The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1899-12-06
HANDLING FERRETS.
now PROFESSIONAL RAT cAroHERs
USE THE ANIMALS.

Little Beasts Arc Elective Where
Traps and Poison FaIi-Thcy Are
Generally Worked with u Muzzic.
"Weascls and ferrets," said pro
fessional rat catcher, ARE about TIL,
same thing The imported ferrot
trained TO the business are larger thai
the weasel, that is all. After | an
through with rat catching | use my fer
rets TO hunt rabbits out of brush piles
hay and straw stacks, which is prof
table business when rabbits ar,
plenty. What you call rabbits over
here we in England call harcs.
when n man once starts in as Il
professional rat catcher and gets &c
understand training and working fer
rets, there is such an attraction In the
trade that he never willingly gives II
up It's a profitable business without
too much competition"
"Do the ferrets ever bite your
Its Il very caroless and awkward
man TINT gets bitten by trained fer
ret. When one is bitten by an enrag
ed ferret, the bite Is of very severe
character, extremely painful and slow
TO heal"
As the rat catcher talked 6month.
old ferret, his fiery little eyes CLEAN.
Ing like living gems, was crawling over
his lap and trying to get In under his
coat. "Thls fellow" said the rat
catcher. SIS as gentle as kitten and
likes to have his back rubbed and TO
hn ~ pngcaI a xpn1l a. ont
saw. When the ferret bites rats
neck. he knows exactly what he is do
Ing, and his front teeth, cutting like
razors, go right through the iuguar.
"Of course we generally muZzle them
when we send them In after rats, and
we always muzzle them when we send
them In after rabbits. If their teeth
were ut liberty, they would KIN the
first rat or rabbit they met and would
remain In the hole sucking It's blood
When we put n ferret into II house aft
er rats, we stop up all the holes at the
outside OF the house except one or two.
Over these we place bags, and the fer.
rets, driving the game before them
run the rats into the bags, We keep
the ferret without his ordinary meals
before using him, and this makes him
keener In his chase.
Its mighty easy TO spoil a ferret
After young ferret has been badly
bitten by n rat, as sometimes happens,
you can't get him to go into II hole
muzzled. But when ferret Is fall
grown and has the skill and courage
that he should have he Is Il holy terror
10 rats and Is II valuable animal |
would not sell well trained ferret for
500, the price of n good horse Such Il
ferret | should be willing to put In II
pit with 90 rats, and he could in Il short
time kill every one of them. Rats are
great fighters when they are corhered,
but no other animal of the same size
has as much courage as n ferret OF
weasel.
IN England the largest fcrrets arc
called Dolccat ferrets aud are cross
of the two animals, WHICH are mucl
alike. In this country the word pole
eat is applied to the skunk, an entirely
different animal The word polecat
is supposed to he an abbrcviatlon of
Polish eat and the animal abounds
all over Europe. The mink is much
like the weasel, except that II Is larger,
and many depredatlons that are at
tributed to the weasel are committed
by the mink, All these animals prowl
by night, and they frequently go mnny
miles In search of food, even coming
into towns and the suburbs OF cities"
AnInItnn tph A ~ "a sInan ginInnt
of nature, was delighted with the
weasel, or American ferret It's long,
flexible body, It's extraordinary length
of neck, the closeness of It's FUR Its
keenness of scent, Its wonderful agill-
~ and quickness of movement, all eX-
cited his admiration.
An American writer says: "The com
mon weasel has sometimes been
caught and carried off by large hawks
and owls. Sorry was the experience
of the captor In such cases. lie has
caught n Tartar. The captive viii bite
into the sides of the enemy, SO that
both Will fall to the ground, the bird
mortally wounded and the weasel usu
ally comparatively unhurt.
4 Ut Nfdbtl y touIuHt VI h'Ituuluk II
self when attacked by birds Of prey Is
universally admitted, nor Is II deficient
In fierce opposition to dogs and even
men when Its nest Is Invaded by eli
Their 1t usually kills for food, biting
through the head into the brain witt
such experiences that It's victim can
scarcely utter n cry Of pain. 1t usually
eats the brain first; then the rest OF
the body follows. In pursuing mice
rats and moles 1t follows them into
their runs or holes. A wcasel's
proximity to poultry yard Is not to
be desired But in barns, hayrlcks
and grain stacks 1t IL decidedly ad
yantagcous, as 1t will surely extent
nate or drive away rats and mice"
The weasel's characteristics are not
ed In two Am---.-'can spgipgs.,1cstol
weasel asleep" ana "SJiii.l 'ttiS,lstc I
weasel with eggs" Stories are tolt
that a weasel Will watch hen on tn,
nest for an hour. waiting for freshly
laid egg.-Indianapolls News.