204 FIELD NOTES FOR THE YEAR. 



years' growth are frequently destroyed by these animals. In 

 fact, wherever they once establish themselves they overrun 

 the country and become a nuisance. In the sand-hills of 

 Culbin 1 admit that they can do but small mischief, there 

 being in that region little else but bent, sea- weed, and furze- 

 bushes. They thrive however on this food, and in spite of 

 foxes and guns keep up their numbers sufficiently to afford 

 plenty of sport. The foxes are numerous in the rough wild 

 district which lies to the west of the sand-hills, and hunt 

 regularly for rabbits wherever they abound. From their 

 tracks it is evident that two foxes constantly hunt together ; 

 and they take different sides of every hillock. 



If a fox finds a rabbit at a sufficient distance from the 

 cover, he catches it by fair running ; but most of his prey he 

 obtains by dint of the numberless stratagems which have 

 earned for him a famous, or rather infamous, reputation from 

 time immemorial. From what 1 have myself seen of the 

 cunning of the fox, I can believe almost any story of his 

 power of deceiving and inveigling animals into his clutches. 

 Nor does his countenance belie him ; for handsome animal as 

 he certainly is, his face is the very type and personification 

 of cunning. 



The cottagers who live near the woods are constantly com- 

 plaining of the foxes, who steal their fowls frequently in 

 broad daylight; carrying them off before the faces of the 

 women, but never committing themselves in this way when 

 the men are at home. From the quantity of debris of fowls, 

 ducks, &c., which are strewed here and there near the abodes 

 of these animals, the mischief they do in this way must be 

 very great. 



Cunning, however, as they are, I not unfrequently put 

 them up while walking through the swamps. They lie, in 

 fancied security, on some dry tuft of heather in the midst of 

 the pools ; and not expecting or being accustomed to be dis- 

 turbed, they remain there until my retriever raises them 

 close to my feet. One tine day in the beginning of this 

 month, when the sun was bright and warm, a setter who was 

 with me made a very singular kind of point in the long 

 heather, looking round at me with an air most expressive of 

 " Come and see what I have here." As soon as 1 got near, 

 the dog made a rush into the rough heather, putting out a 

 large dog fox, who had been napping or basking. The fox 

 made a bolt almost between my legs to get at a hole near 



