THEMARTEN CAT.
This is a very curious and beautiful animal not commonly known, even by many connoisseurs in natural history, and is the largest of the ferret kind; he seldom or never comes near any dwelling-houses or farm yards, but delights in solitariness, frequenting lone forests, chaces, woods, and other desart places: however I knew one that used to run tame about the kitchen of the Bald-Face-Stag, on Epping-Forest; they have no strong disagreeable scent, like the polecat, weasel, and other stinking animals of a similar nature, but are reckoned the sweetest of the vermin kind; I caught several one winter, on the aforesaidforest, and sold their skins for four shillings and sixpence each, for the sake of the fur, which is exceedingly good.
Their lodging places are in old crows or magpies nests, and sometimes in a woodpecker’s hole, and in hollow trees: I have traced them in the snow, and when they take to a tree they will go from one to another with incredible swiftness like a squirrel, till they settle themselves in some or other of the places before mentioned, where you are likely to find them. They are very fond of birds of all kind, particularly the wood-pigeon, or ring-dove, and turtle-dove, which in the night-time they take from their roosting places. Now when you have discovered by their tracks, either in the earth or snow, where they go, place a common box or hutch trap, such as they use in warrens, [pl. II. fig. 1.] bait it with a bird, in the same manner as I before described for the wild cat, pick off some of the bird’s feathers, and strew them through the insideof the trap, from one end to the other, and hang the bird on a nail; this is the way I have caught several of them; but in some places I have known them hunted with hounds, when they are sure to lead the dogs through the thickest covers they can find. They are not an animal that abounds in great numbers, but rather scarce to be found; I make this observation, because many persons are entirely ignorant of its existence, for which reason I have been more particular and exact in my account of this uncommon creature.