OKDER V. THE CAliNIVORA. 



KU 



Europe the ermine is now rare ; Ijiit from Xortlieru Asia tlilrty thousand 

 skins iiave been sent in one season, exclusive of what may ha\e been for- 

 warded to Cliina and Pei-sia ; and from Nortli America, the Hudson's Bay 

 and United States fur companies annually collect at least as many, without 

 reckoning the immense consumption of this jieltry by the native Indians, 

 whose chiefs, bra\es, and even women, adorn themselves profusely with 

 slips of the skin which contain the back and tail. A considerable traffic 

 also in ermine skins is carried on from the west coast of America with 

 China and Japan. In polished communities the fur adorns the robes of 

 judges and princes, and ladies' ih'esses ; and is formed also into capes, 

 mutfs, tippets, &c. The animal is usually caught in traps ; but the natives 

 sometimes shoot it with blunt arrows. It is this northern s[)Ccies, which 

 becomes white in winter, that Pliny notices under the name of Jl. ponlicus. 

 In extremely cold winters the ermine moves southward. 



The SiBEiUAN Weasel (J/. tSibcrica) cipials the polecat in size ; is 

 of a pale-yellow, with a brown muzzle. 



Genus Mautes. The M(irt<'ns. — The marten has all the spirit and 

 audacity of the weasel, attacking recklessly animals ten times its size and 

 strength, and generally coming olf victor. It may be tamed ; and one is 

 mentioned as being extremely fond of a dog that had been bred with it, 

 often playing with it, lying on its back, and biting without anger or 

 injury. 



The species are numerous. The I'ine marten (J/, vtilijaris) and 

 Beech marten {M. J'ouina) arc inhabitants of Europe. Tiie M. ILiid- 

 %vicl<il is a native of India. In the above sjiecies the ])revailing color is 

 yellowish. The Sable (J/. r.ilx'Uiin) is of the size tif the marten. Its 

 color, in the proper season, is a fine, glossy, deep black. In milder climates 

 it is sometimes tawny, and in Western America of a bright chestnut. The 

 animal is found on both continents in the most northern forests, and is 

 caught in traps set by himters. Formerly the exiles in Siberia were con- 

 demned to spend the long and rigorous winters of that region in the woods, 

 in pursuit of them, during which time their suftcrings were intolerable. 

 At a later period the Ilussian government has employed soldiers to hunt 

 them. "They are taxed a certain number of skins yearly, and are obliged 

 to shoot with only a single ball, to avoid spoiling the skin, or else with 

 crossbows and blunt arrows. As an encouragement, the hunters are 

 allowed to share among themselves the surplus of those skins which they 

 thus procure ; and this, in the process of six or seven years, amounts to a 

 considerable sum. A colonel, during his seven years' stay, gains about 

 four thousand crowns for his share, and the common men earn six or seven 

 lmn(b'cd each." 



NO. V. 21 



