THE FOXES, 235 



The burrowing species, when hunted, make a 

 direct effort to regain the earth, and if this be 

 stopped, they make a circuit and then return to the 

 same, or to a second outlet ; but when convinced 

 their home is closed up, they start off for some dis- 

 tant cover with great velocity, leaving a strong 

 scent. Hounds hunt them with singular pleasure, 

 and, before they can defeat the numerous wiles they 

 have to encounter, are often tried to the utmost. In 

 this respect, the English foxes appear to have edu- 

 cated themselves far above the continental, where, 

 not being pursued in a similar manner, their sagacity 

 and vigour of limb is less exercised. Finally, they 

 justly deserve admiration, for being singly often 

 more than a match for all the sagacity of twenty 

 or thirty dogs, and a number of other animals that 

 run after them. 



The typical colour of foxes is fulvous, more or 

 less grizzled with white or black. Albinism and 

 melanism exerts among them their usual influences ; 

 whole species or varieties acquire these colours with 

 the season, with age, or possess, one or the other in 

 constancy : intermediate shades of grey and wholly 

 grey, bluish and buff- grey occur. 



They are found over the surface of both conti- 

 nents, most abundantly in the north, and in the 

 greatest varieties; and we have endeavoured to 

 point out several Tropical and Austral aberrant 

 groups or species of day foxes, and of those animals 

 who, with vulpine forms, appear to possess diur- 



