CARNIVORA.] WEASEL-STOAT-FERRET-CAPE ZORILLE-MARTEN. depredations. Bewick mentions a case, in which “eleven fine eels," the fruits of its nocturnal exertions, were taken out of the hole of one of these marauders. This occurrence took place in winter, doubtless during a season of scarcity, when necessity became, as usual, the mother of invention. The length of the Polecat is sixteen or eighteen inches, exclusive of the tail, which is four or five. The fur is of two sorts, one short, silky, of a pale yellow, which forms an undercoat; the other long and coarser, of a dark chocolate brown, which, except in the under parts where these hairs are thin, is the prevailing colour. Woods, copses, or deserted buildings, are the places where it dwells, digging for itself a subterranean retreat at the foot of a rock, an old wall, or among the gnarled and twisted roots of a tree, but not unfrequently taking possession of a burrow previously made, whose original tenant has served it for a meal. The WEASEL, (Putorius vulgaris,) is too familiar to require particular notice; its destructiveness among young broods of poultry, and its antipathy to rats and mice, which it attacks with the utmost eagerness, are known to all. Notwithstanding the wildness of this little animal, several instances are on record of its having been completely tamed, when, with the playful vivacity natural to it, it has manifested an unexpected, and therefore the more interesting, degree of affection. The STOAT, (Putorius erminius,) is widely spread, being found in Europe, Asia, and we believe America. It closely resembles the weasel, but is a full third larger, and is besides distinguished by a singular change of dress, which in that animal is not found to occur. During summer its general colour is a pale reddish brown, but this, as winter comes on, gradually changes to a pure white, which becomes universal, except at the tip of the tail, which is at all times black. In its winter livery it is known under the name of Ermine, and its fur is a valuable article of commerce, being imported in large quantities from the north of Europe, where it especially abounds. In England the Stoat seldom assumes so complete a purity of whiteness, or such closeness of fur, as it does in Norway or Siberia. We have, however, seen some from Ireland of exceeding beauty. Its predatory habits are the same as those of its relatives. The FERRET, (Putorius furo,) is known in England only as a domesticated quadruped, (it indeed an animal manifesting neither attachment nor those acquired habits of dependence which indicate true subjection can be called domesticated,) having been most probably introduced at an early period into Spain from Africa, whence it has been spread over Europe. Among the foreign species we may notice the CAPE POLECAT, or ZORILLE, (Putorius Capensis.) (See Engraving, No. 17.) In habits and manners a strong family resemblance runs through the members of this group, binding as it were together even species inhabiting distant and opposite portions of the globe, and stamping them with a sameness which cannot be mistaken. The Cape Zorille, however, | 33 betrays a departure in a few minor points from the typical characters, as it differs in colour, in the texture of its fur, and the strength of its claws, from its northern congeners: circumstances which have led some authors to form it into a distinct genus under the name of Zorilla. The Zorille is a native of Africa, where it lives in burrows or holes of its own excavating; hence the claws of his fore-feet are remarkably powerful, and well adapted for its work. Its hair is long, coarse, harsh, and moderately thick on every part of the body; the head being excepted, where it is short and smooth. Its colour on the back is an irregular mixture of black and white longitudinal stripes; the head is black, with a white oval mark on the forehead, and a white mark occupying the space between the eyes and the ears; the under surface and limbs are wholly black. The diversity which takes place in the arrangement of the stripes among individuals, all called Zorille, has led to a belief of there being several distinct species, which, though closely allied, differ amongst each other in minor particulars: a circumstance the more probable, as it is in conformity with those laws which the Great Creator appears to have laid down in the general arrangement of nature. In the Cape Zorille, the tail, which is furnished with long hairs, is carried erect, and the hair spread, so as to form a plume: in this respect, as well as in style of colouring, though not in its dentition, it betrays an approximation to a race peculiarly American, distinguished by an overpowering odour, which is either entirely absent, or less perceptible in the present animal, and in the rest of the subdivision in which it is at present placed. very trifling degree from the Putorii by the adThe MARTENS, (Mustela, CUVIER,) differ in a dition of a false molar tooth on each side above and below, and by a little tubercle on the inner side of the laniary molars of the lower