FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN—CoRY. 373 
helplessly over his breast, and squealed piteously. Not only did he 
show no disposition to fight, but offered no resistance whatever, and 
did not even attempt to defend himself when molested. The Weasel 
did not seize him at first, but cuffed him with his fore paws and drove 
him from one corner of the cage to another, glaring at him contin- 
uously. Then, with a sudden move, he sprang upon his victim, already 
paralyzed with fear, laid open the back of his head with a single bite, ate 
the brains, and left the quivering carcass untouched. 
“The Ermine hunts both by day and by night, and climbs trees 
with great ease and celerity. I have often ‘treed’ them myself by 
running after them in the woods, and have also seen them chase chip- 
munks up trees. Twice have I seen them run up the smooth trunks of 
the beech. They are not very timid and will allow a near approach 
before taking fright.” 
The New York Weasel turns white in winter in latitudes where 
there is snow the greater part of the season. The young are born late 
in April or early in May and usually number from five to eight. Mr. 
W. E. Snyder informs me that on May 4, 1910, while plowing a field at 
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, a Weasel’s nest was discovered which pre- 
sumably belonged to this species. The nest was in a deserted burrow of 
a Striped Prairie Squirrel (C. tridecemlineatus), which was about five 
feet in length and about a foot below the surface of the ground. The 
nest was lined with Microtus fur and contained eight young Weasels 
with eyes not yet opened and bodies almost naked except about the 
shoulders where they were covered with long hair. In the nest were 
four dead Meadow Mice (Microtus), one adult and three young which 
were evidently intended as a food supply for the mother. 
The white winter skins of these animals when used for capes, muffs, 
etc., are apparently indistinguishable from those of the Old World 
Weasels (P. ermina), which are the Ermine of commerce, often much 
in fashion for ladies’ winter garments, and which in Europe were used 
for the robes of kings and nobles, thus obtaining a distinct recogni- 
tion in heraldry. 
Like the Minks the Weasels are supplied with anal glands which 
secrete a fetid liquid, but are unable to forcibly eject it like the Skunk. 
Specimens examined from Illinois and Wisconsin: 
Illinois — Bloomingdale Springs, 1; Milton Spring, 1; Fort Sheridan, 1; 
Camp Logan, 3=6. 
Wisconsin — (M. P. M.) Milton, Rock Co., 2; Milwaukee, 2; Kelly 
Brook, Oconto Co., 1; Milwaukee Co., 1; (S. C.) Beaver Dam, 
Dodge Co., 20= 26. 
