The Fox 



In hunting counties the Fox Is a valuable asset of 

 the sportsman. There is no doubt that Fox-hunting 

 represents a vast sum of money annually to the district 

 hunted. Scotland is not a Fox-hunting country to the 

 same extent as, say, the Midlands of England ; still, a 

 few packs of hounds are kept north of the Tweed. 

 Beyond the Tay this sport is practically non-existent, 

 the Fifeshire pack being the most northerly in the 

 kingdom. 



There is no marfimal in the British Isles that can 

 compare with the Fox for external beauty, combined 

 with size and muscular activity and endurance. The 

 general colouring is a warm nut-brown over the back, 

 with white front and underparts. The head is broad 

 at the ears, but goes sharply off towards the muzzle. 

 The ears are erect, and the tips are marked in black 

 behind ; over the eyes there are whitish hairs, while the 

 eyes themselves are shiny and cunning. The glory, 

 however, of the Fox is his " brush," or tail. In Fox- 

 hunting circles the rider that is first in at the death of a 

 Fox is entitled to the "brush" as a trophy of his prowess 

 in the saddle, in the same manner that the Red Indian 

 claims the scalp of his victim in warfare. The "brush" 

 of a Fox is long and bushy, of the same colour as the 

 animal's back, but the tip is touched with white. 

 Coloration varies with districts. Low-ground animals 

 are usually whiter on the underparts than those that 

 frequent the higher regions, the latter, as a rule, taking 

 on a greyish tint. Again, it will be found that the tip 



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