412 SABLE. 
colouted at the roots and black at the tips : the 
chin is cinereous, and the edges of the ears yel- 
lowish. Its size is equal to that of the Martin; 
but, exclusive of other differences, a principal 
one consists in the tail, which is much shorter in 
proportion than in the Martin. The Sable is an 
inhabitant of the northern parts of Asia, and is 
an extremely important article in the fur trade. 
It principally lives in holes under ground, especi- 
ally under the roots of trees, and sometimes, like 
the Martin, forms its nest in the hollows of trees. 
It is an active, lively animal, preying, in the man- 
ner of the Martin, on the smaller quadrupeds, 
birds, &c. Like the Martin it is also most lively 
during the night, and sleeps much by day. In 
autumn the Sable is said to eat cranberries, whor- 
tles, &c. It brings forth early in the spring, and 
has from three to five young at a time. The 
chase of the Sable, according to Mr. Pennant, 
was, during the more barbarous periods of the 
Russian empire, the principal task of the unhappy 
exiles who were sent into Siberia, and who, as well 
as the soldiers sent there, were obliged to furnish, 
within a given time, a certain quantity of furs ; 
but, as Siberia is now become more populous, the 
Sables have in great measure quitted it, and have 
retired farther to the north and east, into the de- 
sert forests and mountains. 
Sables are numbered among the most valu- 
able of furs. From an abstract drawn up by 
the late Dr. Forster, from Muller's account of its 
commercial history, it appears that the price 
