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<v Speaker 1>Section fourteen of Birds and All Nature, Volume seven, two

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<v Speaker 1>February nineteen hundred recorded for lebrivouxa talk by Tavarish the

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<v Speaker 1>mink Porius vison. This soft fur bearing animal has been

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<v Speaker 1>described by Audubon and Prince Devied. Its nearest relatives are

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<v Speaker 1>very closely allied to the pole cat, and differ from

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<v Speaker 1>it only by a flatter head, larger canine teeth, shorter legs,

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<v Speaker 1>the presence of webs between the toes, a longer tail,

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<v Speaker 1>and illustrious fur consisting of a close, smooth short hair

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<v Speaker 1>resembling utter fur. Its color is a uniform brown. The

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<v Speaker 1>fur of the American mink is much more esteemed than

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<v Speaker 1>that of the European as it is softer and of

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<v Speaker 1>a more wooly character. According to Audubon, the mink ranks

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<v Speaker 1>next to thee in destructive capacity prowling around the farm

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<v Speaker 1>yard or duck pond, and its presence is soon detected

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<v Speaker 1>by the sudden disappearance of young chickens and ducklings. Audubon

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<v Speaker 1>had a personal experience with the mink, which made its

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<v Speaker 1>home in the stone dam of a small pond near

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<v Speaker 1>the home of the naturalist. The pond had been dammed

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<v Speaker 1>for the benefit of the ducks in the yard, and

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<v Speaker 1>in this way afforded the mink hunting grounds of ample promise.

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<v Speaker 1>Its hiding place had been selected with the cunning, very

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<v Speaker 1>near the house, and still nearer the place where the

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<v Speaker 1>chickens had to pass on their way to drink. In

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<v Speaker 1>front of its hull were two large stones, which served

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<v Speaker 1>the mink as a watch tower, from which it could

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<v Speaker 1>overlook the yard as well as the pond. It would

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<v Speaker 1>lie in wait for hours every day, and would carry

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<v Speaker 1>away chickens and ducks in broad daylight. Audubon found the

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<v Speaker 1>mink to be especially plentiful on the banks of the

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<v Speaker 1>Ohio River, and there observed it to be of some

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<v Speaker 1>use in catching mice and rats, but it was also

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<v Speaker 1>addicted to poaching and fishing. The naturalist observed it to

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<v Speaker 1>swim and dive with the greatest agility, and pursue and

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<v Speaker 1>attack the quickest of fishes, such as the salmon and trout.

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<v Speaker 1>It will eat frogs or lizards, but when food is

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<v Speaker 1>plentiful it is very fastidious, preying upon rats, finches and ducks, hares, oysters,

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<v Speaker 1>and other shellfish. In short, Brahm says it adapts itself

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<v Speaker 1>to the locality and knows how to profit by whatever

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<v Speaker 1>food supplies it may be able to find. When frightened,

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<v Speaker 1>it gives forth a very fetid odor. Like the pole cat.

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<v Speaker 1>The female gives birth to five or six young at

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<v Speaker 1>about the end of April. If taken young, they get

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<v Speaker 1>to be very tame and become real Richardson saw one

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<v Speaker 1>in the possession of a Canadian lady who used to

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<v Speaker 1>carry it about with her in her pocket. It is

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<v Speaker 1>easily caught in a trap of any kind, but its

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<v Speaker 1>tenacity of life renders it difficult to shoot. The European

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<v Speaker 1>mink much resembles the American, accept that it is somewhat

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<v Speaker 1>smaller and its fur is coarser. Upon a large farm

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<v Speaker 1>in Michigan visited by the writer this summer ran a

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<v Speaker 1>creek where the chickens. When the trough was dry and

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<v Speaker 1>dry it usually was traveled to get a drink. In

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<v Speaker 1>the bank of the creek, a mink made his home,

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<v Speaker 1>and not a week past that one or more hens

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<v Speaker 1>did not appear in the barnyard, crippled or mangled in

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<v Speaker 1>a manner painful to behold. Painful that is to the visitor,

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<v Speaker 1>but not apparently to the farmer, who only said, it's

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<v Speaker 1>that darned mink. Some day, when I have time, I'll

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<v Speaker 1>set a trap and catch him. And so went coolly

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<v Speaker 1>on his way, leaving the poor maimed reaches to drag

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<v Speaker 1>out a painful existence for days or weeks, hoping that

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<v Speaker 1>nature would heal the wounds made by the mink. Aside

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<v Speaker 1>from the lack of thrift thus shown by the farmer

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<v Speaker 1>for the hens, when badly mangled in time succumbed, the

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<v Speaker 1>inhumane aspect of the case never seemed to strike him.

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<v Speaker 1>The cultivation of his fields left no time for cultivating

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<v Speaker 1>the finer feelings of the heart end of Section fourteen.

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<v Speaker 1>This recording is in the public domain.