THE BADGER 



slugs or worms. They are carnivorous, and 

 eat mice, rats, voles, and moles. They will 

 take a rabbit out of a trap, turn it inside out, 

 and eat all the meat, leaving the skin behind, 

 turned neatly with the fur inside. They are 

 also fond of very young rabbits, and will dig 

 a shaft through several feet of solid earth 

 direct on to the nest. But when this has 

 been stated, nearly all has been said with 

 regard to their propensity to damage in game 

 coverts. I am supported by other observers 

 in this opinion ; for instance, a recent writer 

 in the Field who says : "In reply to E. T. 

 D'Egmont's inquiry about catching badgers, 

 I have never found them do much harm to 

 the nests of winged game ; but they are 

 death on rabbits, and much resemble a fox in 

 finding a young one appetizing. Their skins 

 would make good waistcoats, but, apart from 

 that, I would not destroy them upon any 

 property of my own, because they do so 

 much more good than harm in divers ways. 

 We have a small property in my family, 

 where foxes and badgers lie up together in 

 close proximity to a rabbit warren, upon the 

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