JV1 U S T E L A. 
' biting off the heads of fowls and pigeons, and then car¬ 
rying them away to its retreat; and fometimes it carries 
off the heads aione. Daring the fummer, however, it 
principally frequents rabbit-warrens, or the hollow trunks 
of trees, Sec. See. and prowls about in queft of young 
birds, rats, field-mice, Sec. According to M. de Buft'on, 
a iingle family of polecats is fufticient to deftroy a vidiole 
warren of rabbits ; and he obferves, that this would be a 
fimple method of ditninifhingthe number of rabbits where 
they are too abundant. In Spain the ferret is laid to have 
been formerly introduced for a limilar purpofe. The 
polecat alfo preys occafionally on filh : of which a curious 
inftance is recorded in Bewick’s Hiftory of Quadrupeds. 
During a levere ftorm, one of thei'e animals was tracked 
in th.e fnow from the fide of a rivulet to its hole, at l'ome 
diftance from it: as it was obferved to have made frequent 
trips, and as other marks were feen in the fnow, which 
could not eafdy be accounted for, it was thought a matter 
worthy of more diligent enquiry; its hole was accord¬ 
ingly examined, the animal taken, and eleven fine eels 
were difeovered to. be the fruits of its nocturnal excur- 
fions, the un ufual maijrs in the fnow having been made 
by the motion of the eels while dragged along in the 
animal's mouth. That the polecat, however, fometimes 
feeds in this manner, is, in reality, no new obfervation ; 
fince Aldrovandus allures us, that it will occafionally take 
up its refider.ee in the hollow banks of rivulets, in order 
to lie in wait for, and prey upon, filh. The polecat is alfo 
delighted with milk, and will vilit the dairy in order to 
indulge in this article : it has been known to attack bee¬ 
hives in the winter-feafon, and to feed on the honey. 
The fpring is the feal'on in which it breeds; the female 
producing three or four at a birth, which Ihe is faid to 
1'uckle but a Ihort time, accuftoming them early to fuck 
the blood of the animals which Ihe brings to them, as well 
as eggs, Sec. The polecat has been known to breed with 
the ferret: and it is faid to be a practice with warreners, 
who keep thei'e animals, to procure a mixed breed from 
time to time, which are of a colour between the ferret and 
the polecat, or of a dingy yellowilh-brown. 
The polecat is a ftrong and abtive creature, and will 
fpring with great vigour and celerity when preparing to 
attack its prey, or to efcape from purfuit; at which time 
it arches its back confiderably, in order to affift its effort. 
The fur is beautiful, and the {kin, when properly d relied, 
is numbered among the commercial furs, and ufed for 
tippets and other articles of drefs. It is added by Aldro¬ 
vandus, that the furriers endeavour to obtain Ikins taken 
from fucb animals as have been killed during the winter, 
as being far lefs fetid than thofe killed in the fpring and 
fummer. 
( 3 . M.putorius Guianenfis, the South-American fitchet: 
colour lighter; tail fhorter. This variety has a long lharp 
nofe ; its cheeks, its throat, and the fides of its neck, are 
black ; its forehead, and the fides of its head, to its ears, 
are white ; its ears are Ihort, round,and edged with white; 
from each ear a narrow ftripe extends along the fides of 
.its neck : its body is covered with coarfe hair, grey at the 
bafe, black and white at the ends ; its legs and feet are 
black, tinged with red ; its toes are not unlike thofe of a 
rat: the length of this animal is above twenty-one inches ; 
its tail is bulhy, of a bright chefnut, mixed with white. 
It is rather fhorter in proportion than the common pole¬ 
cat 5 it inhabits Guiana. Buffon's Suppl. iii. 
27. Muftela furo, the ferret: eyes red and fiery. In 
manners and form the ferret refembles the polecat, but is 
a fmaller animal; its ufual length being about fourteen, 
inches, exclufive of the tail, which is about five. Linnaeus 
feems to entertain a doubt whether it may be truly dif- 
tinft from the polecat; it is, however, a native of Africa, 
and not of Europe, and fupports with difficulty the cold 
of an European winter; whereas the polecat is found 
pot only in the temperate, but alfo in the colder, parts of 
the European regions; to which may be added, that, ex- 
Vol. XVI. No. 1x23. 
