WEARE, )IEsnEctr, 1713-86; b. N. H.; graduated at Harvard, 1735, studied law and carried on a successful practice. He was a member and speaker of the colonial legislature, commissioner at the Albany colonial congress, 1754; chief-justice of the N. H. supreme court in 1777; and president of the state from 1776 until the end of the war, and again in 1874. He displayed great vigor during the revolution in raising and equipping troops.
WEASEL, .51ustsla, a genus of quadrupeds of the family mustelida (q.v.), having a very elongated body; short feet, with toes quite separate, and sharp claws; four molar teeth on each side above, and five below. The Commoix WEASEL Gill vulgaris) is a native of almost all the temperate and cold parts of the northern hemisphere, except the most arctic regions. Its range does not extend quite so far n. as that of the ermine. It is the smallest of the rnustelidce of the old world, not exceeding 24 in. in height, and min. in length, frota nose to tail; the tail about 24- in. long, and terminating in a point, not so bushy as that of the stoat or ermine. The female is smaller than the male. The head is large; the ears short, broad, and rounded, the whiskers long. The color is reddish-brown on the upper parts,sides, legs, and tail; the throat and belly white. The eyes are small, round, and black, with a very keen expression, to which the whole habits of the animal correspond. It is nimble and active, bold, and yet wary. It may often be seen peeping curiously from a hole in a wall, but vainly does the school-boy attempt to strike it with a stone. Catching it is out of the question for him, and so far well, for it is ready to bite severely. It is a most persvcring hunter, its scent as keen as its sight, quarters the ground like a dog, and wearies out animals largei and apparently lunch stronger than itself. It preys on mice, rats, voles,
small birds, and other small animals, sometimes even on hares and rabbits, robs birds' nests, devouring the young birds or sucking the eggs, and is occasionally troublesome in poultry-yards, killing young chickens. It climbs walls and trees with great agility, and does not hesitate to plunge into water in pursuit of the water-rat. It sometimes begins by abstracting the blood of the animal which it has killed, and generally devours the brain; but when food is abundant, it carries the body to its retreat, where a con• siderable quantity of prey is often found, the weasel preferring to eat it in a half-putre fied state. The weasel generally sleeps during the day, and is most active at night. It has a disagreeable smell, which is strongest in hot weather, or when it has been pursued or irritated. It is capable of being tamed when taken young, and becomes docile and gentle. The female weasel makes a nest of straw-leaves and moss for her young which are produced in spring, four or five in a litter; often in a crevice of a bank, or in a hollow tree. The fur of the weasel is an article of commerce in some northern countries, and weasel-skins are exported in considerable quantity from Siberia to China. The weasel sometimes, but rarely, becomes white in winter, like the ermine.—The ermine (q.v.), or stoat, is another species of weasel.—America has several species of weasel, of which one (M. pusilla) is rather smaller than the common weasel of Europe, and has a shorter tail., It is abundant in the northern parts of the United States, and its range extends far to the north. In the United States, it remains brown all winter; but in the fur-countries it becomes white.