356 THE FERRET. 



was soon rendered almost senseless by giddiness, and gave him an opportunity of grasp- 

 ing it with his right hand. The Ferret could not bite while thus held, and was borne 

 triumphantly home, in spite of the wounds which had been inflicted on the hand. The 

 bite of an enraged Ferret is of a very severe character, and, probably in consequence 

 of the nature of its food, is difficult to heal and extremely painful. 



It is a fierce little animal, and is too apt to turn upon its owner, and wound him 

 severely before he suspects that the creature is actuated by any ill intentions. I once 

 witnessed a rather curious example of the uncertainty of the Ferret's temper. A lad 

 who possessed a beautiful white Ferret had partially tamed the creature, and thought 

 that it was quite harmless. The Ferret was accustomed to crawl about his person, 

 and would permit itself to be caressed almost as freely as a cat. But on one unfortunate 

 morning, when its owner was vaunting the performances of his prot'egte for it was a 

 female the creature made a quiet but rapid snap at his mouth, and drove its teeth 

 through both his lips, making four cuts as sharply defined as if they had been made 

 with a razor. 



Still the Ferret is really susceptible of kind feeling, and has been often known to be 

 truly tamed. One of these animals was accustomed to accompany its master when he 

 took a walk in the country, and was permitted to range at will. Round its neck a little 

 bell was hung, so as to give indications of its presence, but it was so extremely tame 

 that this precaution was hardly needed. It would follow its master like a dog and if 

 he ran away would hunt his footsteps, anxiously and eagerly seeking for his presence. 

 This was a Polecat-ferret. 



When Ferrets are used for the purpose of hunting rabbits, their mouths are securely 

 muzzled before they are permitted to enter the burrows ; as, if their teeth were at 

 liberty they would in all probability kill the first rabbit which they met, and remain in 

 the burrows for the purpose of sucking its blood. They are purposely kept without 

 their ordinary meals before they are taken into the field, and are therefore especially anx- 

 ious to secure their prey. Several modes of muzzling the Ferret are in vogue : some of 

 them being as humane as is consistent with the act of fastening together the jaws 

 of any animal, and others being most shamefully cruel. Not many years agp, it was 

 the general custom to sew up the lips of the poor creature every time that it was used 

 for hunting, and elaborate descriptions of this process are given in the sporting books 

 of the period. Leathern muzzles are made especially for the purpose, and are the 

 best that can be adopted ; but in their absence, the Ferret's mouth can be effectually 

 closed by means of two pieces of string, one of which is placed round the neck 

 and the other under the jaws, and the four ends tied together at the back of the 

 neck. 



Almost any Ferret will enter a rabbit-burrow and drive out the inmates, for the rabbits 

 do not even think of resisting their pursuer, and flee before him with all their might. 

 But there are comparatively few Ferrets that will venture to enter a rat-Jiole, especially 

 after they have suffered once or twice from the sharp teeth of those voracious rodents. 

 If the Ferret is accustomed to chase rabbits, it becomes totally useless for the pur- 

 poses of the rat-catcher, for it will not venture even to face a well-grown and vicious 

 old rat, and much less will it dare to enter the burrow. After suffering from the bite 

 of a rat, the Ferret is seized with a very great respect for a rat's teeth, and will not 

 willingly place itself within reach of those sharp-edged weapons. As has been graphic- 

 ally said by a practical rat-catcher, to force such a Ferret into a rat-hole is " like 

 cramming a cat into a boot, and as for hunting, it is out of the question." 



When a Ferret is possessed of sufficient skill and courage to face its long-tailed foes, 

 and has been perfectly trained to the service, it can achieve wonders in open fight, and 

 is a most valuable animal. As a general fact, a large gray old rat will beat off a Ferret, 

 if it can only back itself into a corner so as to prevent an attack from behind ; but 

 when the Ferret is well trained to the business, it becomes a most destructive rat-slayer. 

 There is a very graphic narrative in Mr. J. Rodwell's work on rats, which not only shows 

 the wonderful powers of the Ferret, but gives a good description of the modes of attack 

 and defence which are practised by both animals. 



