The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-12-19
HANDLING FERRETS.
NOW PROFESSIONAL RAT CATCHeRS
USE THE ANIMALS.

These Fiery Eyed. Razor Toothed
Little beasts Are Effective where
Traps and Poison Fnii-They Are
Generally Worked with n MukkIe.
"Weasels and fcrrets," said a pro
fcsslonal rat catcher, ARE about the
same thing. The Imported ferrets
trained to the business are larger than
the weasel, that Is all. After | am
through with rat catching use my fer
rets to hunt rabbits out Of brush piles,
hay and straw stacks, which Is a prof
liable business when rabbits are
plenty. What you call rabbits over
here we In England call hares.
when man once starts In rs a
professional rat catcher and gets 10
understand training and working fer
rets. there Is such an attraction in the
trade that he never Willingly gives 1t
up. It's a profitable business without
too much competition"
do the ferrets ever bite you:"
ITS a very careless and awkward
man that gets bitten 10y a trained fer
ret. When one IS bitten by an enrag-
ed ferret, the bite is OF a very severe
character, extremely painful and slow
to heal"
As the rat catcher talked G-month-
old ferret, his fiery little eyes gleam-
Ing like living gems, was crawling over
his lap and trying to get In under his
coat. This fellow" said the rat
catcher, us as gentle as kitten and
likes TO have his back rubbed and to
be caressed as well as any cat you ever
saw. When the ferret bites a rats
neck, he knows exactly what he is do
Ing. and his front teeth. cutting like
razors. go right through the jugular
"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 II their teeth
we're at liberty, they would kill the
first rat or rabbit they met and would
remain In the hole sucking It's blood.
When we put ferret into 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 bis ordinary meals
before using him. and this makes him
keener In his chase.
Its mighty easy TO spoil a ferret.
After a young ferret has been badly
bitten by a rat. as sometimes happens,
you can't get him TO go into a hole
muzzled. But when a ferret is full
grown and has the skill and courage
that he should have he Is n holy terror
to rats and is a valuable animal |
would not sell a we'll trained ferret for
$50 the price OF good horse. Such a
ferret | should be willing to put In a
pit with 80 rats, and he could in short
time kill every one Of them. Rats are
great fighters when they are cornered,
but no other animal OF the same size
has as much courage as n ferret or
weasel.
"In England the largest ferrets are
called polecat ferrets and are a cross
Of the two animals, which are much
alike. In this country the word pole
cat Is applied to the skunk, an entirely
different animal. The word polecat
is supposed to be an abbrevlation Of
Polish cat, and the animal abounds
all over Europe The mink Is much
like the weasel, except that 1t is larger,
and many depredatiOns that are at
tributed to the weasel are committed
by the mink. All these animals prowl
by night, and they frequently go many
miles IN search Of food, even coming
into towns and the suburbs Of cities"
Audubon, who was a close student
Of nature, was delighted with the
weasel, or American ferret. Its long,
flexible body, its extraordinary length
OF neck, the closeness Of its fur, its
keenness OF scent, Its wonderful agili-
ty 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. He has
caught Tartar. The captive will 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
The weasel's courage In defending IT.
self when attacked by birds OF prey is
universally admitted, nor Is 1t deficient
in fierce opposition to dogs and even
men when its nest is invaded by Ell
Their. 1t usually kills for food, biting
through the head into the brain with
such expertness that Its victim can
scarcely utter a cry Of pain. 1t usually
eats the brain first; then the rest OF
the body follows. In pursuing mice.
rats and moles II follows them into
their runs or holes. A weasePs
proximity to a poultry yard is not to
be desired. But In barns. hayricks
and grain stacks II is decidedly adj
vantageous, as It will surely extent
nate or drive away rats and MICE"
The weasels characteristics are not
ed In two American sayings, Catch
a weasel asleep" and Sooner trust a
weasel with eggs." Stories are told
that a weasel will watch hen on the
nest for an hour, waiting for freshly