known to resist the attack of an un- 

 trained Ferret and finally to have killed 

 it. The courage and the sanguinary na- 

 ture of the Ferret comes to it gradually 

 and the usual method of training a "rat- 

 ter" is to begin with young rats or those 

 that belong to the smaller species. Even 

 before the first century of the Christian 

 era, the Ferret was used in rabbit hunt- 

 ing. Pliny says, "The Ferret is greatly 

 esteemed for its skill in catching them. 

 It is thrown into the burrows, with their 

 numerous outlets, which the rabbits form, 

 and from which circumstance they .derive 

 their name, and as it drives them out, 

 they are taken above." 



Dr. Brehm thus describes the method, 

 followed in Europe, for hunting rabbits 

 with the aid of the Ferret : "The hunt is 

 begun in the morning. The Ferrets are 

 carried in a basket or box lined with 

 something soft or in a game pouch. On 

 arriving at the burrow the hunter looks 

 for all the outlets and places before each 

 of them a net about a yard long and fas- 

 tened to a large ring ; then the Ferret en- 

 ters the principal outlet and this is also 

 closed against egress in a similar man- 

 ner. As soon as the rabbits become 

 aware of the presence of the intruder, 

 they rush out and are caught in the nets 

 and killed. The Ferret itself is prevented 

 from killing them either by a muzzle or 

 by having its teeth filled, and a little bell 

 is suspended from its neck so that its 

 whereabouts may be constantly known. 

 As soon as it reappears at the outlet, it 

 is taken up, for if it should enter th^ 

 burrow a second time it would lie down 

 to rest and its master would be com- 

 pelled to wait for it for hours. It is very 

 important that it be taught to respond to 



a whistle or call." The call is not always 

 effectual and frequently coaxing will not 

 induce the Ferret to return to the sur- 

 face. In such instance a rabbit is tied to 

 a pole and thrust into the burrow. "No 

 Ferret can withstand such a temptation ; 

 its teeth close on the rabbit, with which 

 it is drawn out of the hole." 



The Ferret does not become attached 

 to either the individuality or the abiding 

 place of man. Its owner is its master 

 only so long as it is confined or held 

 in restraint. As a rule, when given its 

 freedom, an untamed nature asserts itself 

 and the Ferret soon escapes and estab- 

 lishes a home for itself in some rabbit's 

 burrow, where it thrives during the sum- 

 mer season, but perishes on the approach 

 of the cold weather of winter. It is said 

 that only in rare instances is the Ferret 

 completely tamed. There are cases on 

 record, however, where it has followed 

 its master in perfect submission and has 

 not taken advantage of perfect liberty to 

 escape the bounds of domestication. In 

 a few instances the Ferret has shown 

 some affection for its master, but retains 

 this high degree of tameness only so 

 long as it is carefully and amply fed. It 

 has been known to attack babies that 

 have been left alone and having once 

 tasted their blood, will attack anyone 

 who interferes. The Ferret may be con- 

 sidered a useful pet only for the purpose 

 of ridding our buildings or fields of harm- 

 ful animals or for the purpose of hunt- 

 ing. It is a graceful animal and, when 

 not hunting, usually lies quietly in the 

 place provided for it, but it has an un- 

 pleasant voice, consisting of a growl, or 

 a shriek when in pain. 



41 



