Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-04-09
For the Freeman.
Concerning Weasels.
BY G. Ii. PERKINS.

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Inquiries from several localities as to
the nature OF certain " weaselS caught
this winter, have suggested 10 me the pro-
pricty of sending you few words con
corning these animals. find that several
quite distinct animals are very generally
included in the nameweasel and the animal
which is most commonly known as the
weasel is not weasel. but the ermine, rs
will, think, be made evident in what
follows:
The animal which may be called the
true, original weasel is much better known
in England than America, though it is
found over the northern portion of this
country. Its extreme shynpss. and noe
turnal habits, and small size render CON
cealment easy, enables it to escape obser
walton, SO that it may. very likely, be
more common than it appears to b..
Certainly in Vermont it is very rarely
taken. 1t is Il very small animal, never
being more than eight inches long. exclu-
sive of the tail, and rarely more than six
or seven inches. The tail is short, from
an inch and II half to two, or rarely three
inches long, including the terminal hairs.
1t is pointed and not black at the tip. On
account of the small size of the weasel il
rarely attacks poultry, probably never un-
less starved to it, but feeds on mice
beetles, and other small animals. The
habits of this animal have been SO little
studied in this country that we are com.
PEELED to 90 to English works for knowl-
edge Of them. Perhaps the best account
of the habits of the weasel is given BY
Mr.. Thomas Bell. and | will quote IL few
paragraphs from his account. lie says.
{" The weasel climbs trees with great fuel
ity and surprises birds on The nest, sucks
the eggs, or carries off the young" Speak
ing of the belief that this animal sucks the
blood of its prey, Mr.. Bell says that he
thinks that this is not founded on facts
" Some persons have positively denied the
existence of such propensity, and my
own observation, rs far us it goes, would
tend to confirm the refuation of the COM
monty received notion. The first grippe is
given on the head, the tooth in ordinary
cases piercing the brain, which it is the
weasel'S first act TO eat clean from the
skull. The carcass is then hidden near its
haunt, to be resorted 10 when required
and part of il often remains until it is
nearly putrid."
The stoat, or ermine. is much more
common in this country than the weasel
and is our common weasel. So universal
is this use of the name that it is not, per-
hapS, worth while to attempt to change it,
In color the two animals are very much
alike both being brown, of more or
less dark shade, in different specimens,
above, and white below, but, while the
weasel is pure white below, the ermine is
most commonly cream colored, or light
yellowish white. The most obvious char.
acter which distinguishes the erminp,
aside from size, is the greater, relative as
well as absolute, length of the tail and the
jet black hair AT the emf. 1t is always
considerably longer than the weasel, the
body being nine or ten inches long and
sometimes more, besides the tail which is
from three to six inches long, the black
hairs occupying the last two or three
inches. The tail is somwhat bushy and
never pointed. 1t is in animal of wide
range, being found over the northern parts
of America, Europe and Asia, and is the
animal from which the once so celebrated
and costly ermine fur was obtained, this
being, OF course, taken in winter, and The
black spots were the tips Of the tails, us
these remain unchanged in color through
out the year. The change from brown 10
pure white in the fall and the reverse in
the spring is of use TO the animal chiefly
us Il means of protection, rs by this change
the animals color harmonizes with its
surroundings. and thus it is more com
pletely concealed, both from hawks and
owls and other enemies aud from its prev,
which it likes to take by surprise as much
us possible.
Mr.. Bell thinks there is another ad.
vantage in the change which will let him
give in his own words, though / am not
inclined to give it great importance. cit
is too well known TO require more than an
that-allhougl the darker colors
absorb hea to II much greater degree than
the lighter ones, so that dark colored
is much warmer than light color
ed when the wearer is exposed to the suns
rays-the radiation of heat is also never
greater from dark than from light color, d
surfaces. and consequently the animal heat
from Wlthtn is more completely retained
by II white than dak covering; the tenn
peralure therefore of an animal having
white fur would continue more equable |
than that of one clothed in darker colors,
the latter would enjoy II greater
degree Of warmth whilst exposed to the
suns influence. Thus the mere presence
Of II degree of cold, sufficient to prove
turiful, if not fatal TO the animal, Is itself
The immediate cause of such change in
It's condition us shall at once negative its
injurious influences Even with us in
New England the ermine does not
always change, and us far south us Virgin.
u it never changes color. The whole fam
ly to which these animals belong and
which includes n large number of
pecies. among which may be mention.
III the martens, mink. ferret, badger,
'kunks and offers have more or less
ully developed glands which spcreie, and
i times. discharge odors of greater or less
Intensity from that Of the skunk which
taken " straight" is altogether over II
covering to those that are scarcely other
han agreeable; in fact. all of them are us ,
greeable rs the average perfume. if only I
iluted sufficiently. 1
Inc ermine is said by writers to emit {
odor which is horribly offensive at {
mes" but | have never noticed this. I
'hen the glands are cut across with II ,
nife strong and not wholly pleasant
usky odor is evolved, but | have never I
zen favored with anything worse than +
lis. +
The nest of the orrnine Is usually made /
q hollow tree. under n loo in n woo6 I