84 THE FITCH. 



to the eye by the means of his justly admired engravings on 

 wood. Bewick says, that a fitch was repeatedly seen to resort 

 to the bank of a river to catch eels, and that eleven of them 

 were found in its retreat. In Germany, also, according to 

 Dr. Weissenborn, large stores of eels have been found in its 

 burrows in the neighbourhood of rivers. 



" On some of the sea lochs on the west of Ross-shire, it has 

 been observed to descend to the shore at night time, to feed 

 upon the mollusks, particularly the large basket-mussel (Mytilus 

 modiolus)"* 



Besides the above various articles of food, it also feeds upon 

 birds' eggs, and drinks milk when it has the opportunity. 



The female makes her nest either in a rabbit-burrow, a hole 

 in a rock, or amongst a heap of stones, grown over with grass 

 or shrubs, situated in some retired spot, though usually in the 

 vicinity of a farm. She has from three to six young ones at a 

 litter. As the young have been found in the nests in April, 

 May, and June, it is not altogether improbable that the fitch has 

 two or more litters in the year. 



In winter the fitch, which can neither stand excessive cold nor 

 heat, leaves its abode in the woods and betakes itself to barns, 

 hay-lofts, &e.; remaining hidden about them during the day, 

 and only leaving them at night-time, when it makes its attacks 

 in the hen-roosts or the dairy. 



It is almost impossible to thoroughly tame this animal. 

 Formerly some of the Italian organ-boys used to exhibit speci- 

 mens in our streets as tame ones, but they were always muzzled. 

 It is recorded that a Mr. Craven having caught a fitch, and also 

 a rat, both young and about half grown, he kept them for 

 nearly two years in a hutch, along with a couple of cats 5 

 and that they all lived together on the most friendly terms. 

 On one occasion the fitch and the rat were kept without food for 

 two days, but even the pangs of hunger could not induce the 

 one to attack the other.f Perhaps in this instance, however, 



* Magazine of Natural History (1833), vol. viii. p. 227. 

 f Field Naturalist's Magazine (1833), vol. i. p. 324. 



