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natural history 
FERRET. 
The Ferret is a small yet bold animal, 
and an enemy to all others but those of his 
own kind. He has a longer and thinner 
body, a narrower head, and a sharper snout 
than the pole cat. The Ferret is made choice 
of to drive rabbits from their burrows, in pre- 
ference to the pole cat, chiefly because he is 
more easily tamed. 
When the Ferret is let loose into the bur- 
rows of rabbits, it is necessary to muzzle 
him, that he may not kill them, but only 
make them run out, and thereby fall into the 
net laid for them at the entry. If he is al- 
lowed to go unmuzzled, there is a risk of 
losing him, because, after having sucked the 
blood of the rabbit, he will fall asleep by the 
body. 
