THE MARTEN FAMILY. 



151 



ing ones; others again live in hollow trees or seize 

 upon the nests of Squirrels or of birds; in a word, it 

 may be said that this family knows how to take ad- 

 vantage of any kind of retreat, whether it be the 

 natural crevice in a rock or an artificial cavern; a 

 dark nook in a human dwelling or the branches or 

 roots of trees in the heart of the forest. The ma- 

 jority of these animals have a permanent dwelling- 

 place, but many species prowl around. Some of 

 those which inhabit northern regions hibernate; the 

 others are active all the year round.- 



Physical and Nearly all animals of this family are 

 Mental Traits of remarkably quick, adroit creatures 

 Martens. and adepts in all physical exercises. 

 They walk on the soles of their feet, use their paws 

 and tails in swimming, and climb excellently in spite 

 of their blunt claws. Their organs of sense are all 

 developed in nearly equal degree. Their mental 



place of concealment to another when she scents 

 danger. When taken young and treated with care, 

 animals of this family attain a high degree of docil- 

 ity and may be trained to follow their master about 

 and hunt and fish for his benefit. The descendants 

 of one species have been domesticated for a period 

 so long that it cannot be specified, and have been 

 bred to serve the purposes of a certain class of 

 sportsmen. 

 TIte Marten Fam- Some of these animals work a great 

 ily Destructive deal of mischief through their de- 

 but Useful. structive, sanguinary instincts, but on 

 the whole their usefulness, direct or indirect, more 

 than compensates for the damage they do. Their 

 services in catching harmful animals should not be 

 underestimated, and though it may be difficult to 

 forgive them their encroachments on human prop- 

 erty, it must be admitted that the losses they occa- 



THE FINE MABTEN. Beautiful in its graceful form and its rich, soft fur, the Pine Marten is one of the most attractive animals in the 



forests of Europe and northern Asia. The sides of dark brown, the long, bushy tail of the same color, the black legs, the lighter tinge of the fore- 

 head and cheeks, and the very light, bright yellow of the breast are distinguishing features of the animal. It is a forest aqimali and is very 

 destructive of small quadrupeds and birds. j.TJie picture shows it with an animkl^it'hasjUst caught. (Mustela martes.) 



endowments are of a high grade, and some species 

 give evidence of an astonishing amount of reason- 

 ing power. They are cunning, distrustful, wary, ex- 

 tremely courageous and sanguinary, but devoted to 

 their offspring. Some are gregarious, others live 

 singly or only temporarily with their mates. Some 

 are active both day and night, but the majority of 

 them are of nocturnal habits, and in populated dis- 

 tricts they sally forth only at night. Their principal 

 food consists of animals. Some eat fish, Crabs and 

 vegetable food, especially sweet, juicy fruit. The 

 thirst for blood that inspires them all is surprising in 

 its intensity. They slay more than they need for 

 their sustenance and some species might be said to 

 intoxicate themselves with the blood they suck from 

 their victims. 



The young, whose number varies between two and 

 ten to the litter, are born blind and are under nurs- 

 ing care for a long time. The mother defends them 

 boldly when attacked and carries them from one 



sion happen only through the carelessness of the in- 

 voluntary contributors to their appetites. 



How great a number of animals of the Marten 

 family are killed annually for the sake of their furs 

 is best seen from the statistics of the commerce of 

 furs. According to Lomer about three million skins 

 are marketed annually, exclusive of those which 

 Indian and Asiatic hunters retain for their own use. 

 Some Indian and Mongol tribes live almost exclu- 

 sively from the product of their chase of fur-pro- 

 ducing animals, and among these the Martens rank 

 first. Thousands of Europeans and Americans owe 

 their living to the fur trade, and many extensive and 

 previously unknown tracts of country have been 

 opened to civilization by hunters and trappers who 

 have ventured into them to seek this game. 



Three Sub-Fam- We will begin our description with 

 Hies of the the Martens proper and those mem- 



Marten Family, bers of the family whose mode of 

 progression is digitigrade, that is, those which walk 



