Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/131

* MARTEN. 109 MARTENSEN. tela, whieli also cuntains tlie sables. The body is elongattd and supple, as in weasels, the legs short, and the toes separate, with sharp, long claws. The nose is grooved and the ears are shorter and broader than in weasels, and the tail is busily. The martens exhibit great agility and gracefulness in tlieir movements and are very expert in elimbing trees, among which they gen- erally live. Itirnisliing a lolly hollow in a decay- ing trunk with a bed of leaves. Here the young are brought forth in litters of si.x to eight early each spring; but in a mountainous country all will make dens, sometimes in crevices of rocks. The term marten is somewhat indefinite, but is most applied in America to the animal which is the nearest analogiie to the Old World sable (q.v. ), and hence is frequently called the American sable or pine marten: technically it is Musttia Aiiicricaiui. This species, which for 250 years has supplied the most valuable of the American furs gathered f[om its tribe, originally had a range wherever forests grew from New Jersey and Pennsylvania to Labrador and Hudson Bay, and from Colorado and central California to the barren grounds of the Arctic coast; and it was .so plentiful that perioilirally it overflowed certain districts and s])reacl in hordes, scat- tering far and wide in search of food. On the other hand, periods of astonishing scarcity of martens occur every eight or ten years, no cause for which is known. The incessant trapping which goes on in the wilderness seems to have little effect upon them, but this species every- where rapidly fades away before the approach of civilization. They keep mostly to the trees, and hence like the den.ser parts of the forest, but they constantly descend to the ground for food, especially in winter, when they regularly hunt for hares and grouse of all kinds, trailing them with nose to the track like hounds. Their broad feet enable them to move rapidly, even over soft snow. They also hunt persistently for squirrels, chase them in the trees and on the ground, and enter their nests. To this diet is added whatever mice and birds and small fare comes their way. Martens have little to fear from native foes ; the much larger fisher is said to kill them occa- sionally, and it is not improbable that the great horned owl now and then manages to pounce on one, but very few of the carnivores care to taste their flesh unless driven to it by extreme hunger. They are trapped from November until toward March, when their coat begins to become ragged and dull in hue, and with the approach of the rutting season they are no longer attracted by the baits offered by trappers. This species averages about 18 inches in length of head and body, plus seven to eight inches of tail. Its highly variable tints may be described as rich brown, somewhat lighter below. Tlie winter fur is full and soft, an inch and a half deep, and has sparsely scat- tered through it coarse black hairs which the furrier pulls out. The tail has longer hairs, but is less bushy than that of the fisher. The dis- tinction between this animal and either the Euro- pean pine marten or the Asiatic sable is not visible to an inexperienced eye, and it is only recently that naturalists have agreed to regard them as specifically distinct. A much larger American species, unlike any- thing in the Old World, is Pennant's marten (Mustela Penmniti). the 'pekan' of French-Cana- dian trappers and commonly known to Ameri- cans as the 'black cat' or 'fisher,' the latter an erroneous name, since the animal never catches Hsli, It is the largest of its race, and is descrilied under Fisher. For illustration of the pine marten see Plate of Fik-I?e.ri.g Animals. Two other species are natives of Xorthern Furope, namely. the now rare and restricted pine or sweet marten (Mustcla martcs) and the more common beech or stone marten (Mii.<itrla foina), which is not now regarded as an inhabitant of Great Britain. The habits of both are substantially the same as have been described above, and they difler mainly in the pine marten having (like the .merican form) a yellowish throat and chest, while that of the beech marten is white. Consult Coues, Fur-Bearing Animals (Washington, 1877). MABTENE, mar'tan', Edmo.vd (1654-1739). A Roman Catholic scholar. He was born at Saint-.Jean-de-Lone, near Dijon ; became a Bene- dictine monk at eighteen, and joined the famous Congregation of Saint ilaur. He spent his life in the service of learning, searching the libraries of Germany, France, and the Netherlands, the fruits of the search appearing in many works, notably in the new edition of the Gallia Christ- iana (14 vols., 1715-5G) ; Commentarius in Regu- lam Sancti Patris Benedicti (1600); Thesaurus Novus Anecdotorum (1717); Veterutn .S'erip- torum, et Monumentorum Historicorum Dogmati- corum et Moralium Amplissima Colleclio (1724- 33). MARTENS, miir'tens, Friedkich From.mhold vox (1845—). A Russian writer on interna- tional law, born at Pernau, in Livonia, He studied law at the universities of Saint Peters- burg, Vienna, Heidelberg, and Leipzig, In 1868 he became an official of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and thereafter continued to be an active and influential figure in matters of foreign diplo- macy. He took part in the Brussels conference for the codification of martial law. In 1S84 and 1887 he was a member of the Red Cross confer- ences. Two years afterwards he represented his GoA'ernment at the Brussels conference for com- merce and maritime law. He was intrusted with the office of arbitrator between England and France in the New Zealand question in 1891, and two years afterwards he was a delegate to the Hague conference on arbitration. Martens published: Recueil de traites et conventions con- cliis par la Russie avec les puissances efrangdres (1874-95), and La Russie et VAngleterre dan-t I'Asie Centrale (1879), He is famous for his work International Law ( 1882), which was trans- lated into Ciorman and French. MARTENS, Georg Fijiedrich vox (1756- 1821), A German publicist and diplom:it. born at Hamburg, He studied at the universities of Gottingen, Ratisbon. and Vienna, From 1783 to 1789 he was professor of law at Gi'ittingen, In 1808 he entered into the Westphalian civil service as Counselor of State, After the restora- tion, he was made Privy Councilor by the King of Hanover. Martens's chief literarv work is Recueil des traites (1817-35), but he acquired special fame bv his Precis du droit des gens mo- (Jernrs de I'Europe (1821-64). MAB'TENSEN, Hans Lassen (1808-84). A Danish theologian and bishop. He was born at Flenshurg. Schleswig, August 19, ISOS: studied theology at the University of Copenhagen; and in 1840 became professor at the university, first