175 



brown above, whitisb below, with a shorter tail, black toward the end.'' 

 The tail, black toward the end, is not entirely inconsistent with P. vul- 

 garis, although an almost constant character of P. ermineus, while the 

 short tail and small size lavor Dr. Wheaton's opinion, formed at the time, 

 that the specimen was the Least Weasel, P. vulgaris. The peculiar cir- 

 cumstances under which the' specimen was found — a Weasel asleep, con- 

 trary to the old adage— and the vigorous defense it made by use of its 

 anal glands, are full of interest, and warrant the introduction, in this 

 connection, of the faithful account Dr. Wheaton has given me of the 

 capture and loss of the specimen under consideration : 



" Five stadents, of Denison University, Granville, Ohio, among whom was myself, 

 were so fortunate as to secure the company of five young ladies from the seminary, for 

 a picnic at Black Hand Rock. The ascent to the top of this rock is somewhat difficult, 

 and was made single file. I was ahead, followed by a now eminent attorney, a late Briga- 

 dier General, and the young ladies, all of whom are now ornaments to society and mothers 

 in Israel. Suddenly I noticed a little animal apparently asleep at my feet. I instinct- 

 ively grabbed it, and as instinctively the General hit it with a stick so hard that 

 it was somewhat stunned. I held up my trophy to the view of the young ladies, much 

 gratified that I was able, so early in the day, to prove myself a hero. Greatly to my sur- 

 prise, they turned their heads away in shame, crying ' Put it down I put it down I ' At 

 the same time my nose took the general alarm, and turning to the beast, which I still 

 held in my hand, I discovered a miniature volcano on either side of its anne, sending 

 forth sulphurous fire and smoke. I felt that 1 had better die than surrender Just then, 

 and held on to it, in spite of ray immediate inclinations, insisting that I was going to 

 skin it aud take it home. The young ladies insisted, declared, and almost cried, until I 

 thought the crnel joke was turned from me, when I surrendered and dashed it against 

 the rock. The animal certainly was an adult, as far as the anal glands were concerned. 



Whether Weasel or Ermine, one is certainly excusable in dropping, 

 under such circumstances, an animal wh(rSe odor ''is onl}"- less penetra- 

 ting and more fugitive than that of the Skunk itself." 



Page 41. TaXidea aMericana Baird, 



should stand ae 



Taxidea ameeicana (Bodd.) Ba^ird. 



Page 48. Mephitis mephitica Baird. 



should stand as 



Mephitis mephitica (Shaw) Baird- 



Page 56. Ldtra canadensis Sabine, 



should stand as 



LtJTEA canadensis (Tiirton) Sabine, 



Page 93. Soap anus breweei (Bach.) Jordan- 



should stand as 



Scapanus brewebi (Bach.) Poirel. 



