204 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



longer and rougher than before, and bodies heavier and stouter, 

 but not perceptibly longer than on the 10th. Certainly if I had 

 met with these cubs without knowing their parentage I should 

 not have guessed them to be Pine Martens ; but should have 

 been inclined to suppose they were young Polecat Ferrets, or, 

 perhaps, chiefly in consideration of their tails, young Stoats, with 

 the young of which species I am unacquainted. 



On the 18th the cubs were shifted by their mother to the 

 other bed-box, probably in consequence of my having disturbed 

 them ; I was obliged also to go into the cage at least once a day 

 to attend to the male, which I had shut into a smaller cage 

 enclosed in the other, and also to two other Martens in a cage 

 beyond, to which the only access was through the cage tenanted 

 by the nursery party. The mother is an exceptionally shy 

 specimen, and these constant visits, and also, perhaps, the close 

 proximity of the other Martens, kept her in a restless state, and 

 on the evening of the 22nd I saw her with one of the cubs in her 

 mouth ; and on May 3rd, on going into the cage to clean it out, 

 I found one of the young ones lying almost dead on the top of 

 one of the bed-boxes, where it must have been carried and left by 

 the mother. I took it indoors immediately, and carefully warmed 

 it ; but it was too much exhausted to swallow milk, and died an 

 hour and a half later. I have preserved it in spirit; it was a 

 male, length 10 T 3 T inches.* The following evening I put some 

 fresh straw into the cage, which had the effect of frightening the 

 Marten; and, taking one of the cubs out of the box in which it 

 was, she carried it behind a box out of sight, and presently let it 

 fall on to the ground, a drop of about five feet. However, no 

 bones were broken, and I replaced it in the box with the other 

 cub, and fortunately had no further disaster. The eyes were still 

 closed. I left home the next day (the 5th) for a fortnight, during 

 which interval they acquired the use of their eyes. 



On the 25th one of the cubs showed itself for the first time, 

 trying to climb out of the bed-box. and calling loudly. 



On the 29th the mother took three young Greenfinches which 

 I gave her, and tried to induce the young to eat, uttering a 

 peculiar chuckling or clucking noise. The cubs made repeated 

 efforts to get out of the box, with a view of finding a place where 



* Nose to eye-slit, ^ inch. Eye-slit to ear, J. Head, 2. Neck and 

 body, 5f. Tail, 2*. 





