THE MARTIN. 55 



vours. One of these marauders had nearly made a clear 

 sweep of my father's poultry: it kept peering over the 

 perch with the greatest impudence, and could scarcely 

 be driven thence by the dairymaid : no sooner was she 

 out of sight than it would return. One of the farm-ser- 

 vants at last procured a trap, and having set it without 

 art or covering, the loud screams of the robber presently 

 made known his capture. 



The martin generally selects a magpie's nest in the 

 thickest pine-tree, and there rears its young; hence it 

 has obtained the name of pine-weasel. One, however, 

 was brought me that had its li tter in the thatch of an old 

 barn ; it was detected by a dog, driven out, and shot : 

 the young were rather smaller than kittens, and quite as 

 sweet and clean. 



If seized by the breast, the martin, like the cat, is 

 easily killed by a good dog; but the skull is so hard, 

 that I have seen one, when released from a trap with all 

 its legs broken, roll away upon the ground, after receiving 

 half-a-dozen hard blows on the head from the keeper's 

 cudgel. This animal being easily trapped or run down, 

 is not nearly so numerous now as it was some years 

 ago. 



