thick foliage that were it not for the loud 

 song notes, which are constantly repeated, 

 it would be difficult to discover them." 



From one of its habits the Rose Tan- 

 ager is known to farmers as the red bee 

 bird, and, although a bird of day, its 

 taste for nocturnal beetles often leads it 

 to the pursuit of its prey until the shades 

 of evening have darkened into night, 

 when, with the light of its plumes ex- 

 tinguished, as it were, with the setting 

 sun, it proceeds silently and invisibly 

 upon its gustatorial mission. 



But it is credible that it is only when 



he is in his colorless nocturnal disguise 

 that the prosaic beetle is permitted to re- 

 fresh this Avian bloom, and that when 

 the god of day has transformed the voice- 

 less shade of night into the winged and 

 musical rose of ornithology for his life's 

 sustenance, the same moment witnesses 

 the miracle of the "dewdrops the sunrise 

 has reddened to wine," and that to his in- 

 spiration is poured Aurora's rosy liba- 

 tion, the enchanted 



"Wine that Morning spills 

 Upon the heaven-kissing hills." 



Juliette A. Owen. 



THE ERMINE. 



The Ermine is an aristocratic branch 

 of the weasel family. His coat of pure 

 or creamy white is the envy of kings, 

 nobles and judges, whose robes of state 

 or office etiquette prescribes shall be lined 

 or faced with this matchless fur. A nar- 

 row band of the same is turned up 

 around the crimson velvet cap worn be- 

 neath the British monarch's crown and 

 the coronets of peers. 



At the coronation of King Edward 

 and Queen Alexandra, which is to suc- 

 ceed the period of mourning for the late 

 queen, the royal regalia will be brought 

 into requisition, and in all its magnificent 

 makeup not the least feature will be the 

 priceless ermine trimming, costing the 

 life of many a luckless animal. In view, 

 therefore, of his constant exposure to 

 martyrdom the price the Ermine pays for 

 his social distinction is dear enough and 

 should excite in his humbler cousins, 

 even were they disposed to be sensitive 

 on the point of birth, more of pity than 

 of jealousy. 



He dresses in perfection, however, 

 only in winter, and that of the coldest re- 

 gions, where the exceeding whiteness of 

 his covering serves the two-fold purpose 

 of retaining heat and concealing his pres- 

 ence on the universal carpet of snow, 

 both from the enemies seeking his life 

 and from the prey on which he sub- 

 sists. 



For a summer outing suit nature pro- 

 vides him an unconventional dress of 

 light reddish brown varied with a stom- 



acher of tawny white. With the doffing 

 of his regal attire he also lays aside the 

 distinguished title of Ermine and be- 

 comes plain Mr. Stoat. 



This species of the weasel is found 

 throughout Great Britain and in most 

 parts of continental Europe, but except 

 in northern Scotland, Scandinavia, and 

 Russia the winters are neither sufficient- 

 ly long nor cold to produce a complete 

 change of color and he is left with a 

 funny piebald coat which no one covets. 

 The skins that supply the markets of the 

 world all come from the arctic countries 

 of the three northern continents, Europe, 

 Asia and North America. A permanent 

 feature of the Ermine's coat is the glossy 

 black tail tip, which in the preparation 

 of the fur is inserted at regular intervals 

 on the white, where the sharp contrast 

 gives a most pleasing effect. 



An utter abhorrence of uncleanness is 

 a characteristic instinct of his lordship, 

 and impels him to suffer capture or death 

 rather than become soiled or bedraggled. 

 This sentiment of purity is figuratively 

 transferred to the fur whose use on the 

 garments of rulers and judges symbol- 

 izes the purity of justice and law. 



Determination and perseverance are 

 qualities displayed in the pursuit of game 

 for food, consisting of small herbivorous 

 animals, birds, and eggs. In length the 

 Ermine's body is about ten inches ; the 

 tail, four inches ; the legs are short, bear- 

 ing the slender body with a creeping 

 snake-like motion. M. A. Hoyt. 



222 



