The Mammals of the Edinlmrfih or Forth Area. 395 



Stirlingshire, 1841, we are told that " the foumart occasion- 

 ally makes its appearance in the poultry yard, and often 

 commits great ravages among domestic fowls." It is also 

 mentioned in the same work among the animals found in the 

 parishes of Stirling and Gargunnock. Another old and 

 undated specimen, from Haystoun, near Peebles, may be 

 seen at the Chambers Institute in that town. 



In May 1894, when staying at Callander, I was assured 

 that a Polecat had been seen the previous month running 

 into a cairn on a hill west of Ben Ledi, but I am not aware 

 of any having been killed there in recent years. 



Weasel {Mustela vulgaris, Erxl.^). 

 In September 1905, a pure white Weasel was killed near 

 Dunbar, and later in the same year another was got near North 

 Berwick. A similar specimen, trapped in Fifeshire in the 

 winter of 1900-1901, was reported in The Field of 8th February 

 1902. The Dunbar one, which I saw, was a true albino. As 

 regards the size of the female Weasel, one sent to me from 

 Dunfermline in January 1905 was only 6|- inches in length 

 (excluding tail), and weighed exactly 2 ounces. On 6th May 

 1905 a nest of w^ell-grown young Weasels was found in a wall 

 near West Linton (E. S. Anderson in lit.). About midsummer 

 I have seen the young following their mother in quest of 

 prey — Dalkeith Park, June 1892; Fala Moor, $ and four 

 young, July 1897. 



Stoat {Mustela erminea, L.). 

 In this part of the country, the completeness of the change 

 to the white dress of winter does not seem to depend on the 

 severity of the season. During the open winter of 1903- 

 1904, for instance, I examined over a dozen white, or nearly 

 white, Stoats killed in this neighbourhood. Two from the 

 Pentlands in January were entirely white, as were also 

 several others from other localities during the same month. 

 By the end of February and opening days of March the 

 change to summer dress was beginning to set in. 



^ Perhaps, with Thomas, we should follow the Scandinavian naturalists 

 and use the specific name, nivalis, L., for the Weasel (cf. Zoologist, 1895). 



