The Weasel Family. 



113 



latter a tame or domesticated species — the Ferret. Mr. 

 St. John, in his very interesting work, " Wild Sports and 

 Natural History of the Highlands/' speaking of these ani- 

 mals, describes them so correctly and with such graphic 

 felicity, that I cannot resist quoting from him : — " The 

 blood-thirstiness and ferocity of all the Weasel tribe is 

 perfectly wonderful. . . , The more blood they spill, 

 the more they long for, and are not content till every 

 animal they can get at is slain. A she ferret with a litter 



of young ones contrived to get loose a few nights back, 

 and instinctively made her way to the hen-house, accom- 

 panied by her six kittens, who were not nearly half- 

 grown ; indeed, their eyes were not quite open. Seven 

 hens, and a number of tame rabbits, were killed before 

 they were discovered ; and every animal that she killed, 

 notwithstanding its weight and size, was dragged to the 

 hutch in which the ferrets were kept ; and, as they could 



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