CARNARIA. CARNIVORA. 55 



Mustela,* the Weasel. 



Under this genus are included the well-known 

 Polecat, (M. Putorius,) the terror of the poultry- 

 yard; the Ferret, (M. Furo,) noted for its white 

 coat and pink eyes, and for its utility in hunting 

 rabbits and rats; the Ermine, or Stoat, (M. Er- 

 minea,) whose winter fur is so highly valued; and 

 the common Weasel, (M. Vulgaris,} the least and the 

 prettiest of the whole. Besides these of our own 

 country, there are several others distributed over 

 Asia and Africa. They all prey indiscriminately on 

 any animals they can master, from the field-mouse 

 to the hare, often robbing the poultry-yard, and the 

 game-preserve ; and occasionally even entering the 

 water in pursuit of fish. The brains of the victim 

 are the favourite morsel, the extraction of which is 

 the first and sometimes the only result of the slaugh- 

 ter. They are all marked by the diffusion of a rank 

 disgusting odour, surpassed, however, by that of a 

 genus which we shall presently notice. 



The change of colour in the Stoat from deep red 

 in the summer to its winter hue of pure white, is 

 too remarkable a phenomenon to be passed over 

 without mention. It is common to many animals, 

 birds as well as quadrupeds, inhabiting the high 

 northern latitudes, of which the Stoat is more par- 

 ticularly a resident. On the unbroken snows of 

 Siberia it would, in its summer hue, be conspicuous- 

 ly visible ; concealment is then one object gained by 

 * Its Latin name. 



