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716 ERMELAND ERMIITE eller as far as Irkutsk. Here they parted company, Erman proceeding to Kamtchatka, whence he sailed to the Russian colonies in America, and returned to St. Petersburg and Berlin by way of California, Tahiti, Cape Horn, and Rio de Janeiro. A description of his jour- ney is embodied in his Reise um die Erde (5 vols. 8vo, Berlin, 1833-'42). An English trans- lation of the portion of his travels relating to Siberia, by W. D. Cooley, appeared in London in 1848 (2 vols. 8vo.). He has also published separate works on the course of the river Obi and on the animals and plants collected by him on his journey, and has contributed largely to Poggendorff's Annalen and other scientific periodicals. Since 1841, assisted by many Russian savants, he has edited the Archivfiir wissenschaftliche Kunde von Russland, which is one of the best authorities on the subjects of which it treats. For several years he has held the professorship of physical science at the uni- versity of Berlin. ERMELAND (Pol. Warmia), a region of East Prussia, between the rivers Passarge and Fri- sching; area, about 1,600 sq. m. ; pop. about 200,000. It has formed a bishopric successively under the Teutonic knights, under the crown of Poland, and, since the first partition of that country in 1772, under Prussia. ERMINE, a name given to several weasels, of the genus putorius (Cuv.), inhabiting the north- ern parts of both hemispheres, and which in winter exchange their brown color for a white livery more or less pure. The European ermine (P. erminea, Linn.) is about 10 in. long, with the tail half the length of the body ; in summer it is reddish brown above, whitish below, with the tip of the tail black ; in this livery it is called the stoat in Great Britain. In winter the upper parts become white, with a yellow tint beneath, the tip of the tail remaining black at all seasons ; in this color the fur was formerly highly prized, especially for ornamenting gar- ments pertaining to royalty and offices of dig- nity ; for the purity of its whiteness it was taken as the emblem of incorruptibility and integrity. This animal is widely distributed in northern Europe and Asia, extending its range to the highest latitudes visited by man. Its habits are sanguinary, like those of all its genus, though from its smaller size it does less mischief in the farm yard than the polecat ; it attacks and kills rats, mice, moles, and young poultry, sucking their blood; it often' domesticates itself in houses, where its destruction of rats and mice in part compensates for its damage to the farmer in the hen house. There are at least five North American weasels entitled to the name of er- mine ; but it is very improbable that the P. er- minea is found on this continent. The animal called ermine by Audubon and Bachman, and considered by them the same as the European, was first described as a distinct species by De Kay as P. Noveboracensis. The color in sum- mer is chestnut brown above, whitish below and on the inner surface of the limbs ; edge of upper lip white, and end of tail black ; in win- ter, in northern latitudes, the hairs are snowy white from the roots, except on the end of the tail, which is black for about If in. ; south of Pennsylvania the color remains brown through- out the year. The head is depressed and acute ; Putorius Noveboracensis in Summer Dress. the ears are large and extend far round the meatus ; the body is elongated, and the tail cylindrical, thickly clothed with fur about 1^ in. long at the end ; the limbs are short and stout ; there are five toes on each foot, the in- ner the shortest, all covered with fur, which hides the naked pads on the soles; on each side of the under surface of the tail are glands which secrete an offensive musky fluid. The fur is short, but very soft. The length to root of tail is 10 to 11 in. ; length of tail to end of hair 6 to 7 in., the bones extending about 5 in. It is a graceful, quick, and fear- less animal, living under logs and heaps of stones, and in holes in rocks. It destroys rabbits, grouse, and domestic fowls much lar- ger than itself; satiated with the blood of a single victim, it kills all within its reach from Putorius Noveboracensis in Winter Dress. an instinctive propensity to kill ; it has been known to destroy 40 fowls in a single night ; from its vermiform body it is able to pursue hares into their burrows and the field mice into their galleries. Though occasionally destruc- tive to poultry and eggs, it is much more a