jaw. As their distinctive characters but slightly remove them from the foregoing race, so are they as little separated in their habits and disposition. The fur of all the species is exquisitely soft and beautiful; that of the PINE MARTEN, (Mustela abietum,) is highly prized, and an article of extensive commerce. The animal is found in the immense forests of the north, both of Europe and America, where it lives, like a squirrel, among the trees, which it climbs with the utmost facility; it is said to usurp the nest of a squirrel or bird, the original possessor of which has fallen a sacrifice to its rapacity; and in this homestead, which another's labours have founded, the female rears her young. The general colour of the fur, which consists, as is usual, of two sorts of hair, is a deep chestnut, except on the throat and margin of the ears, where the chestnut colour gives place abruptly to a fine yellow in summer the tints not only become lighter, but the fur shorter; and the toes, which during the winter were well protected with woolly hair, are deprived of their covering, and the claws are completely exposed. : A still more celebrated fur is that of the SABLE, (Mustela zibellina,) a single skin having, it is D said, sometimes sold for fourteen or fifteen pounds; the average ratio is, however, from one to ten pounds, according to the quality, there being a great difference, according to the time of the year, and the age and state of the animal when killed: the darker the colour, the more is the fur esteemed. The bellies, of about two fingers' breadth, are we believe sold separately, in bundles of forty pieces, each piece consisting of a pair; these bundles are stated, we know not on what authority, to be worth from one to two pounds each. The skin of the throat, called in the furriers' shops gills, and that of the tail, are also sold separately. The Sable fur may be distinguished by the hairs lying any way in which they may be placed; very little of the true kind finds its way into our market, the fur of several of the American species of Marten, which is very beautiful, passing in its stead. [CARNIVORA. arduous of labours which can fall to the lot of a wretched exile or desperate hunter. The pursuit takes place in the winter, (at which time the fur is the finest and most valuable,) and the hunters in small troops, carrying with them their stock of provisions, which too often fail, press onward over frozen plains where many a tempest sweeps, into the bosom of mighty woods, where no vestige of human beings, save themselves, cheers the bleak and savage scene; following the tracks of the animals over the snow, night and day, with enduring perseverance. Various are the methods used for taking them: some are shot with single ball, some caught in traps, some pursued to their retreats, and nets are placed over the entrance, while the hunter, suffering from cold and often unheard-of privations, has to watch perhaps for days before he can entrap his prey. Who can picture to himself without An animal producing an article of luxury so shuddering the case of the condemned Sableprized by the fair sex throughout the whole of hunter? He leaves with heavy heart the last Europe, cannot fail to be an object of interest thinly scattered habitations which border the and curiosity; we know, however, but little re- pathless wilds; a sky of clouds and darkness is specting it, and that little from confused and al- above, bleak mountains and gloomy forests bemost contradictory statements. A writer dis- fore him; the recesses of the forests, the defiles tinguished for his talents and depth of research, of the mountains must be traversed; there are begins an elaborate paper on the pine marten, the haunts of the Sable. The cold is below zero: (see "Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological but the fur will prove the finer! Nerved by neSociety delineated,") by observing, that "the cessity, and stimulated by the hope of a share in animals of the weasel family have long been the gains, on he presses. Fatigue and cold exclassed among the torments of zoologists, and few haust him; a snow storm overtakes him; the have a better title to be so considered than those bearings or way-marks are lost or forgotten; which constitute the genus Mustela, as restrict-provisions fail; and too often he who promised ed by Cuvier." In confirmation of this opinion, we have but to turn to the present animal, respecting which it is as yet a matter of some uncertainty whether it be not, in fact, identical with the pine marten, varying only in characters produced by age, climate, or other causes. The principal differences appear to consist in the uniform yellow of the throat of the pine marten, which in the sable is cinereous and irregularly mottled; added to which, the size of the latter is rather larger, its muzzle a degree more elongated, and its tail shorter; the head being of a grey colour, passing into brown on the muzzle, and hoary about the eyes. Such, at least, are the chief characters as given by Pallas, who drew his details from a personal