LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



In April the female raises her family in some 

 such place, or else she digs out a short burrow 

 under the overhanging bank, probably making 

 sure that the entrance, whether natural or arti- 

 ficial, is only just big enough to admit her ; for 

 most male animals of the weasel family are ad- 

 dicted to the unfortunate habit of dining on the 

 young of their own race, — a habit which may 

 perhaps explain the pronounced difference in the 

 size of the sexes, the females averaging little 

 more than half as long as their mates, and being 

 much slenderer in proportion to their length; 

 and -it seems perfectly reasonable to suppose 

 that when the males first adopted the custom 

 of seeking out and devouring their offspring, 

 the smallest females would have a decided ad- 

 vantage in being able to have their nurseries In 

 quarters so narrow as to make it difficult or 

 impossible for the males to gain admission, so 

 that those families which exhibited the greatest 

 variation in size between sons and daughters 



Tl6 



