QUADRUPEDS. 
49 
and is much used in European countries, though very far 
inferior to that of the sable : the best, which is called 
Stone Marten fur by the furriers, is imported from 
Sweden and Hussia. The Pine, or Yellow-breasted 
Marten, is another species, the fur of which is nearly equal 
to that of the sable, though it is much cheaper. 
THE OTTER. (Mustela Lutra.) 
Forth from his den the Otter drew, 
Grayling and trout their tyrant knew, 
As between reed and sedge he peers, 
With fierce round snout and sharpened ears, 
Or, prowling by the moonbeam cool, 
Watches the stream or swims the pool. 
SCOTT. 
As the Otter lives principally on fish, the formation of 
his body is such as will enable him to swim with the 
greatest facility. His body is flattened horizontally ; his 
tail is flat and broad ; his legs are short, and his toes 
webbed. His teeth are very strong and sharp ; and his 
body, besides its fur, has an outer covering of coarse 
shining hair. The Otter is a perfect epicure in his food ; 
he seldom eats an entire fish, but beginning at the head, 
he eats that, and about half the body, always rejecting 
D 
