42 
ORDERS OP MAMMALS— FLESH-EATERS 
was appropriate, and entitled to use. Let it be 
so called henceforth, and the misnomers rele- 
gated to obscurity, where they belong. Its 
original Mexican name is so ill adapted to our 
wants it never will be generally used. 
The Bassarisk is, after the true raccoon, the 
only animal in the United States possessed of a 
long, bushy tail with alternating black and white 
rings around it. It climbs trees, and nests in 
hollow branches like a squirrel; it scratches 
and bites, and catches rats, mice and small birds 
like a cat; and it has a many-sided appetite, 
like a raccoon. Its length of head and body is 
16 inches, tail about the same, and its general 
color is a brownish gray. It is a night prowler, 
and often makes its home in outbuildings and 
deserted ranch houses. In California it is oc- 
casionally kept in captivity by the miners, and 
is said to make a very attractive and interesting 
pet. 
