190 



NATURAL HIS TOUT. 



half inches, while the head and body together are nearly a foot and a half long. The neck is consider- 

 ably shorter, and the body stouter than in the Weasel and Stoat. The fur is made up of hairs of two 



kinds, the shorter woolly and of a yellowish colour, 

 the longer black or brownish-black and shining. 

 One of its most marked characters is its horrible 

 stench. This is produced, like the scent of the 

 Civets, in a pair of glands near the root of the tail, 

 which secrete a yellowish creamy substance of the 

 most fetid character. 



The Polecat is also known as the Fitchet 

 (Fitchew of Shakspere), Foumart, or Foulimart : 

 the latter names are said to be a contraction of 

 " Foul Marten," thus distinguishing it from the 

 Common or Sweet Marten, which is a compara- 

 tively inodorous animal. The name Polecat is probably a contraction of Polish Cat. 



The Polecat is perhaps even more destructive than the other Mustelidae, and is certainly a far greater 

 plague to the farmer. Its ravage among Rabbits, Hares, and Partridges is immense, and if once it 



SKULL OF POLECAT. (After Coues.) 



I. POLECAT. 2. FERRET. 



gets unobserved into a poultry-yard, the fate of a very considerable number of the inmates is sealed, 

 as it possesses in a high degree the family love of slaughter for slaughter's sake. It has been known 

 to kill as many as sixteen Turkeys in a single night ; and, indeed, it seems a point of honour with this 

 bloodthirsty little creature to kill everything it can overpower, and to leave no survivors on its battle- 

 fields. It has, too, an unfortunate liking for eggs, as well as for game and poultry, and in this way 

 alone does great harm to preserves. There are also many accounts of its fondness of fish ; Bell also 

 quotes an instance in which a female Polecat was pursued to her nest, and was found to have laid up, 

 in a side hole, a store of food, consisting of forty Frogs and two Toads, all of which she had skilfully 

 " pithed," that is, bitten through the brain, so that, although retaining a certain amount of vitality, 

 they were effectually prevented from running away ! 





