VULPES VULGARIS PENNSVLVANICUS. ^j 



dropping on the snow. After fiercely eyeing each other for a while, 

 both become impatient — the former to seize his prey, and th(; latter 

 to escape. At the first leap cf the l^'ox, the dog is u[)on him; with 

 renewed vigor he seizes him by the throat, and does not loose his 

 hold until the snow is stained with his blood, and he lies rumpled, 

 draggled, with blood-shot eye, and frothy open mouth, a mangled 

 carcass on the ground."* 



Not infrequently the Fox, after leading his pursuers a long and tire- 

 some chase, betakes himself to his hole. If this chances to lie with- 

 in a ledge of rocks it is the safest of retreats, but if it be merely a 

 burrow in the earth he is by no means secure, for the hunters (pro- 

 vided they have enough energy and ambition left) repair to the 

 nearest farm-house for spade and pick with which to dig out the luck- 

 less beast. 



Hence Fox hunting, with us, can hardly be ranked among the 

 most fascinating of sports; and those that indulge in it must have 

 good pluck and hard muscle or they are apt to come out the worse 

 for wear. S/c transit gloria nituidi ! Having " killed my Fox" I am 

 not now easily seduced into this form of recreation. 



Foxes make rather pretty pets, and, when taken young, are easily 

 tamed; but they are so deceitful and treacherous that they are not 

 apt to gain one's affection. 



The Fox makes its nest in caverns and ledges of rocks, in burrows 

 in the earth, and occasionally in old stumps and hollow logs. From 

 four to nine young are brought forth at a time, the usual period be- 

 ing, with us, the latter part of March or first of April. 



Family MUSTELID.E. Subfamily MUSTELIN/E. 



Note. — The Wolverine {Gnlo luscus) is not now an inhabitant of 

 the Adirondacks, and I have been unable to find among the hunters 

 and trappers of this region anyone who has ever seen it in our Wilder- 



* Quadrupeds of North America, Vol. I, 1846, p. 48. 



