290 
THE STOAT. 
with red than others, while occasional specimens are found in which the fnr is of an exceed- 
ingly dark brown. 
To persons who have had but little experience in the habits of wild animals, it is generally 
a matter of some surprise that the celebrated Ermine fur, which is in such general favor, should 
be produced by one of those very animals which we are popularly accustomed to rank among 
u vermin,” and to exterminate in every possible' way. Yet so it is. The highly-prized 
Ermine and the much-detested Stoat are, in fact, one and the same animal, the difference in 
the color of their coats being solely caused by 
the larger or smaller proportion of heat to 
which they have been subjected. 
In the summer time, the fur of the Stoat 
— by which name the animal will be desig- 
nated, whether it be wearing its winter or 
summer dress, — is not unlike that of the 
weasel, although the dark parts of the fur 
are not so ruddy, nor the light portions of so 
pure a white, as in that animal. The toes and 
the edges of the ears are also white. 
The charge of color which takes place 
during the colder months of the year is now 
ascertained, with tolerable accuracy, to be 
caused by an actual whitening of the fur, and 
not by the gradual substitution of white for 
dark hairs, as was for some time supposed to 
be the case. 
The hairs are not entirely white, even in 
their most completely blanched state, but 
partake of a very delicate cream-yellow, 
especially upon the under portions, while the 
slightly bushy tip of the tail remains in its 
original black tinting, and presents a singu- 
lar contrast to the remainder of the fur. In 
these comparatively temperate latitudes, the 
Stoat is never sufficiently blanched to render 
its fur of any commercial value, and the hair appears to be longer, thicker, and whiter in 
proportion to the degree of latitude in which the animal has been taken. As may be supposed, 
from the extreme delicacy of the skin in its wintry whiteness, the capture of the Stoat for the 
purpose of obtaining its fur is a matter of no small difficulty. The traps which are used for 
the purpose of destroying the Stoat are formed so as to kill the animal by a sudden blow, 
without wounding the skin ; and many of the beautiful little creatures are taken in ordinary 
snares. 
The object of the whitened fur of the Stoat is popularly supposed to be for the purpose of 
enabling the animal to elude its enemies by its similarity to the snow-covered ground on which 
it walks, or to permit it to creep unseen upon its prey. It seems, however, that many animals 
partake of the same tinting, some of which, such as the polar bear, are so powerful, that they 
need no such defence against enemies, and so active in the pursuit of the animals on which 
they feed, that their success in obtaining food seems to depend but little upon color. The 
arctic fox, which has already been mentioned, and the lemming, which will be recorded in a 
future page, are examples of this curious mutation of color. 
Putting aside for the present the mode in which the fur changes its color, the real object 
of the change appears to be for the purpose of defending the wearer against the intense colds 
which reign in those northern regions, and which, by a beautiful provision, are obliged to work 
the very change of color which is the best defence against their powers. It is well known that 
