88 



MA.MMALIA. 



Tliere arc very many species, tlirce of \\liii:h inhaliit Britain ;— 'Hie Fitcliet Wcaeel, or Poh-caf, of y^^nch the 

 Ferret appears to be a domesticated variety* ; the Stoat, or Ermine, ivhich in cold countries (and occasionally even 

 in South liritain) becomes pure white in winter, except the end of its tail, wliich always continues black ; and the 

 Common Weasel, of diminutive size, which preys chiefly on Mice and other small animals injiirious to the a;^ricul- 

 tiirist. It is a curious fact that in several instances tlie female Polecat has been known to stow away many Frog^s 

 and Toads in an apartment of its buri'ow, disabling- each witljout killing- it, by puncturing- the skull. The Common 

 AVeasel traverses the boughs of trees, tops of palings, &c., witli facility, and will spring; from the g:round upon a 

 Partridge Hying; near the surface. Pift. sfrUdtis, Cuv., a small Madag;ascar species, reddish-brown, with five longi- 

 tudinal white stripes, composes the division Galiciis of Isidore Geoffroy (not of Bell); dJi& Put. Zariila, Cuv., a 

 species marked with broken stripes of white, and possessing a more snout-like muzzle, the tail of which also is 

 jong-er and more bushy, is the Zurilla fiTjOc/u-zi- of sume recent authors : there would appear, indeed, to be several 

 species of these Zorillcs.] 



TiiK Martens {Mu.sieh, Cuv. [.^/arfex, Ray] ) — 

 DitFer from tlie true Weasels )ty having [commonly] an additional false molar above and below, and a 



small tubercle on the inner side of then' car- 

 ^j^^^^^^' " >"^^-_ uivorous tooth ; t."\vo characters which some- 



what diminish the ferocity of their nature. 

 [They are handsome, and remarkably lithe 

 active animals, with larger ears tlian the 

 M'eascls, and line Inijliy tails; are also 

 more arboreal in tiieir habits. The scent 

 they diffuse when irritated is not disagree- 

 al.lc.t] 



There are two species in Europe, ver>" closely 

 allied together. The Yellow-breasted or Pine 

 Marten {Miistela martes, Lin.), inhabiting wild 

 districts, and the White-breasted or Beech 

 Marten (M. foina, Lin.), which frequents -woods 

 near human habitations. [Many consider these to 

 be varietii'!^ merely of the same ; but on examining several crania, I have noticed that the former are constantly 

 smaller, \\ ith the -zygomatic arch fully twice as strong- as in the other. The American species usually deemed 

 identical with M.fuhia, is intermediate. There are numerous others, as the Pekan or Fishing Marten of Canada, 

 &c. ; and the Sable of commerce (M. zibi'lUna, Auct.), celebrated for its beautiful fur, is a member of this 

 division. In the Sable and several others, the soles are completely covered with close fur; but in M. Jlavifjula of 

 the Himnialayas, the under surface of the foot is n;iked, and the toes joined to tlieir extremities, as in the 

 Badgers, &c.] 



The Skunks {Mrjih/tis, Cuv.) — 



Fit'. 27.- 



Possess, like the "Weasels, two false n 

 grinder is very large, and as lung as t)n 

 its inner side, thus a])proxini!"iliiig tlicsi 

 related to tlic Grinms ami Wnherine. 

 having tln-ir anterior claws lone;, and ;n 

 equally slow in tlicir movements]. Th 

 [The truth is, they scarcely differ fmi 



; lint their superior tuberculous 

 irons tooth has two tubercles on 

 the sa:nc ^vay as the Weasels are 

 ndvs accord with the Badgers in 

 y arc even seniiplantigrade, [and 

 s resemldance extends even to the distribution of their colours. 

 .1 the Badgers, except in having a remarkably fine and large 

 bushy tail, which is borne elevated, hke the small vluut tail of the Badgers.] In the present family, 

 notorions for diffusing a fetid stench, the Skunks arc pre-eminently distinguished by emitting a most 

 iiitolerahle odour. 



These animals are mostly sti-i|ied longitiuliually v-ith white on a blark groun{l, bid the number of stripes appeal's to 

 vary e\'en in the same species ; [not, however, I think, to the extent that has been supposed ; for there are several 

 81)ecies, disMn^ishable by their osteology, which ag-ree suflicieutly in their general style of colouring, allowing for 

 some variation on the part of each, to induce the supposition, jnd.ging only from external characters, that they 

 might all be referred to one. The intensity of their most nauseous sudocating stench, which has been described 

 tn resemble that of the Fitchet mingled with assafictida, is scacrely credible : it appears, however, to be emitted 

 only in self-defence. The geograi^luc range (if Ihls genus is conlined to America]. 



AVe may make an additional subgenus of 



The Teledu {Mydaijs, F. Cnv.), — 

 Which, together with the dentition, [the teeth, however, being smaller (from which results a more 



• I U..vt ^r,unllt in vain U,v fiiij- oslcloKii-"! dislincli.m bitw.;t:n I t H.-iir,, ..v,r n.aiv,. -.p./ut-s af.- .Usi(jnntcd !i,rrrl.„u,TC, in nppoM- 



tlictu ajiir-iala,— Eo. I on to F«u-,u,n-l, ^.x J.n,l u.urt, n t;u,nmon luirac fur the Pok-u;U.— Ed. 



