THE POLECAT 
and poultry it was persistently sought for by keepers and farmers, who 
have more or less exterminated the species. 
In character the Polecat is bold and aggressive ; as an instance of 
this I remember as a boy one brought home by my brother, who came across 
the animal while eating a rat by the roadside near Dalhousie, Mid- 
lothian. On being disturbed it boldly left the shelter of the hedge 
and attacked, but was killed by a blow on the head with a stick. 
Like the other Mustelidce it is very destructive and bloodthirsty, 
and when breaking into a hen-roost will immediately kill all the fowls 
within its reach. 
The female is especially destructive at the time she is rearing her 
young, when large supplies of food, consisting of mammals, birds, and 
fishes, have been found in her larder. Eels and frogs appear to be a 
favourite food of the animal. 
THE STOAT. 
Muslela erminea, Linnaeus. 
Plates 21-22. 
A distinctive feature in the Stoat or Ermine, by which it can at 
once be recognised at all seasons, is the glossy black extremity of the 
tail. In summer the outer fur of the upper parts is a russet brown, 
the soft under coat a pale warm grey, the lips, throat, and entire under 
parts, including the inside of the legs and usually the feet, are white, 
tinged with lemon yellow, as figured in Plate 21. 
In winter in cold climates all the brown hairs on the head, body, 
and base of the tail generally lose their colour and become white, but 
show a yellow suffusion. 
I- 73 " 
