MAMMALIA 1 9 



The Marten brings forth from two to three young ones in the 

 month of May. Once, and once only, has Lindsay known this 

 limit to be exceeded. Four was the number then produced. 

 He has found the young in holes in the crags on several occa- 

 sions, not at the end of deep and tortuous passages, as might be 

 be expected, but ' only a laal bit in, — any 1 found.' 



Mr. A. H. Cocks, whose valuable researches into the life- 

 histories of British quadrupeds are well known, obtained a 

 litter of three cubs from a Cumberland Marten, after she had 

 lived six years in his possession. 



' An adult female Pine Marten, sent to me from Cumberland 

 in May 1876, had for the last two, if not three, years, shared a 

 cage with a male of the same species, without showing any signs 

 of breeding, until about eleven P.M. on April 7, 1882, I heard 

 the unmistakable whimpering or squeaking of young ones pro- 

 ceeding from one of the bed-boxes in this case ; I had fed the 

 Martens about six o'clock, and feel certain that no young were 

 then born. I at once shut off the male animal, not knowing 

 how he might treat the youngsters. On the morning of the 

 10th I ventured to take out one of the young. It was about 

 6 inches long, including the tail, which was about, or nearly, 

 If inches long, and appeared out of all proportion in so young 

 an animal. It will, I believe, be a surprise to others, as it 

 certainly was to me, to learn that this species is at first quite 

 white; the coat being, of course, fine and short.' 1 Mr. Cocks 

 adds that his young Martens were quite full-grown by the 

 following autumn. 



The Marten usually prefers to live on the sunny side of a fell. 

 Foxes and Martens do not flourish very well on the same 

 ground. ' When foxes is rank, marts is scarce.' The dalesmen 

 only hunt Martens in the winter-time, and generally find the 

 quarry hiding up ' in a brossen rock where there is a deal of 

 heather.' The 'foil' of the Mart is sweet, but all dogs are willing 

 to follow it. Some dogs will hunt Otters but not 'Foumarts;' 

 others will hunt ' Foumarts ' and not Otters, but as to * Marts ' 

 there is no difficulty. 



Mr. W. A. Durnford has furnished so picturesque a description 

 1 Zoologist, 1883, p. 203. 



