188 ON ARTIFICIAL FOX-EARTHS 



the earth had to open into the pits or cavities I have 

 described. 



From each mouth a covered way, lined, as to its sides 

 only, with stone and covered by flags, ran straight till 

 they met a small circular chamber of " lie-by " at the 

 apex of the A ; each of these shafts was twenty yards 

 long, their mouths twenty yards apart ; and half-way 

 from the mouth to the apex, the crossbar of the A, 

 a tunnel of similar construction, opened into them. 



I recently assisted at the uncovering of one of these 

 earths, which had become blocked up in one of its 

 passages ; and I may note here that this damage was 

 evidently the work of a badger, fresh proof thus being 

 furnished of the injurious effects caused by the presence 

 of that animal in a fox covert. 



The entrances were smaller than the rest of the 

 shafts for two feet inwards from the mouth, and the 

 flooring of these two feet was of flags, to prevent 

 enlargement of the mouth, but this was the only 

 part of the " floor " thus flagged. The walls of the 

 shafts were solidly, if roughly, built of stone, and the 

 shafts varied in width from nine to twelve inches, 

 while their depth was eighteen inches. In the centre 

 of the crossbar of the " A " a small lie-by, or cave, 

 turning towards the apex was made — this being two 

 feet wide, semicircular in form, and well roofed and 

 lined with stone. 



Although when we opened the earth we found that 

 the right-hand shaft of the earth was closely packed 

 ivith clay, and also the right-hand part of the crossbar 

 — packed so closely that it appeared as if it had been 

 " tamped " down by a pavior — yet there was no defect 



