76 FOX-HUNTING 



declares itself they should be all closed until the 

 district can show a clean bill of health again. 

 There are several different methods of building 

 these earths, but I think the best is the horse- 

 shoe shape, as that plan avoids draughts. They 

 must, of course, be well drained, and it is better 

 if they have a little slope. If pipes are used, 

 those at the entrance should not exceed eight 

 inches in diameter, and if a chamber is made in 

 the middle — the bend in the horse-shoe — it 

 should be built of blue brick and cemented, 

 but the chamber should not be too big, and it 

 must not be high enough for a fox to stand 

 upright. Foxes, I regret to say, are not quite 

 as clean in their habits as some animals, and 

 they will soon foul a too roomy earth. If it is 

 decided to build a chamber, the top should be 

 covered with a slate slab, and plenty of soil 

 over that to prevent inquisitive people from 

 looking in. When there is plenty of lying in a 

 covert, I think it is a good plan to close your 

 artificial earth for July and August, so that it 

 may have a chance of getting sweet and clean. 

 If the vixen lays up in a place where she is in 

 danger of being molested, balls of waste soaked 