acquaintance with the animal during his travels in Siberia. The same may be said also of Gmelin, the description of which was accompanied by a figure so truly bad as to be of no avail. The general colour, however, as he details it, differs considerably from the account of Pallas, affording at least a strong presumptive evidence of "great variation in different animals, and at different seasons." Among other writers, from Linneus downwards, none appear to have inspected the living example, therefore their works afford no certain guide. Still, however, notwithstanding the distinctive characters between the Sable and the pine marten are so ill made out, and even so contradic-fore feet are strong, and well adapted for digging; tory, as to leave the subject in a maze of intricacy, we cannot but acquiesce in the assertion of Pallas, who affirms decidedly that the species are truly distinct. The Sable is a native of Siberia, inhabiting the forests and mountains of that inhospitable region, where its chase is one of the most painful and to his expecting and anxious friends a speedy return, is seen no more for ever. (See Engraving, No. 18.) Such is Sable-hunting in Siberia, and such the hapless fate of many an exile, who perishes in the pursuit of what only adds to the luxuries and superfluities of the great. But it is ever thus in the chase of the follies, the trifles, and the things of time; the pursuit is arduous and painful, and the object comparatively worthless, or, if of value, to be possessed only for a season, and parted with for ever. Man seldom labours so earnestly in the pursuit of that knowledge which makes him "wise unto salvation." Besides the above examples of the genus Mustela, our British Isles present us with the BEECH MARTEN, (Mustela fagorum,) distinguished by its white throat; India, with that beautiful species, the Mustela flavigula; and America with several. The next genus is that of the MEPHITIC WEASELS, (Mephitis, CUVIER,) so called from their intolerable odour. Their dentition is characterized by two false molars above, and three below; the upper tuberculous tooth very large, and as long as broad; and the laniary molar of each side in the lower jaw having two blunt projections on its internal aspect. The nails of the the distinguishing colouring of the genus is black, rather abruptly cut up on the back by longitudinal tripes of white; the tail is long and bushy. These animals are slow in their movements, and have neither the graceful contour of figure, nor the fine and beautiful fur of the Putorii and Mustelæ, nor do they possess propensities so tho roughly carnivorous, or a disposition so daring. Their means of defence consist in the property they possess of emitting at will a peculiar liquid secretion, the odour of which is so horribly disgusting, that every animal retreats dismayed from their presence. Few dogs can be brought to stand it, and then only by keeping their noses to the earth. A single drop on a garment renders it for ever useless, as it can neither be purified by washing nor exposure to the air, and the whole house is tainted where it is suffered to remain. Such is the Yagouaré of South America, described by D'Azzara, who declares that he was not even able to endure the disgusting odour which a dog that had unfortunately received it from this animal a week before communicated to some furniture, although the dog had undergone the ordeal of washing and scrubbing with sand above twenty times. One of the animals of this abounds in ill defined species, is America, (Mephitis Americana.) ing, No. 19.) genus, which the SKUNK of (See Engrav The general colour of this animal is black, with two white marks, subject to some variation, passing from the occiput the whole length of the back; a white line also passes down the forehead. The body measures eighteen inches, the tail about twelve. The nose is long and slender; the ears very small and rounded; the hair long and coarse. Its odour is painfully insupportable both to man and beast. Mr. Audubon relates a humorous anecdote of a gentleman in America, who, not being acquainted with the demerits of this animal, incautiously pursued one, met with on the wayside during their journey, and received as a lesson never to be forgotten such a sprinkling of the pestilential liquid, as not only nearly poisoned him, but rendered him a walking terror, from which all retired with dismay; nor did his cloak ever lose the effluvium. Among others who have experienced the same fate, it appears that " Mr. Skidder, the owner of the New York Museum, had a set of clothes spoiled, which, after washing, were hung upon the roof of his house full fifty feet high, and yet could be smelt very distinctly some distance off in the streets, or the square near the house;" and it is related of professor Kalm that he was once "nearly suffocated by one that was pursued into a house where he slept." In fact, though formidable neither on account of its teeth nor its claws, the Skunk possesses one of the most efficacious of weapons in the armoury of nature. Another animal allied to