RACES AND VARIETIES OF THE POLECAT. 367 



tunity, that it would probably be difficult to carry out such a 

 series of observations as those made by M. Drion, for want of a 

 sufficiently large number of specimens for examination. 



It may be of interest, however, to know what M. Drion's 

 views are on this subject, and we accordingly append a trans- 

 lation of his article. He says : — 



" In Belgium there are two races of Polecat, the yellow and 

 the black race. The yellow race has a rather short body ; it is 

 high on its legs ; the claws are lengthy and straight ; the under 

 parts of the body, the thighs, and the feet, are of a very dark 

 colour, but the flanks are golden yellow ; the contour of the eyes 

 and muzzle is of a yellowish tinge, approaching to grey ; the tail 

 brown and bushy, especially in the old ones. The Yellow 

 Polecat generally haunts marshy places and the banks of streams, 

 but occasionally dry places and the neighbourhood of dwellings. 

 Averse to all training, it becomes shy and timid in captivity. 



" The Black Polecat is of a more elongated form. It is not so 

 high on its legs as its congener ; its claws are shorter and more 

 curved. The ears, the contour of the eyes, and muzzle, are of a 

 pure white, which contrasts strangely with the dark fur ; the coat 

 is black, although the sides show a washed-out yellowish tinge. 

 It usually affects dry places in the neighbourhood of dwellings, 

 but is occasionally found in river-banks and marshes. In 

 captivity it is untamable. Not only is it, like the Yellow Polecat, 

 rebellious to any kind of training, but it is fierce and blood- 

 thirsty, even furiously attacking the hand that feeds it. Besides 

 these two races, characterized by an appreciable difference in the 

 structure of the body, the peculiar shape of the claws, the colour 

 of the coat, and by their habits, there are intermediate shades 

 which result from crossing. These are (1) the brownish yellow 

 Polecat — a cross between the pure yellow and the pure black — 

 subelongated and of medium shape. (2) The bronze golden- 

 yellow. (3) The citron-yellow. (4) The grey, mixed with 

 tarnished-yellow. (5) The Patois a plastron, an accidental variety. 



" The Polecats shaded with bronzed golden-yellow, citron- 

 yellow, and a plastron, are the progeny of the brownish-yellow 

 Polecat crossed with the pure yellow or the black. 



" The grey mixed with tarnished-yellow differs completely 

 from the others by its coat, which is of a much more uniform 

 tint over the whole body* 



