6o 
MAMMALIA. 
And in another place Mr. Kennicott tells us that an Ermine “de- 
stroyed nearly fifty chickens, several of which were adults and many 
half grown, in a single night, and the early part of the following even- 
ing; and it was so bold as to kill several young chickens in a coop 
beside which a man was standing, watching for &t. 1 finally shot it 
while it was running near me in pursuit of a chicken, though a few 
minutes before we had chased it into a retreat under a haystack* 
This extreme boldness could not have been the result of hunger, as it 
had already, during the same evening, killed a large number of fowls.”* 
Their nests are usually made in an old stump or log-heap, or under 
some outbuilding, and from four to six young are commonly brought 
forth early in May. The young are apt to remain during the summer 
in the vicinity of the nest. 
The Ermine as a Ferret. 
That the Ermine can be successfully employed as a Ferret is amply 
proven by the following narrative, from the pen of Dr. John Bachman: 
“ Whilst residing in the State of New York many years ago, we were 
desirous of preserving a number of rabbits during the winter from the 
excessive cold and from the hands ot the hunters, who killed so many 
that we feared the race would be nearly extirpated in our neighbor- 
hood; our design being to set them at liberty in the spring. At this 
period we had in confinement several Weasels of two species exist- 
ing in that part of the country. . . . 
“We bethought ourselves of using one of each species of these 
Weasels instead of a Ferret, to aid in taking the rabbits we wanted, and 
having provided ourselves with a man and a dog to hunt the rabbits 
to their holes, we took the Weasels in a small tin box with us, having 
first tied a small cord around their necks in such a manner as to pre- 
vent them from escaping, or remaining in the holes to eat the rabbits, 
whilst it could not slip and choke them. 
* Ibid. , 1858, p. 244. 
