23 



of some of the hawks and owls, the weasel family seems to 

 contain the world's greatest mouse destroyers. Weasels follow 

 mice into their holes and kill enormous numbers. Wherever 

 they appear they slay or drive out all rats, and in these re- 

 spects they appear to be the most useful of all mammals. 

 Grain stacks and barns filled with grain are almost always 

 infested with swarms of rats and mice, but let a weasel or two 

 appear and the rodents quickly vanish. When mice and rats 

 grow scarce, however, weasels often have been known to enter 

 poultry houses and kill considerable numbers of fowls. Indi- 

 viduals sometimes become pests on the game farm or preserve. 

 Weasels can enter such small holes that only mouse-proof build- 

 ings and pens are a sure protection against them. In winter 

 they sometimes destroy many hares or rabbits, and trail or 

 hunt down ruffed grouse or bobwhites in or under the snow. 

 Hence they are regarded as pernicious by the sportsman and 

 are killed at sight. I have not known them to be destructive 

 to any squirrel except the chipmunk, which they sometimes 

 exterminate locally, but weasels can climb well, and probably 

 they. destroy some young birds in their nests, although I have 

 no conclusive evidence of this. Mr. Hugh Malloy of Freeland, 

 Pennsylvania, found thirteen out of fourteen newly hatched 

 ruffed grouse chicks which he believes were killed by a weasel. 

 He slew the weasel and thus, he says, saved one chick. 1 Mr. 

 A. W. Rhoads of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, has known a 

 weasel to destroy eleven out of thirteen ruffed grouse eggs 

 about to be hatched. 2 Dr. J. L. Warren avers that he has 

 twice known weasels to kill small birds, 3 and tales are told of 

 weasels springing up like a cat or a fox and catching low- 

 flying birds or young birds in flight. In nature the weasel no 

 doubt serves a useful purpose in keeping down the increase of 

 rats, mice and insects, but it is not a creature to be tolerated 

 about a poultry yard, game farm or game preserve. 



' Pearson, Leonard, and Warren, B. H.: Diseases and Enemies of Poultry, 1897, p. 430. 

 > lUd., 1897, p. 432. 

 • Ibid, p. 439. 