the mephitic weasels is the TELEDU of Java, (Mydaus meliceps.) (See Engraving, No. 20.) This singular species, a native of Java and Sumatra, which forms the type, and as yet the only species of the genus Mydaus, HORSF., agrees in many respects with the mephitic weasels of America, but differs in several essential particulars, especially in the hog-like form of the head, shortness of the tail, (which is a mere brush,) its nearly plantigrade mode of walking, and its habits of turning up the earth with its snout like a pig. Its proportions are heavy, its neck short and thick, its eyes small and placed high on the 35 skull, its ears small and nearly concealed by the hair; its odour is similar to that of the skunk, and equally offensive; its size is about the same. The crown of the head, a stripe along the back, and the tip of the tail, are of a faded straw-colour; the rest of the body being of a dull chestnut bordering on black. The warm clothing of long hair in which the Teledu is enveloped, proclaims it to be a native of at least a temperate climate; and accordingly we find it not in the burning plains of Java, but along the mountain ridges, where the temperature approximates to that of our northern clime. It is to that celebrated naturalist, Dr. Horsfield, who, during a long residence in Java, investigated the history of this and many other animals, of which little had been previously known, that we are indebted for our information respecting the present species. Availing ourselves of his account, we take the liberty of presenting the following interesting extract:-"The Mydaus meliceps presents a singular fact in its geographical distribution. It is confined exclusively to those mountains which have an elevation of more than seven thousand feet above the level of the ocean; on these it occurs with the same regularity as many plants. The long extended surface of Java abounding with conical points which exceed this elevation, affords many places favourable for its resort. On ascending these mountains, the traveller scarcely fails to meet with our animal, which from its peculiarities is universally known to the inhabitants of these elevated tracts; while to those of the plains it is as strange as an animal from a foreign country. A traveller would inquire in vain for the Teledu at Batavia, Semarang, or Surabaya. In my visits to the mountainous districts I have uniformly met with it, and as far as the information of the natives can be relied on, it is found on all the mountains. It is, however, more abundant on those which, after reaching a certain elevation, consist of numerous connected horizontal ridges, than on those which terminate in a defined conical peak. Of the former description are the mountain Prahu and the Tengger hills, which are both distinctly indicated in Sir Stamford Raffles's Map of Java: here I observed it in great abundance. It was less common on the mountain Gede, south of Batavia; on the mountain Ungarang, south of Semarang; and on the mountain Ijen, at the farthest eastern extremity; but I traced its range through the whole island. Most of these mountains and ridges furnish tracks of considerable extent, fitted for the cultivation of wheat and other European grains. Certain extra-tropical fruits are likewise raised with success; peaches and strawberries grow in considerable abundance, and the common culinary vegetables of Europe are cultivated to a great extent. To most Europeans and Chinese a residence in these elevated regions is extremely desirable; and even the natives, who in general dislike its cold atmosphere, are attracted by the fertility of the soil, and find it an advantage to establish villages, and to clear the grounds for culture. Potatoes, cabbages, and many other culinary vegetables, are extensively raised, as the entire supply of the plains in these articles depends on these elevated districts. Extensive plantations of wheat and of other European grains, as well as of tobacco, are here found, where rice, the universal product of the plains, refuses to grow. These grounds and plantations are laid out in the deep vegetable mould where the Teledu holds its range as the most ancient inhabitant of the soil. In its rambles in search of food, this animal frequently enters the plantations, and destroys the roots of young plants: in this manner it causes extensive injury; and on the Tengger hills particularly, where these plantations are more extensive than in other elevated tracks, its visits are much dreaded by the inhabitants. It burrows in the earth with its nose in the same manner as hogs; and in traversing the hills, its nocturnal toils are observed in the morning, in small ridges of mould recently turned up. "The Mydaus forms its dwelling at a slight depth beneath the surface in the black mould, with considerable ingenuity. Having selected a spot defended above by the roots of a large tree, it constructs a cell or chamber of a globular form, having a diameter of several feet, the sides of which it makes perfectly smooth and regular; this it provides with a subterraneous conduit or