226 Game Survey of the North Central States 



the North. Non-shooting customs prevail, for instance, in Morgan County, Mis- 

 souri, and in Knox, Grant, and Jennings Counties, Indiana. 



In Cass County, Missouri, red foxes are propagated by making artificial 

 plants. Similar plants are made in parts of Indiana and recently near Milwaukee, 

 Wisconsin. 



In northeast Ohio, and in Columbia County, Wisconsin, red foxes are suc- 

 cessfully still-hunted by expert hunters who track the fox to a probable sunning or 

 bedding ground, and there stalk him. Ditch banks or caprocks are the usual 

 bedding places. 



Closed seasons on foxes are in force in Indiana and Illinois. 



A phenology of the red fox, with the best seasons for running, are given by 

 two expert fox hunters in Table 51. 



TABLE 51. Phenology of red fox 



Missouri Wisconsin 



(E. L. Watson, (Antoine Novy, 



Boone County) Manitowoc County) 



Mating December December 30 



Gestation 63 days 



Litters born in March March 1 



Pups will not run before dogs until September 



Run well (small circles) November 1-December 



15, February 



Run poorly (large circles) December 15-30 



Do not run (that is, hole up at once) December 30-January 31 



Weights of reds and grays 

 (From Gastro and Ochsener, Sauk County, Wisconsin) 



Red Gray 



Maximum 16 pounds 11 pounds 



Minimum- ? 8 pounds 



Average 12 to 14 pounds ? 



HOUSECATS 



Do Housecats Breed in the Wild? There is a widespread impression 

 that the housecat upon occasion becomes a wild animal. Zoologists have coined 

 the term "feral housecats" to describe this condition. What are the characteristics 

 of a wild, as distinguished from a domestic, animal? When we consider this 

 question, it is apparent that a truly wild animal must not only exist, but must also 

 breed and reproduce his kind in the wild state, to a degree sufficient to maintain 

 a wild population. 



Evidence that housecats exist in a wild state is so abundant and so generally 

 known as to dispense with the necessity of presenting evidence. Wild individuals 

 exist throughout the north central region with the possible exception of a strip 

 along the Canadian border, in which the survey revealed no evidence that they 

 wintered in a wild condition. The most northerly reliable instances of wintering 

 away from dwellings are shown on Map 18. 



