40 FOXHUNTING ON LAKELAND FELLS 



grass stems moving, beneath which the tiny rodent 

 is at work. Step by step the fox makes his noise- 

 less approach, until, within springing distance, he 

 halts, then bounds straight on top of the vole, nose 

 and forepaws coming down together. A crunch, 

 a swallow, and the tit-bit disappears down 

 Reynard's throat. It is only a morsel, but evi- 

 dently a tasty one, otherwise the fox would not 

 waste so much of his time in pursuit of mice and 

 voles. 



Any one who has watched a Utter of well- 

 grown cubs at play in a large enclosure, wiU 

 discover how it is that a fox can so easily beat 

 hounds for pace on very rough hill-ground. 



I once spent several days watching and photo- 

 graphing seven young foxes — six dogs and a vixen 

 — which were being reared to maturity in a kennel. 

 The food of these cubs consisted of young rabbits' 

 carcasses slit open. Two or three cubs would 

 seize a rabbit, and a tug-of-war ensued, generally 

 ending in a free fight. One fox would fly at 

 another, and so quick were their movements that 

 the eye could hardly follow them. The favourite 

 grip in such encounters appeared to be across the 

 loins at the narrow portion of the back, though 

 sometimes a throat hold took its place. 



As each cub secured its portion of food, it 

 darted behind the nearest shelter, or sought a 

 corner of the yard. Those not participating in the 



