234 NATURE AND WOODCRAFT. 



compensates for its want of cheeriness. A flock 

 of diminutive G-oldcrests rush past us ; and in 

 the fir wood we hear, but cannot see, a flock of 

 Siskins. Higher up the valley, towards the 

 hills, tracks of another kind begin to appear. 

 On the fells we come across a dead Herdwick, 

 trampled about with innumerable feet. We 

 examine these closely, and find that they are 

 of two species — the Raven and Buzzard. Fur- 

 ther in the scrub we track a Pine Marten to 

 its lair in the rocks. The dogs drive it from its 

 stronghold ; and, being arboreal in its habits, it 

 immediately makes up the nearest pine-trunk. 

 Its rich brown fur and orange throat make it 

 one of the most lithely beautiful of British 

 animals. A pair of Stoats or Ermines, with 

 their flecked coats just in the transition stage, 

 have their haunts in the same wood. From 

 the snow we see that last night they have 

 threaded the aisles of the pines in search of food. 

 This clear-cut sharp track by the fence is 

 that of the Fox. Later we see the beautiful 

 buoyant creature bounding over the snow in 

 graceful leaps. Fleet and wild as the wind, his 

 speed and play of muscle are hidden by his 

 long soft fur. An exquisitely formed creature, 



