358 THE POLECAT-FERRET. 



When the grass-tuft was removed, a litter of young rats was seen, over whom 

 the mother was keeping such undaunted watch. She did not attempt to escape, but 

 ever and anon, as the Ferret drew within a certain distance, she flew at him, and knocked 

 him over, inflicting a fresh bite on every attack, so that the assailant was being worsted. 

 At last, being encumbered with the weight of two little rats, which clung too firmly to 

 their parent, she made a false leap, and was seized in the fatal embrace of the Ferret, 

 who would soon have put an end to the valiant defender of her young had not the 

 owner of the Ferret come to the rescue and disengaged the cruel teeth from their hold. 

 But so furious was the mother rat, that when she was released from her foe she again 

 flew at it, and inflicted several severe bites. Its owner then held the Ferret by its tail, 

 and was carrying it away, when the rat, after making several ineffectual springs, actually 

 leapt upon him, ran up his legs and body, and along his outstretched arm, so as to get at 

 her hated enemy, on whom she inflicted another bite and fell to the ground. A second 

 time she attempted this manoeuvre, and when frustrated in her wishes, set up her back 

 and bade defiance to man and beast. 



To the honor of the human spectator, he took a great interest in the valiant little 

 animal, and regularly supplied her with food until her offspring were able to shift for 

 themselves. 



The practice of muzzling the Ferret when it is wanted for the purpose of hunting 

 seems not to be invariably necessary, for one practical sportsman asserts that, except in 

 the case of very young Ferrets, the best plan is to leave the creature's mouth free, and 

 to feed it moderately before it is permitted to enter the burrows. It sometimes happens 

 that a rabbit is so stricken by fear that it cannot be induced to leave its home, and in 

 that case the Ferret will waste its time in trying to urge the refractory animal to move. 

 But if the mouth of the Ferret should remain free, it will then speedily kill the rabbit, 

 and, not being hungry, will leave the dead body in the burrow, and proceed in search 

 of other victims. 



In spite of all precautions, it does sometimes happen that the Ferret will not leave 

 the burrow, and in that case it must either be laboriously dug out or relinquished to 

 the certain fate which befalls all Ferrets when they are exposed to the frosty atmosphere 

 of an English winter. To drive a Ferret out of a rabbit-burrow by means of fire and smoke 

 is almost! an impossibility, as the animal is capable of withstanding a considerable 

 amount of asphyxiation with impunity, and the burrows are furnished with so many 

 openings to the fresh air that the stifling vapor escapes before it can be sufficiently 

 concentrated to have its proper effect on the delinquent. 



It is evident from these few remarks that the nurture, training and management 

 of the Ferret is a work of some difficulty, and that a really good animal may be spoiled 

 by the ignorance or carelessness of its owner. An excellent Ferret was once so cowed 

 by the ill-result of a defeat in single combat with a rat, that it would never afterwards 

 even face one of these animals. The rat had been caught in a box-trap by one of its 

 hind legs, and the Ferret was put into the trap for the purpose of killing the rat. In a 

 short time, however, when the trap was opened, the Ferret rushed out, bleeding greatly, 

 and completely subdued. The fact was, that on account of the shape of the trap, the 

 Ferret was unable to have recourse to its usual mode of attack, while the rat was placed 

 in precisely the position which was best suited for defence. 



I conclude this notice of the Ferret with a short anecdote which has been related 

 by Mr. Jesse, in his " Gleanings in Natural History," and quoted by Mr. Bell in the 

 British Quadrupeds, for the purpose of cautioning the owners of Ferrets from placing 

 too strict a reliance on the tameness of so bloodthirsty an animal. 



A poor woman ran into the house of a surgeon, screaming with terror, and bearing 

 in her arms a poor child, which was terribly mangled, and had been attacked by a 

 Ferret. It seemed that the mother had left her infant, a child of some few months 

 of age, in its cradle, while she left her home on some household business. When 

 she returned, she found the child in a fearfully wounded state, its face, neck, 

 and arms being torn, some of the chief blood-vessels opened, and the eyes greatly 

 injured. 



After attending to the wounded child, the surgeon accompanied the mother to 



