36 THE BRITISH NATURE BOOK 



that comes its way, besides roots and nuts, eggs, fruit, larvae, honey, frogs, 

 and snails. 



Badgers breed in late summer or early autumn, the young being born in 

 May or June ; they are blind, like those of the otter, for ten days or more. 



The female inhabits a solitary burrow during the rearing of the young, 

 but otherwise several badgers live in close proximity to one another in a sort 

 of " city " of separate burrows. The badger's cry is generally a short yelp or 

 low grunt ; but it is seldom heard, since its habits are nocturnal, and all night- 

 using mammals are impressively silent. 



Reference must be made to the burrows, which the badger digs generally 

 on some slope in a wood or quarry. There is often a sharp turn in the tunnel 

 a little below the surface, where the badger waits in case of attack, and so 

 pins its enemy as it turns the corner. The sleeping chamber is kept clean 

 and bedded with dried grass, ferns, and leaves. The inmate is said to gather 

 these materials into heaps in the autumn and leave them to dry, clearing out 

 its hole and replacing the old litter with the new before settling down for 

 the winter's hibernation. Badgers do not, however, sleep the whole winter, 

 but wake from time to time and sally forth in search of food. 



The word " badger " is an interesting one, and has been given various deri- 

 vations (a) a " badge " or stripe, referring to its face coloration ; (b) a stealer 

 of corn ; (c) a creature caught in a bag (in old days sacks were thrust into the 

 holes at night, and the creatures caught when returning home). Badger 

 baiting has given a metaphor to the language to "badger." The Old 

 English name was "brock," and is found in names such as " Brockenhurst " 

 and " Brockham." . 



4. The Pine Marten (Mustela martes), once common, but now, alas ! rare, 

 is found in Ireland, the Highlands, and occasionally in England. Upper parts 

 chocolate-brown, throat and chest yellow ; length about 20 inches, with a 

 tail some 9 or 10 inches more. It gets its name from being found frequently 

 in woods where the Scotch pine grows. Like its near relatives the stoat and 

 weasel, it catches birds, young rabbits, rats, mice, poultry, and game. It 

 does not despise fruit and berries. When in flight it makes astonishing leaps 

 of five or six feet, and it climbs trees with the greatest of ease. 



5. The Common Polecat (Putorius fcetidus) is rare as a wild creature, 

 though known familiarly enough as the " Ferret," which, indeed, is simply 

 a domesticated variety which came to us from Rome perhaps a sporting 

 centurion of Caesar's was responsible for its introduction to these shores. Cer- 

 tainly it was used for hunting rabbits in those days. 



The wild species is found occasionally in the New Forest, Devon, the Lake 

 District, and Scotland, but not in Ireland. 



In early English it was jailed " Foul Marten," from its filthy smell, as 

 it possesses a pair of very active glands at the base of the tail. The male 

 measures some 17 inches ; the female is shorter. It is handsomely coloured, 

 with white tips and white edge to the ear ; a band of grey over the forehead ; 



