88 
MAMMALIA. 
Fig. 27.— The Marten. 
There are very many species, three of which inhabit Britain : — The Fitchet Weasel, or Polecat, of which the f 
Ferret appears to be a domesticated variety* ; the Stoat, or Ermine, which in cold countries (and occasionally even 
in South Britain) becomes pure white in winter, except the end of its tail, which always continues black; and the 
Common Weasel, of diminutive size, which preys chiefly on Mice and other small animals injurious to the agricul- 
turist. It is a curious fact that in several instances the female Polecat has been known to stow away many Frogs 
and Toads in an apartment of its burrow, disabling each without killing it, by puncturing the skull. The Common 
Weasel traverses the boughs of trees, tops of palings, &c., with facility, and will spring from the ground upon a 
Partridge flying near the surface. Put. striatus, Cuv., a small Madagascar species, reddish-brown, with five longi- 
tudinal white stripes, composes the division Galictis of Isidore Geofiroy (not of Bell) ; and Put. Zorilla, Cuv,, a 
species marked with broken stripes of white, and possessing a more snout -like muzzle, the tail of which also is 
longer and more bushy, is the Zorilla capensis of some recent authors : there would appear, indeed, to be several 
species of these Zorilles.] 
The Martens {Mustela, Cuv. IMartes, Ray] ) — 
Differ from the true Weasels by having [commonly] an additional false molar above and below, and a 
small tubercle on the inner side of their car- 
nivorous tooth ; two characters which some- 
what diminish the ferocity of their nature. 
[They are handsome, and remarkably lithe 
active animals, with larger ears than the 
Weasels, and fine bushy tails ; are also 
more arboreal in their habits. The scent 
they diffuse when irritated is not disagree- 
able, f] 
There are two species in Europe, very closely 
allied together. The Yellow-breasted or Pine 
Marten (Mustela martes, Lin.), inhabiting wild 
districts, and the White-breasted or Beech 
Marten (M. foina, Lin.), which frequents woods , 
near human habitations. [Many consider these to ' 
be varieties merely of the same; but on examining several ci’ania, I have noticed that the former are constantly^ 
smaller, with the zygomatic arch fully twice as strong as in the other. The American species usually deemed ! 
idesitical with M. foina, is intermediate. There are numerous others, as the Pekan or Fishing Marten of Canada, 
&c. ; and the Sable of commerce (M. zihellina, Auct.), celebrated for its beautiful fur, is a member of this 
division. In the Sable and several others, the soles are completely covered with close fur ; but in M. flavigula of 
the Himmalayas, the under surface of the foot is naked, and the toes joined to their extremities, as in the 
Badgers, &c.] 
The Skunks {Mephitis, Cuv.) — 
Possess, like the Weasels, two false molars above and three below; but their superior tuberculous- 
grinder is very large, and as long as broad, and their inferior carnivorous tooth has two tubercles on 
its inner side, thus approximating these animals to the Badgers, in the same way as the Weasels are 
related to the Orisons and Wolverine. In addition to this, the Skunks accord with the Badgers in 
having their anterior claws long, and adapted for burrowing, and they are even semiplantigrade, [and 
equally slow in their movements]. This resemblance extends even to the distribution of their colours. 
[The truth is, they scarcely differ from the Badgers, except in having a remarkably fine and large 
bushy tail, which is borne elevated, hke the small short tail of the Badgers.] In the present family, 
notorious for diffusing a fetid stench, the Skunks are pre-eminently distinguished by emitting a most 
intolerable odour. 
These animals are mostly striped longitudinally with white on a black ground, but the number of stripes appears to 
vary even in the same species ; [not, however, I think, to the extent that has been supposed ; for there are several 
species, distinguishable by their osteology, which agree sufficiently in their general style of colouring, allowing for 
some variation on the part of each, to induce the supposition, judging only from external characters, that they 
might all be referred to one. The intensity of their most nauseous suffocating stench, which has been described 
to resemble that of the Fitchet mingled with assafoetida, is scarcely credible : it appears, however, to be emitted 
only in self-defence. The geographic range of this genus is confined to America]. 
We may make an additional subgenus of 
The Teledu {Mydaus, F. Cuv.), — 
Which, together with the dentition, [the teeth, however, being smaller (from which results a more 
* I have sought in vain for any osteological distinction between 
these animals. — E d. 
t Hence onr native species are designated Sweet-mart, in opposi- 
on to Fou-rnart, or foul mart, a common name for the Polecat. — E d. 
