SAND DUNES AND SALT MARSHES 



of his cousin the dog, who unfortunately also 

 ranges the dunes at times. As a rule the 

 tracks of the fox have such a clear, clean-cut 

 appearance that they are easily recognized. 

 Each foot is put down with care; there is no 

 slouching or shuffling, and each step is usually 

 a stride. Most important of all, each foot- 

 mark of the fox almost always shows two toes 

 and claws projecting in front, while the foot- 

 marks of most dogs are nearly round. The 

 one is slender and aristocratic, the other 

 stubby and commonplace. One cannot always 

 be sure of the identity of every track, but long 

 practice lessens the chance of mistakes. 



On a hot August day I followed some fox 

 tracks, made evidently the night before, until 

 they crossed the path of a toad. Suddenly the 

 leisurely gait changed to bounds, there were 

 some conspicuous scratch marks, and the toad 

 tracks ceased. After that the fox tracks am- 

 bled on as before. 



Near some other fox tracks I found a dead 

 white-footed mouse with no mouse tracks 

 near. Foxes apparently have a way of car- 

 rying mice in their mouths, and this must 

 have slipped out unnoticed from an overfull 

 receptacle. Captain Cartwright in his Lab- 



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