THE PINE-MARTEN. 149 



every turn of the chase. Well the squirrel knows 

 this, and tries to profit thereby, seeking the slen- 

 derest branches and making the longest leaps ; yet 

 its chances of escape are as good as nil from the out- 

 set. Its stronger and more agile foe is its superior 

 in both speed and distance, and a short run, generally 

 tending earthwards, usually suffices to bring the 

 little drama to a close. The squirrel is caught 

 and killed instantly, then speedily borne off to 

 some fork high up in the timber, where its remains 

 are left to bleach. 



Very often, however, in the lightning fury of the 

 chase, the marten miscalculates its own abilities, 

 and if there is no undergrowth to break its fall, 

 it may be crippled or even killed on striking the 

 earth below. Martens have been found lying dead 

 owing to a fall of this kind, and in the slender 

 likelihood of such a mishap lies the squirrel's only 

 chance of escape. 



In the Highlands at one time a good many 

 lambs were killed by martens, and the little 

 murderers have been known so to mangle the 

 faces of the defending ewes that, but for man's 

 merciful intervention, a lingering death would 

 inevitably have followed the injuries. 



As a raider of hen-roosts the marten is a very 

 occasional offender, save in those localities where it 

 may have become more or less indifferent to the close 

 proximity of man, and in these its raids are common. 

 A half-tame animal is at any time calculated to 

 be infinitely more destructive to man's property 

 than a truly wild one ; and whereas a wild marten 

 characteristically steers clear of all human habita- 

 tion, seeking the most lonely glens and corries, a 

 marten educated out of this highly desirable 

 characteristic will very readily attack hens, ducks, 



