Quintet 229 



short, ends with a grip on the head or neck of the victim and 

 results in immediate death. 



Mink, like the rest of the weasel family, have strong scent 

 glands which they use freely when angry or frightened. That 

 the odor is unmistakable and unpleasant is indicated by fre- 

 quent reference to that of the skunk. Some have called it 

 the worst of the two, a comparison which requires proof. 



The habits of mink are not all bad. They eat live and dead 

 birds, wounded waterfowl, fish, rats, mice, and other small 

 mammals. There is some disagreement regarding the eco- 

 nomic status of this mammal, but some authorities hold that 

 its destruction of farm pests and smaller predators accom- 

 plishes good far in excess of harm. I am afraid that most 

 farmers would contest this statement as few agriculturists 

 have any use for any members of the weasel family. Its life 

 in the marsh probably does not often end as a feast for other 

 predators because in the city there are few that might be a 

 match for it. It is quite possible that, in the wild, the wolf, 

 coyote, and other large carnivores are able to catch it un- 

 awares and finish it without even offering it a chance of 

 battle. 



One mammal in the marsh does interfere with the normal 

 interrelationship. Man, the predator, hunts yearly for the 

 mink. Its fur is fine, soft, durable, rich, and much coveted by 

 women of means. One mink usually surpasses several musk- 

 rats in value, and so, during the trapping season, the marsh 

 harbors traps which take a few of the animals. 



The mink is historically noted as the first mammal to be 

 raised in captivity for its fur, a business which I thought was 

 probably thirty years old but which, I found to my astonish- 

 ment, was tried over one hundred years ago. The venture 

 has been a success, the proportion of pelts sold from animals 

 in captivity continually increases, and many furriers claim 

 that eventually fur farms will be the principal source of mink 

 fur. The number of mink is determined by economic rather 



