THE FERRET. / 



shorter is almost wholly yellow. Franzius describes the ferret 

 of his time as having " a little head, a red back, and a white 

 belly ,"* a description which, as far as it goes, would agree with 

 the African fitch (Putorius Africanus, Desmarest). 



In temperate climates the utmost care and great warmth are 

 required to preserve this delicate animal. It is usually kept in 

 a hutch or box containing wool, of which it forms a warm and 

 snug bed for itself. It sleeps during the greater part of the 

 day 5 but towards night it wakes up, and shows great impatience 

 for a supply of food, which, in its domesticated state, generally 

 consists of bread and milk. It is not difficult to be tamed, and 

 then will permit itself to be handled and played with, and this 

 appearance of gentleness and good temper sometimes leads to 

 its being indulged with the run of the house. But no reliance 

 can be placed on its conduct ; for unless carefully watched, and 

 well fed, it will make savage and indiscriminate attacks upon all 

 around, if it should chance to smell or taste blood. It is easily 

 irritated while in its hutch, and will then bite severely, dif- 

 fusing at the same time a more strongly offensive smell than 

 ordinary. 



In its half- reclaimed state, the ferret is a useful animal to 

 man ; for he employs it to pursue and kill rats and other vermin, 

 and to assist him in catching rabbits by driving them out of 

 their burrows, for which purpose it was also used in the time of 

 Pliny.f It was introduced into Spain expressly to reduce a 

 most inconvenient superabundance of rabbits in that country. 

 When it is required to assist in catching the rabbits alive, it is 

 muzzled previously to its being sent down their burrows. The 

 ferret being thus rendered incapable of injuring the rabbits, can 

 still alarm them, so that in their fright they attempt to make a 

 hasty retreat from the mouth of the burrow, where, however, 

 they become inextricably entangled in the meshes of the net, 

 which the warrener has placed there to catch them. Should the 

 ferret, while in the warren, get disengaged from its muzzle, it 



* History of Brutes, translated by N. W. (1670), p. 216. 

 t Hist. Nat. lib. viii. cap. iv. 



