250 HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 



It is sometimes employed with great success in 

 killing Ra,ts, and is frequently kept in granaries 

 and mills for that purpose. It is extremely vigilant 

 in the pursuit of them, and will not suffer one to 

 live where it is. A young Ferret, after it has seized 

 a Rat, will suffer itself to be dragged by it a con- 

 siderable way before it has killed it, which it never 

 fails to do in a short time. 



If the Ferret could be kept warm enough at sea, 

 it might be extremely serviceable in destroying the 

 Rats, which frequently commit such great depreda- 

 tions on board of ships, and have sometimes been 

 the occasion of their total loss. 



The Ferret, though easily tamed, is soon irritated. 

 Its odour is fetid; its nature voracious; it is tame 

 without attachment; and such is its appetite for 

 blood, that it has been known to attack and kill 

 children in the cradle. When angry, it is apt to 

 bite; and the wound is difficult to cure. 



The Madagascar Weasel, or Vansire of M. Buffon, 

 may be referred to this species; to which its size 

 and form are strikingly similar. It is about four- 

 teen inches in length ; the hair is of a dark brown 

 colour, mixed with black; it differs from the Ferret 

 in the number of its grinding teeth, which amount 

 to twelve; whereas in the Ferret there are but 

 eight; the tail is longer than that of the Ferret, 

 and better furnished with hair. 



The same author mentions another animal of this 

 species under the name of the Ncnis, which is a 

 native of Arabia. It resembles the Ferret in every 

 thing but the colour, being of a dark brown, mixed 

 with white; the belly is of a bright yellow colour, 

 without any mixture; the prevailing colour on the 

 head and round the eyes is a clear yellow; on the 