413 
clufive of its fmaller fize, it is of a more (lender lhape, and 
the fnout is (harper in proportion than-in the former ani¬ 
mal. The ferret is ufed for rabbit-hunting in preference 
to the polecat, becaufe it is more eafily tamed ; but it is 
neceffary to keep it in a warm box, with wool or fame 
other fubftance in which it may imbed itfelf. It deeps 
almoft Continually ; and, when awake, immediately be¬ 
gins to fearch about for food. It is ufually fed with 
bread and milk 5 but its favourite food is the blood of the 
fmaller animals. It is by nature an enemy to the rabbit; 
and it is affirmed by Buffon, that, whenever a dead rab¬ 
bit is prefen ted for the firft time.to a young ferret, he flies 
upon it in an inftant,and bites it with great fury; but, if 
it be alive, he feizes it by the throat and fucks its blood. 
When let into the burrows of rabbits, the ferret is al¬ 
ways muzzled, that it may not kill them in their holes, 
but only drive them out in order to be caught in the nets. 
If the ferret be put in without a muzzle, or happens to 
di fen gage himfelf from it, he is often loft ; for after fuck¬ 
ing the blood of the rabbit, he falls alleep, and cannot be 
regained, except fometimes by fmoking the hole, in order 
to oblige him to come out; but, as this is a praftice 
which does not always fucceed, it continues to lead a ra¬ 
pacious and folitary life in the warren, as long as the fum¬ 
mer continues-, and perillies by the cold of the winter. 
We are told by Strabo, that the ferret was brought into 
Spain from Africa, and it is fuppofed that this was done 
in order to free that country from the vaft number of rab¬ 
bits with which it was overrun ; and from Spain it was 
gradually introduced into other European countries. 
The ferret is an animal of irafcible nature; and, when ir¬ 
ritated, his odour, which is at all times.difagreeable, be¬ 
comes far more fo than ufual. The general colour of the 
ferret is a very pale yellowilh-brown, or cream-colour j 
and the eyes are of a bright and lively red. See fig. 6. 
28. Muftela Sarmatica, the Sarmatian weafel: "under 
parts black ; upper parts variegated with brown and yel¬ 
low. The Sarmatian weafel meafures about fourteen 
inches to the tail, and the tail fix inches. The head, feet, 
and under fides of the body, are black, the upper parts 
brown, variegated with irregular fpots or patches of tawny 
yellowt the mouth is furrounded with white; the face is 
crofted by a white band beyond theses, palling beneath 
the ears on each fide down to the throat; another white 
band crofles the back part of the head, and runs down 
on each fide over the Ihoulders ; and the upper part of the 
neck is varied with yellow : the tail is black, but inter¬ 
mixed with white and fulvous hairs. This fpecies inha¬ 
bits Poland and the fouthern provinces of Ruffia; in Afia, 
the mountains of Caucafus, Georgia, and Bucharia. It 
is a molt voracious creature, feeding on the marmots, 
mice, and fmaller animals, where it relidesf It feizes its 
prey, and firft fucks out the blood. It lives ufually in 
bodes made by other beafts; but is not incapable of dig¬ 
ging a burrow for itfelf. It deeps little, preys by night, 
and is very fierce and untameable. Its eyes are of a flam¬ 
ing brightnefs. It is very active, and moves by frequent 
jumps; its l'mell is very fetid, efpecially when it erefts its 
tail, which it does when- angry. It copulates in the 
fpring, goes two months, and brings from four to eight 
young ones, according to the report of the natives. ° 
29. Muitela Sibirica, the Siberian weafel: body tawny; 
feet very hairy. This has a black-face, whitilh about the 
noltrils, and Ipotted towards its eyes; the reft of the ani¬ 
mal is of a deep yellow, nearly approaching to fox or orange 
colour; its throat is fometimes fpotted with white; its 
tail is very bulhy, and of a deeper colour than the body; 
its hair in general is loofe and long, and the foies of its 
feet are deeply covered with fur. Its body is more llen- 
der than that of the polecat, and approaches nearer to 
the form of the float. Its length is about twelve inches ; 
its tail fix. It begins to appear in the Altaic Mountains, 
between the Oby and the lrtilh ; from whence it is com¬ 
mon, on wooded mountains, to the Amur and the Lake 
5 N Baikal. 
