120 PHEASANTS 



cubs to support. The presence of the 

 first should be at once reported to the 

 Secretary of the hunt, and measures 

 arranged for his destruction, for all parties 

 are equally interested in removing him at 

 once. The hand-reared cub is also a 

 matter for the Secretary of the hunt, who 

 should never inflict such an evil on any 

 loyal supporter of hunting. 



The vixen and cubs is the normal 

 problem, and many are the ways by which 

 clever keepers minimize the mischief that 

 would soon become a very serious evil if 

 allowed to pass unchecked. The one good 

 point about a vixen feeding cubs, as com- 

 pared with other foxes, is that she only 

 hunts with a strict eye to business and 

 seldom indulges in that wanton slaughter, 

 which game-preservers find the most 

 maddening trait in other foxes. 



On estates of any size where pheasants 

 are reared, it would certainly repay the 

 cost to have gorse coverts specially laid out 

 for the benefit of the foxes ; dense, several 

 acres in extent, and as far from the main 



