500 
RURAL HOURS. 
name for one of the sleds used by boys for the same amuse- 
ment. 
Fisher is another name for the Black Cat, an animal nearly 
three feet in length, which was formerly very numerous. It is 
nocturnal, eats small quadi'upeds, and climbs trees. It feeds on 
fish also, steahng the bait and destroying traps, whence its name. 
The Sable, or Marten, is a small brown animal, about two and 
a half feet in length. It is nocturnal, and lives entirely in the 
trees of our northern forests. To procure this valuable fur, the 
hunters will sometimes stretch a line of traps across sixty or sev- 
enty miles of country, allowing six to ten traps for each mile ! 
Every trap is visited about once in a fortnight. Dr. De Kay sup- 
poses that our Sable is quite distinct from the European Pine Mar- 
ten, to which it is allied. 
The Ermine of New York is a small creature, about one or two 
feet in length ; in winter, it is pure white, but brown in summer. 
It is active and nocturnal. Our people sometimes call it the Cata- 
minofo. 
Then there are two Weasels, confounded at times with the Er- 
mine, and about twelve inches in length. 
The Mink lives on fish, haunting ponds. It is about two feet 
in length. 
The Skunk we all know only too well. There is one in the 
village now, which has taken possession of the cellar of one of the 
handsomest houses in the place, and all but driven the family out 
of doors. For several months it has kept possession of its quar- 
ters with impunity ; our friends being actually afraid to kill it, 
lest its death should be worse even than its life. 
The Wolverine is another nocturnal ci'eature, about two feet 
