276 



BADGER. 



and thus their natural manners are much less known, 

 than from the familiarity of their names and forms 

 would be supposed. The badger, for instance, is, in 

 some parts of Britain, not only blamed but persecuted 

 as near to extirpation as possible, not only for being 

 destructive to game, but for preying upon the young 

 of the flocks. But the badger does not inhabit where 

 game are the most plentiful, and it is seldom, if 

 ever, found on sheep pastures. The strength, the 

 sharp bite, and the persevering resistance of the 

 badger, as observed by man, are all defensive qualities; 

 and though weapons or powers which are efficient 

 for defence, could be used offensively, it does not fol- 

 low as a general analogy in nature that they must be 

 so used. The carnivorous furnishing of the anterior 

 part of the mouth, and the classification of the animals 

 as camivora, both tend to make that the general 

 nature of their character ; and thus far the imperfec- 

 tion of the system tends to mislead. 



It is certainly desirable that the natural orders of 

 animals should be as few as possible, because that 

 makes the knowledge of the system more easily 

 acquired ; but they should, at least, be natural ; and if 

 the name of the order be formed upon a character, 

 that character should unquestionably be the leading 

 one. Carnivorous is not so as respects the badgers, 

 or indeed the majority of the plantigrade animals of 

 that order, as at present arranged by even the best 

 writers on systematic natural history. In as far as 

 analogy can hold between mammalia and birds, there 

 is an analogy between the plantigrade animals and 

 those birds which are usually described as omnivorous, 

 the crows, magpies, and analogous tribes ; and per- 

 haps it might not be amiss thus to distinguish these 

 plantigrade animals, if not as an order, yet as a sub- 

 order or group. When Cuvier places them as the 

 first tribe of the carnivora, properly so called, in his 

 order of Carnassiers, one is very apt to conclude that 

 they have the killing and flesh-eating propensities in 

 the very highest degree, which, assuredly, is far from 

 being the case. 



The badgers have the body thick, squat, and heavy, 

 and the legs short, but the whole very compact and 

 strong. The head is rather slender, and the muzzle 

 narrow ; but it is not cartilaginous and moveable, so 

 that it cannot be used in rooting, like the snouts of 

 pigs. The eyes are very small, and the nictitating 

 membrane, or third eye-lid, can cover the whole pupil ; 

 the ears are also small and rounded, and the external 

 concha is very simple in its form. There are five 

 toes on all the feet, having the phalanges nearly 

 united by a membrane, and the claws on the fore-feet 

 large and well adapted for digging. Under the tail 

 there is a scent bag, the odour given out by which, 

 especially when the animal is alarmed or irritated, is 

 very rank and offensive. 



Badgers, though not timid animals, but rather fami- 

 liar and even playful when taken young and treated 

 with kindness, are animals of wild nature much more 

 than of the cultivated districts. The entrance to the 

 burrow, which is usually placed in concealment, and 

 so far elevated as to secure it against being flooded 

 by water, is usually under a bush of tangled herbage 

 and shrubs ; and when this species of cover is grubbed 

 up the badger soon disappears, being, as it should 

 seem, deprived both of its shelter and its food. 



There are only two known species of badger, the 

 common badger (Meles vulgaris} and the American 

 badger (Melcs Labradorica). 



The COMMON BADGER is, when fully grown, about 

 two feet and a half in length, and the tail, which is 

 covered with longhair, is about half a foot more, the 

 weight varies much with the individual and the sea- 

 son, some not being more than fifteen pounds, and 

 others exceeding thirty. The hair with which it is 

 covered is long, close, and fine, adhering very closely 

 to the skin, even after that is removed from the ani- 

 mal and prepared by dressing. The coverings of 

 holster pistols, the pendent pouches of those Highland 

 regiments that wear kilts, and some other light arti- 

 cles for which a tough skin with fine and durable hair 

 is preferred, are made of the skin of the badger. The 

 hair is also employed for making a peculiar sort of 

 painters' brushes, called ' sweetening tools,' with which 

 those artists pass lightly over their work before it dries, 

 for the purpose of softening and blending the tints. 



Common Badger. 



Upon the living animal, the skin is equally remark- 

 able for its toughness, its flexibility, and the ease with 

 which, from the loose nature of the cellular tissue 

 under it, it will rise when pinched, without including 

 any of the flesh in the fold. From these properties 

 of the skin, as well as from the thickness and softness 

 of the hair, and the difficulty of either cutting it or 

 removing it from the skin, the badger is very difficult 

 to bite, at least in such a manner as to wound or in- 

 jure it. Even the skin is not easily pierced by teeth, 

 and it is very difficult to tear, so that when dogs assail 

 the badger, they, if they are not peculiarly trained, 

 merely take hold of the skin and shake that, without 

 occasioning any serious injury or even much pain, 

 while the badger bites very sharply in return. From 

 these circumstances, as well as from the offensive 

 odour which the scent-bag never fails to emit when 

 the animal is assailed, the badger is very little hunted 

 in a state of nature. It thus dwells as much at peace 

 with and in safety from the other animals, as it dwells 

 quietly in itself. 



It is a very quiet and inoffensive animal, more so 

 perhaps than any other quadruped of the same size, 

 for it hurts neither animal nor plant, at least in those 

 species in which man takes an interest, or upon which 

 he sets a value. Its food is understood to be fruits, 

 roots and grass, and also insects and other small 

 animals, though not any thing larger than a lizard or 

 a frog. It is not capable of climbing, and thus it can 

 injure nothing which grows or perches upon trees, 

 bushes, or tall stems ; and as it usually keeps its 

 burrow during the day, the live part of its food must 

 consist only of those creatures which come out to 



