332 
MUSTELA AMERICANA, (TuRTOoN). 
THH SABLE OR MARTEN. 
Specific Character.—Legs and tail blackish. General color reddish yellow, 
clouded with black ; above becoming lighter towards the head, which is some- 
times white. A broad yellowish patch on the throat, widening below so as to 
touch the legs. Central line of belly sometimes yellowish. Tail vertebra, about 
one-third the head and body. Outstretched hind feet reach about to middle of 
the tail, with the hairs. Feet densely furred. 
The body is stouter than that of the ermine or weasel. Head somewhat 
depressed, acute, and broader than might be looked for, with so lengthened a 
skull. 
The ears are large and thickened, both sides densely coated with short vel- 
vety hairs, overlaid by stiff longer ones, which do not extend to the margins of 
the ears. The tail is nearly two-thirds the length of head and body. The legs 
are short and robust, the feet densely coated with fur. The balls of the toes are 
naked and the claws distinctly visible, though inserted among stiff hairs as long 
as themselves. . 
The fur is very full and soft, with many long coarse hairs interspersed. It 
is difficult to give an accurate idea of the colour, owing to the variation in different 
parts of the body. 
On the upper parts and sides generally, the hair is of a rusty red colour, which 
is gradually merged into a brownish ash, becoming still lighter and lighter, until 
the tints about the head are very pale, sometimes almost white. 
Habitat—New England eastward to the Pacific coast, northward to the 
Arctic coast, including Ontario. 
Average Size—EHqual to that of a very large ferret. 
Average Weight.—4 pounds. 
Average Herght.—6 inches. 
Average Length.—21 inches ; nose to tail, 16 inches ; tail, 5 inches. 
Value of Fur.—Per skin, average $1 to $1.50. 
The body of the sable is stouter than that of the weasel. 
The head is somewhat depressed, acute, and broader than might be looked 
for. 
The ears are large and thick, and densely coated with short velvety hairs 
overlaid by stiff longer ones which extend to the margin of the ears. 
The tail is nearly two-thirds the Jength of the head and body, the legs are 
short and robust, the feet densely covered with hair, the balls of the toes naked, 
and the claws distinctly visible although inserted among stiff hairs as long as 
themselves. 
The prevailing tint of the tail is a lustrous black. The margins and exter- 
nal surfaces of the ears are nearly white. 7 
The sable take up their abode near the banks of rivers, and their homes are 
generally burrowed in the earth, although they are occasionally found in the 
hollows of trees. 
The food used is partly vegetable and partly of an animal nature. 
The fur is very valuable and much sought after, but as the sable is a cau- 
tious animal it is not easily caught and the skin supply is not large. 
The sable is not a prolific animal, the female producing as a rule only three 
or four at a birth in June. 
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