518 FOX. 



than by force : his scent is exquisite, so that he 

 can perceive either his prey or his enemies at the 

 distance of 2 or 300 paces : he has the habit of 

 killing more than he eats, and hiding the remain- 

 der under grass, the roots of trees, &c. His 

 voice i> a sharp, quick yell, often ending in a 

 higher, stronger, and screaming kind of note, 

 not unlike that of the Peacock. 



The smell of the Fox is proverbially offensive. 

 This smell, as in many other quadrupeds, pro- 

 ceeds, perhaps, from certain glands situated near 

 the base of the tail ; but there is an observation in 

 the System a Naturae of Linnaeus, which at first 

 appears in the highest degree paradoxical, viz. 

 that the Fox diffuses an ambrosial odor from the 

 upper part of the base of the tail. (Ambrosiaco 

 fragrat odore supra caudce, basin.) This observa- 

 tion is also made by Mr. Schreber in his History 

 of Quadrupeds. " The smell (says he) of the 

 Fox is strong and unpleasant, but on the tail is a 

 spot from which proceeds a violaceous scent." 

 This strange particularity seems to have been first 

 published by Doebel in his work on hunting. 

 The offensive or general smell of the Fox is sup- 

 posed exactly to resemble that of the root of 

 crown-imperial (Fritillaria Imperialis Lin.) This 

 is mentioned by Dr. Grew in his Anatomy of Ve- 

 getables, where he assures us, that the root of this 

 plant, " being rubbed a little, smells as like a 

 Fox, as one Fox smelleth like another." 



The Fox produces five or six young at a time ; 

 and if they are discovered or disturbed, the fe- 



