to:    Leonard Bottleman <>
 
Oh!  I have EXACTLY one of the things you are looking for!!!!!
 
I have the family tree very neatly documented by Troy Lynn Eckart.  I'd be
happy to snail-mail you a copy if you will e-mail me the address.
 
You might also want to find "Biology and Diseases of the Ferret" by James G.
Fox.  It has a very good history section on ferrets.
 
Fitch, in my knowledge base, refers to a cross between the European Polecat
and the domestic ferret.  These are sable colored, and the cross was done to
make handling animals at fur farms easier and not compromising the quality of
the fur (domestic ferret's fur falls out when dead, so they do not use them
for coats.  But by crossing Dom. ferrets with Polecats, the animals were not
as nasty, though fitch ferrets do NOT make good pets.)  There are very few
fur farms in the US who have fitch anymore, but they might still be in
Europe.  Many of the early bite incidents are "suspected" to have been caused
by fitch ferrets - sold as pets when fur farms were going out of business.
Note many bite incidents were from the mid-west and northern areas - fur
farming areas.
 
Pam and her Pet Pals
[Posted in FML issue 1169]