Predators 225 



It is easy to see how one fox per 75 quail might result in serious depreda- 

 tions, whereas one fox per 1,500 quail could hardly be felt, no matter how 

 strong the disposition to catch quail. It should be remembered that both Frank- 

 lin and Ripley Counties are typical Ozark border territory, and essentially alike in 

 their quail population and their physiography. 



It is such evidence as this that forms the basis for my opinion that the fox 

 question is not so much one of whether foxes do more harm than good, but rather 

 a question of what density of fox population affords the best balance between harm 

 and good. 



No data were obtained on the general trend of fox populations in the region. 

 One hears much talk about recent alarming increases in red foxes in southeastern 

 Iowa and northern Illinois, and of gray foxes in northeast Iowa. Andrew Brooks 

 is certain that the total fox population in Ripley County has decreased since the 

 period 190815 during which grays were unknown and reds were abundant. 



This suggests the thought that all of the data on fox ratios here presented is 

 subject to one weakness, and that is its failure to measure absolute as well as rela- 

 tive abundance. Small shifts in the species ratio may not always be a gain of one 

 at the expense of the other, but may represent a change in one species without 

 any change in the other. This error is avoided where the evidence rests on the 

 total disappearance of one or the other. The error cannot be wholly avoided as 

 long as absolute species population figures are practically non-existent. 



Controls of Species Ratio. The human forces tending to hold the red 

 fox in check are entirely different from those operating on the gray. 



One of these forces is fur value. At the time of the survey, Wisconsin reds 

 were bringing $25 as against $2 for grays. Any undue abundance of reds tends 

 to create its own remedy, in the form of increased trapping and hunting. An 

 undue abundance of grays, on the other hand, is much less likely to be controlled 

 automatically. Control may have to be carried out for game purposes, at the ex- 

 pense of game funds. 



Another, and to some extent contrary, force is the sporting value. The red 

 fox is much the more highly valued, and in fox-hunting districts this results in the 

 red being more constantly pursued. It also gives rise to active fox-conservation 

 measures, including closed seasons, replanting of depleted stocks, and even con- 

 struction of artificial dens. Fox-conservation measures are sometimes more ag- 

 gressive, intelligent, and better supported by public sentiment than those for con- 

 servation of game birds. 



Fox Hunting Practices; Phenology; Weights. Fox hunting is prac- 

 ticed as a sport in every State, especially along the southern border of the region, 

 but its customs, standards, and technique differ radically between localities. In 

 some places the objective is to shoot the fox; in other regions the most forcible 

 term of approbrium which one could apply to an individual is that "he would 

 shoot a fox." The non-shooting standard is more prevalent in the South than in 



15 



