ERMINE

This article appears in Volume V09, Page 750 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: EMS-EUD

ERMINE , an alternative name for the stoat (Putorius ermineus), apparently applicable in its proper sense only when the animal is in its white winter coat. This animal

measures

MEASURES

loin. in length exclusive of the tail, which is about 4 in. long, and becomes bushy towards the point. The fur in summer is reddish brown above and white beneath, changing in the winter of northern latitudes to snowy whiteness, except at the tip of the tail, which at all seasons is black. In Scottish specimens this

change

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

in winter is complete, but in those found in the southern districts of England it is usually only partial, the ermine presenting during winter a piebald

appearance

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

. The white colour is evidently protective, enabling the animals to elude the observations of their enemies, and to steal unobserved on their

prey

PREY (0. Fr. preie, mod. proie, Lat. praeda, booty, from prae and the root hed—seen in prehendere, prendere, to grasp)

. It also retains heat better
than a dark covering,
and may thus serve to
maintain an equable
temperature at all sea-
% sons within the

body

BODY

.
The colour

change

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

seems
to be due to phagocytes
devouring the pigment-
= bodies of the

hair

HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

, and
not to a moult.
The species is a native --= -_ of the temperate and
Ermine or Stoat (Putorius ermineus), subarctic zones of the
Old World, and is repre-
sented in America by a form which can ,carcely be regarded as specifically distinct. It inhabits thickets and stony places, and frequently makes use of the deserted burrows of" moles and other underground mammals. Exceedingly sanguinary in disposition, and agile in its movements, it feeds principally on rats, water-rats and rabbits, which it pursues with pertinacity and boldness, hence the name stoat, signifying bold, by which it is commonly known. It takes readily to water, and will even climb trees in pursuit of

prey

PREY (0. Fr. preie, mod. proie, Lat. praeda, booty, from prae and the root hed—seen in prehendere, prendere, to grasp)

. It is. particularly destructive to poultry and game, and has often been known to attack hares, fixing itself to the throat of its victim, and defying all the efforts of the latter to disengage it. The female brings forth five

young

ones about the beginning of summer. The winter coat of the ermine forms one of the most valuable of commercial furs, and is imported in enormous quantities from Norway, Sweden, Russia and Siberia. It is largely used for muffs and tippets, and as a trimming for state robes, the jet black points of the tails being inserted at regular intervals as an

ornament

ORNAMENT (Lat. ornare, to adorn)

. In the reign of Edward III. the wearing of ermine was restricted to members of the royal family; but it now enters into almost all state robes, the rank and position of the wearer being in many cases indicated by the presence or absence, and the disposition, of the black spots. (See also FuR.)

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