254 A GAMEKEEPER'S NOTE-BOOK 



safest plan when in doubt about a big black bird is 

 to name him rook, for in most parts crows are now 

 scarce to the point of extermination. But those 

 who live in the country have as little excuse for 

 speaking of stoats, when they should speak of weasels, 

 as for mixing rabbits with hares. It is easier to tell a 

 weasel from a stoat than a rabbit from a hare, if 

 one is fairly close and has a clear view. A weasel 

 is quite a third of the size of a stoat and a third of 

 the weight : the males of both weasels and stoats 

 are about twice the size of the females. But the 

 outstanding distinction between stoat and weasel 

 is the long, black-tufted tail of the stoat, and the 

 short, unassuming tail of the weasel no more con- 

 spicuous than a mole's tail. 



We have come across many curious cases of ignorance 

 on these points. A countryman who had dwelt 



with stoats and weasels all his life, and had 

 "The killed hundreds by trap and gun, yet had 

 Badger" no ^ ea ^ *ke true difference. Whichever 



he saw, or killed and hung up by a twisted 

 twig, he determined to be stoat or weasel according to its 

 size. Then we remember a lady who kept chickens, 

 and suffered the loss of half a brood. She called in a 

 passing keeper to settle the question of the thief. 

 After waiting a while the keeper shot a weasel in 

 the act of returning for another chicken. The lady 

 of the chickens was overjoyed at this retribution, 



