When we see the judge seated in his richly trimmed robe of ermine--
emblem of purity--or call to mind the regal robes of a proud monarch, we
are apt to forget that the fur which we so much admire is but that of
the detested stoat, turned white during his abode amid the winter's snow
of a northern clime. He is not unlike the weasel, especially when
clothed in his darker summer dress, but with a less ruddy hue. The
edges of the ears and the toes always remain white.
He is considerably larger than the weasel, measuring upwards of fourteen
inches, including the tail--which is about four inches long, the tip
almost black. He is a bold hunter, and follows and destroys the hare,
and other animals of equal size. It is said, even, that several
together will venture to attack a man. They are caught in America by
traps, which, giving the animal a sudden blow, kill it without injuring
the skin.
The winter coat of the ermine is produced by the whitening of the fur,
and not, as was once supposed, by the substitution of white for dark
hairs. Probably one cause of this change of hue may be that the
energies of the creature concentrate themselves on the vital organs, to
enable it to resist the extreme low temperature of the icy regions it
inhabits, and cannot thus spare a sufficient amount of blood for the
formation of the colouring matter which tinges the hair. Human beings
as well as animals become weaker as they increase in age; and it has
been observed that their hair also loses its colour, in consequence of
such energies as they possess being required to assist the more
important functions of nature. This corroborates the correctness of the
former remark.
The ermine, like other species of its genus, has the faculty of ejecting
a fluid of a strong musky odour. It is abundant, not only in the barren
grounds of the Hudson Bay territories, but is also found in Norway and
Siberia.
When the fur is used for robes, or similar purposes, the black tuft at
the end of the tail is sewn on at regular distances to the skin, giving
to the ermine fur the appearance we are all familiar with.