Quadrupeds. 7789 



under three years, when killed in season, is very handsome ; its colour 

 is often an almost pure black ; the skin is thin and phable, approaching 

 nearly to the papery consistency of that of the marten. When aged 

 the hide is thick and the colour more rusty ; the summer pelage is 

 short, but tolerably close, and is of a reddish brown colour, and the 

 tail, though still possessing black hairs, shows distinctly the under fur 

 of a decidedly rusty hue. Its feet are rather pointed, and not large; 

 its legs are short, but muscular, and its track in the snow is easily dis- 

 tinguished from that of the marten, whose longer and well-covered 

 paws do not sink so deeply ; indeed, when the snow is at all deep and 

 soft, the mink makes a regular furrow, similar to that made by an otter 

 under like circumstances, though of course smaller. Its claws are 

 white, and about half an inch long. The mink is easily tamed, and 

 is exceedingly graceful in its movements. When it locates near a 

 settlement, such as Red River, it is a dreadful destroyer of domestic 

 poultry ; in the wilderness it exercises this propensity on birds and 

 water-fowl. It is almost omnivorous, being equally fond of fish and 



flesh. 



The various methods of trapping this animal have been already 



detailed, and are similar to those employed in the capture of the 

 marten. It is not difficult to catch in steel traps, though rather shy of 

 wooden ones. 



I am strongly inclined to the opinion that there is only one species 

 of mink on this continent, and consider it highly probable, that the 

 Putorius nigrescens of Audubon and Bach is only the common mink 

 under three years of age : I have seen numbers of skins here of exactly 

 the same colour, size and furring as those described under that head 

 in Prof. Baird's work on North American Mammals, which were simply 

 young P. Vison. This gentleman also states that the American spe- 

 cies of mink never has the edge of the upper lip white : I have never 

 seen the whole of that part so coloured, but in one specimen now on 

 my table there is a white spot beneath the nostrils. 



Wolverine {Gulo luscus). — The winter colour dark brown along the 

 back. A broad band of much lighter yellowish brown passes from the 

 shoulder downwards along each side to the root of the tail. Forehead, 

 cheeks and nape of the neck gray. A number of yellow, orange or 

 while spots irregularly scattered from the throat to the fore leg. Feet 

 and end of tail black. 



The head of the wolverine bears, in colouring and in shape, a strong 

 likeness to that of Mustela Penuanti. In general appearance and 



