THE CAKNIVORA. 



57 



we might well be tempted with the older naturalists to 

 press the relationship of the Badger with the extinct 

 British bear. The heavy gait, short legs, and 

 ^^^" hairy body, all lend it at least as much resem- 

 blance to the true bears as that possessed by the so-called 

 bear of Australia. Appearances, however, go for very 



J- 







^•Ot- 



little, and more reliable characters link the badger with 

 the weasels and otter, though the resemblance be exter- 

 nally slight. 



The "brock," or "grey," as it is called in the provinces, 

 where the former survives in a number of place-names, is 

 often spoken of as on the verge of extinction, a notion 



partly due to its nocturnal and retiring habits, 

 scarcity ^^ ere it in the habit of seeking its food by 



day, so large a beast — an old dog-badger may 

 weigh anything up to 40 lb. — could not long escape obser- 

 vation and the persecution that invariably accompanies it. 

 As it is, it suffers a good deal of unnecessary cruelty. 



Not many years ago, the sport of baiting the 



badger, otherwise exjjosing it in a greased 

 barrel to the onslaught of rough terriers and mongrels, 

 which eventually, and after undergoing much punishment 



Persecution. 



