THE WEASEL AND THE STOAT (THE ERMINE). 91 



though belonging to the earth, are nevertheless 

 quite at home in the branches more so than are 

 weasels. Even the old cock -pheasant, the survivor 

 of many a fiery blast of shot and powder, is by no 

 means secure from them, though he may roost 

 high up on the limb of some great oak, huddled 

 close to the sheltering trunk, and screened from 

 the vision of the human poacher who, armed with 

 an air-rifle, searches for him from below. 



Dead tree-trunks, thickly overgrown with ivy, 

 afford excellent resorts for stoats during the Hunger 

 Moon. All manner of birds, including wood- 

 pigeons, seek the thick shelter of these trees in 

 times of extreme cold ; while the numerous little 

 roots and stems of the ivy afford ample foothold 

 and shelter for the hunting stoat. The remains 

 of many kinds of birds are to be found among 

 the dense cover of such trees, indicating that they 

 have worse enemies than the harsh winter spells 

 death, swift and silent, falling upon them while 

 they sleep. 



In his eagerness the stoat will mount the barest 

 of trees in pursuit of game. During keen spells 

 the black -game in Scotland come down from 

 the hills to feed upon the catkins of the alders 

 in the valleys. I have seen an avenue of these 

 trees crowded to their topmost branches with 

 gray hens, and one day I watched a stoat foolishly 

 trying to get at them, slick in view of the whole 

 pack. He was about eighteen feet up from the 

 ground, cautiously climbing towards an old gray 

 hen, who was cunningly watching him with one 

 eye. Every time the stoat drew near, the gray 

 hen moved slowly out on to the thinner branches, 

 till finally, with a cry of derision, she flew to the 

 next tree. The stoat chattered abuse after her, 