avenue, about six feet in length, the external entrance to which it conceals with twigs and dry leaves. During the day it remains concealed, like a badger, in its hole; at night it proceeds in search of its food, which consists of insects and their larvæ, and of worms of every kind: it is particularly fond of the common lambrici, or earth-worms, which abound in the fertile mould. These animals, agreeably to the information of the natives, live in pairs; and the female produces two or three young at a birth." Its motions are slow, and it is easily taken by the natives, who whenever they can surprise one suddenly, prepare it for food, "as the flesh is then scarcely impregnated with the offensive odour, and is described as very delicious." The effluvium of the Teledu, when irritated, spreads to a considerable extent, and is so overpowering as to produce in some persons fainting. The concluding genus of this subdivision is that of the OTTERS, (Lutra,) the dentition of which is thus characterized: three false molars above and below, a strong projection on the upper laniary molar, and a tubercle on the internal side of the lower; these are succeeded both above and below by a tuberculous molar large and strong. The fur of the Otters consists of a short close water-proof vest, and a long silky shining upper coat; the head is flattened, the muzzle blunt, the body elongated, with short strong limbs and webbed feet; the tail flattened horizontally; and the whole conformation adapted for aquatic habits. The species composing this genus are pretty numerous, and from almost every quarter of the globe, exhibiting a close agreement amongst each other in form and manners; our notice, therefore, will not extend beyond the well known example common to the British Islands and the whole of Europe. The OTTER, (Lutra vulgaris,) (see Engraving, No. 21,) is one of those mammalia commonly [CARNIVORA. termed amphibious: it is, indeed, capable of continuing several minutes under water, and there it pursues its prey. But the term amphibious, with regard at least to warm-blooded animals, ought to be excluded from the scientific vocabulary, since, as popularly used, it conveys an erroneous idea; for though many mammalia are denizens of the mighty deep, born and living amid the "waste of seas," still (as the whale) they breathe air, and cannot exist except for a very limited period below the surface; in short, they differ from other mammalia in nothing, unless in the wonderful adaptation of outward form for the locality appointed them by the Great Creator. The Otter was formerly abundant, and is still found plentifully along the more secluded rivers and lakes of our island, where it makes great havoc among the finny tribes, which constitute its sole food. Nothing can be more graceful or easy than its motions in the water, in which it dives and glides along as if without the slightest effort, displaying the most beautiful and serpentlike evolutions. To see the Otters feed in the Zoological Gardens is one of the most interesting of spectacles, the clear water allowing the exertions of the fish and the manœuvres of the pursuer to be distinctly traced. The Otter is fierce, wild, and shy; its habits are principally nocturnal; its retreat is in general a burrow by the water's edge, extending to some distance in the bank, and concealed by overhanging brushwood, tangled briers, and herbage, or by the roots of some old tree; in this it makes a bed of dried grass and leaves. Hunting the Otter has been a favourite but cruel sport. The moment he is discovered, he betakes himself to the water, where he is more than a match for the strongest dog. Wearied out by his exertions to escape a multitude of foes, assailed on every side, covered with wounds, or transfixed with spears launched at him as he rises to breathe, still his determined courage holds out to the last, and he dies without uttering a cry. The Otter is far from being destitute of intelligence and docility: notwithstanding its native fierceness, it may be easily tamed, and has indeed been frequently kept in a state of domestication. Bewick tells us of one kept some years since by a James Campbell, near Inverness, which that person employed very successfully in salmon-fishing; it would sometimes take eight or ten in a day, and was always rewarded with a due share of the booty. It followed its master like a dog, and displayed great confidence and attachment. Few animals exhibit more solicitude for their young. Professor Steller, who notices the strength of this instinctive tenderness, says, "Often have I spared the lives of the female Otters whose young ones I took away. They expressed their sorrow by crying like human beings, and followed me as I was carrying off their young, which called to them for aid in a tone of voice very much resembling the crying of children. When I sat down in the snow, they came quite close to me, and attempted to carry off their young. On one occasion, when I had deprived an Otter of her progeny, I returned to the place eight days after, and found the female sitting by |