AMERICAN MARTEN. 109 



The price of this skin varies considerably, and has 

 much depreciated in vahie of late 3-ears, the present 

 value l)eing 2s. 3d. to 42s. The first quality furs are 

 sorted by the Hudson's ]>ay Company into large dark, 

 small dark, large pale, and small pale ; the seconds are 

 more numerous, and of all shades. There are also 

 third, and sometimes foui'th (pialities. 



Most American Martens ai-e trapped. Many Martens 

 are destroyed l»y Lynxes ; therefore, when the latter are 

 abundant, the Martens generally diminish. 



This animal is closely allied to the iiauui or Pine 

 Marten, and ])y some naturalists it is considered tho 

 same animal. 



The general coloui' is i-ich l)ro\vii, l)ut it is sometimes 



of a light yellow colour, and moi-c i-ai\'ly almost lihu'ls. 



The last-named are highly pi-ized, and are found in tlu; 



East Main and Fort Geoi'ge districts of the Hudson's 



Bay Company. There are many intermediate shades, 



many of which are of a ricli oi'ange tint. The soft uiuler 



fur is drab; the longer hairs of the back are darker 



than the rest of the body ; tlu^ throat, except in the 



brown and dark bi'own animals, is covered with white 



or light brown })atehes ; the tail, which is thick and 



bushy, is of the same shade as the body, but the longer 



hairs at the tip are generally dark brown. Sometimes 



the extreme tip of tlie tail is white. The feet and legs 



are dark brown, except in the lighter-coloured animals 



the paws are sometimes white ; the ears are short, and 



white inside ; the sides of the cheeks are also white ; 



the whiskers are black. Very light-coloured examples 



are also found, almost the colour of Kolinsky. Others 



are sprinkled with silvery-white hairs, almost like 



a Russian Sable. 



Slate-coloured animals like dark Stone Martens are 



