairs, arches its back, shows its 

 teeth, and makes a hissing noise like the Cat ; will seize a Dog firmly by 

 the nose and bite so hard, that a Dog, unaccustomed to it, will allow its 

 escape. They burrow in the ground, and bring from four to seven young 

 at a litter towards the latter end of April. The fur of the Marten is fine, 

 and often dyed to imitate sables and other costly furs. (Plate 6.) 



The Sable (M. Zibellina) is in size equal to the Marten, but differs from 

 it in some few particulars. Its coat is generally brown, sometimes tawny, 

 and occasionally quite white. They are found in Siberia, Kamtschatka, 

 and some of the Kurile Islands between the latter country and Japan. 

 Their furs form a very valuable article of commerce, and are worth from 

 one to ten pounds apiece. 



One of the modes adopted by the hunters for taking the Sable is as fol- 

 lows : a piece of timber is placed horizontally between two trees, and upon 

 it another aslant, and slightly supported at one end by a pole, from which 

 extends a rod to which a bait is attached ; this when meddled with disturbs 

 the whole apparatus, and the slanting board falls and kills the animal. The 

 first Sable taken is dedicated to the Church, and is called GOD'S Sable. 



It does not appear that the Greeks or early Romans ever made use 

 of furs ; but about the year of our Lord 522, when Totila, King of the 

 Visigoths, reigned in Italy, the Seuthons, a people of modern Sweden, 

 found means of transmitting to the Romans the precious skins of Sables. 

 Furs were subsequently used for lining the tents of princes; and in 1252, 

 Marco Polo found those of the Cham of Tartary lined with Ermines and 

 Sables. In Wales, furs were highly esteemed so early as the time of Howel 

 Dda, who began to reign in 940. In the following century furs became 

 still more fashionable, and when Godfrey of Bulloign, and his followers, on 

 their way to the Holy Land, appeared before the Greek emperor Alexis 

 Comnenus, he was struck with the richness of their dresses. In England, 

 as elsewhere, this disposition for wearing fur increased to so great an extent 

 that, in 1337, it was enacted by Edward III. that no person should make 

 use of it unless he could afford to spend a hundred pounds a year. 



The Pehan (M. Canadensis) is also valuable for its fur ; it is found from 

 Pennsylvania to the Great Slave Lake, and probably across the American 

 continent. Considerable numbers of the skins of this animal are annually 

 sold by the Hudson's Bay Company under the name of Woodshocks or Fishers. 

 How the Pekans have gained the latter title it is not easy to imagine, for 

 they are not amphibious, and feed only on the smaller animals. 



Several other species are enumerated by Linnaeus, Buffon, and Pennant. 



MEPHITIS the Skunk. The animals forming this genus have a general 

 resemblance to the Putorii; and they are remarkable for ejecting a most 

 intolerably fetid odour, which is their best safeguard against the attacks of 

 other animals. They are predaceous and live in burrows. 



The species are The Striated Skunk (M. Putorius), about the size of 

 the European Polecat. The horrible stench which they emit renders them 

 almost impregnable, as few others, except dogs bred for the purpose, dare 

 encounter it. 



The White-tailed Skunk (M. Chincha), of which Plate 6 contains a repre- 

 sentation, is found from Hudson's Bay to Peru, where it is called Chinche, 

 and in Peru, Conepatl, or Boy's little Fox. Its general colour is brown 

 more or less deep, marked on the shoulders and belly with two little white 

 spots. Mr. Darwin saw some of these animals. In his " Journal" we 

 find the following : " We saw also a couple of Zorillos or Skunks odious 



animals, which are far from uncommon Conscious of its power, 



it roams by day about the open plains, and fears neither dog nor man. If 

 a dog is urged to the attack, its courage is instantly checked by a few drops 

 of the fetid oil, which brings on violent sickness and running at the nose. 



Whatever is once polluted by it, is for ever useless Certain it is 



that every animal makes room for the Zorillo." 



LUTRA the Otter. The animals of this genus are piscivorous, and live 



