299 



Ground Vermin. 



and lasting, so that in many cases, where the animal 

 cannot be killed without fear of its retaliating, a careful 

 attack must be made. 



There is no more to be said concerning the polecat with- 

 out going into technicalities of little worth to the game- 

 preserver. Now that they are becoming less frequent 

 every year, so do they become more wary and difficult to 

 observe. Close notice and constant observation are abso- 

 lutely necessary to discover indications of the whereabouts 

 of a polecat; and referring to what has been mentioned 

 concerning their presence, the necessity, when evidence 

 of a polecat's existence has been discovered, of using 

 every endeavour once and for all to find the direction of 

 its habitation, and, having detected it, of employing all 

 the means possible to effect its capture and destruction, is 

 most advisable. 



Smaller than the polecat, but considerably larger than 

 the weasel, the stoat may certainly be regarded as the 

 real type of " ground vermin " (measuring over all about 

 i4in. to isin., of which the tail alone is about 4in.). The 

 stoat and the weasel, in spite of the marked difference in 

 size, are confounded oftener one with another than pro- 

 bably any other British animals ; yet, not only in size, but 

 in appearance, habits, and haunts, does the larger differ 

 from the smaller Mustela. Rapacious to a degree, and 

 unswerving in its determination to kill, the stoat is, owing 

 to its great numerical superiority over the polecat, at the 

 same time one of our commonest and worst-reputed 

 vermin. Less bloodthirsty and less powerful than the 

 fitch, it has not acquired the same skilful means of killing 

 its captives that is characteristic of the latter animal, and 

 is therefore not so daring or so inclined to be solitary. 



When hunting its prey the stoat employs nearly similar 

 tactics to the polecat, pursuing with the same extra- 



