41B 
FERRET. 
Viverra Furo, V. flat a, oculis ruhicundis. 
Yellow W. with red eyes. 
Mustek Furo. M. oculis i^ubi€ii7)dis. Idn. Sr/st. Nat. GvieL p. 97. 
Furo. Gesn. Quadr. 762. 
Mustela Sylvestris. Aldr. dig.^2'j. 
Furet, & Furet-putois. Buf. j.p. 209. pi. 2^, 26. 
Ferret, Pennant Quadr. 2. p. 40. 
Of similar manners to the Polecat is the Ferret, 
the natural history of which has been so well de- 
tailed by the Count de Buffon^ that it is scarce 
possible to add any thing material to that ele- 
gant authors description. The Ferret in general 
fonn resembles the Polecat, but is a smaller ani- 
mal; its usual length being about fourteen inches, 
exclusive of the tail, which is about five. Lin- 
n^us, in the twelfth edition of the System a Na- 
turae, seems to entertain a doubt whether it may 
be truly distinct from the Polecat : it is, however, 
a native of Africa, and not of Europe, and sup- 
ports with difficulty the cold of an European win- 
ter; whereas the Polecat is found not only in the 
temperate, but also in the colder parts of the Eu- 
ropean regions; to which may be added, that, ex- 
clusive of its smaller size, it is of a more slender 
shape, and the snout is sharper in proportion than 
in the former animal. The Ferret is used for 
rabbet-hunting in preference to the Polecat, be- 
cause it is more easily tamed; but it is necessary 
to keep it in a warm box, with wool or some other 
substance in which it may imbed itself. It sleeps 
