ZOOLOGY. 115 
that of the domestic cat, but the nose is very long and sharp, 
and the tail very long and large. The color of the animal is 
dark gray, with rings of black on the tail. The miners call it 
the “mountain-cat,” and frequently tame it. It is a favorite 
pet with them, becomes very playful and familiar, and is far 
more affectionate than the common cat, which it might replace, 
for it is very good at catching mice. 
The pine-marten (Mustela americana) is found in California, 
but is rare. 
The yellow-cheeked weasel (Putorius wxanthogenys) is found 
along the coast, in the vicinity of the bay of San Francisco. 
The common mink (Pwutorius vison) has a skin as valuable 
as that of the beaver; the fur is of a dark, brownish, chestnut 
color, with a white spot on the end of the chin. , 
California has two skunks (Mephitis occidentalis and Me- 
phitis bicolor), very common animals. The Mephitis bicolor, 
or little striped skunk, is chiefly found south of latitude 39°; 
the other in the northern and central parts of the state. The 
colors of both are black and white. 
§ 91. The Squirrel Kamily—The Californian gray squirrel 
(Sciurus fossov), the most beautiful and one of the largest ot 
the squirrel genus, inhabits all the pine-forests of the state. Its 
color on the back is a finely-grizzled bluish gray, and white 
beneath. At the base of the ear is a little woolly tuft, of a 
chestnut color. The sides of the feet are covered with hair in 
the winter, but are bare in the summer ; the body is more slender 
and delicate in shape than that of the Atlantic gray squirrel. 
It sometimes grows to be twelve inches long in the head and 
body, and fifteen inches long in the tail, making the entire 
length twenty-seven inches. Dr. Newberry says: ‘‘The Cali- 
fornian gray squirrel is eminently a tree-squirrel, scarcely de- 
scending to the ground but for food and water, and it subsists 
almost exclusively on the seeds of the largest and loftiest pine 
known (Pinus lambertiana), the ‘sugar-pine’ of the Western 
coast. The cones of this magnificent tree are from twelve to 
sixteen inches in length, and contain each one hundred or more 
