The Fox 109 
food, and jumping about their mother, especially 
when she was lying upon the grass. Sometimes the 
mother fox would play with them much after the 
fashion of a dog. Twice I saw the male fox at the den. 
We are told that sometimes live mice and occasion- 
ally other animals are brought to the den for the 
little foxes to play with and iater to feast upon. Only 
once did I see anything of this kind, the victim in 
this instance being a young woodchuck. It was 
evident from the woodchuck’s movements that the 
mother fox had not injured the prey. It was amus- 
ing to see the antics of the young foxes. They were 
very cautious at first in their approach. Sometimes 
in their haste to retreat they fell over each other as 
the woodchuck made a dash for them. The old fox 
had to recapture the woodchuck several times and 
on the last occasion killed it, whereupon the little ones 
enjoyed a good feast. 
I have yet to know a den of foxes that so regularly 
and systematically drew for its supply of food upon 
one poultry yard as did this one. The fowls being 
allowed to run at large, the ducks and hens and par- 
ticularly the turkeys often strayed some little distance 
away. A greater part of the missing fowls were 
taken during the day, for at night they were shut in 
the poultry house, or, as in the case of the turkeys, 
