34 THE PESTS OF THE FARM. 



ind brownisl gray at the end ; besides this fur, there is likewise a 

 longer hair v inch is the general color of the animal ; this hair on 

 the back is white at the roots, then black, then pure white, then 

 black again at the tip, giving a speckled appearance to the back. 

 The tail is large and bushy ; the hair long, loose, and nearly black, 

 as also is the throat and breast. The feet and legs are black ; the 

 hair on the front of the legs close, bristly, and shining. The head 

 is black with the face covered with short, close hair ; the nose 

 pointed, small, and black ; the ears short, pointed, and upright. 



The black wolf is much stronger than a dog of the same size, 

 and his mode of biting is very different from that of a dog. In- 

 stead of retaining his hold, like a dog, when he seizes his enemy, 

 he bites by repeated snaps, given, however, with great force, often 

 L'icerating the flesh a foot or more to each jerk. Like all carnivo- 

 rous animals, his thirst for blood is irresistible, and he often kills 

 his victim without devouring the carcass, drinking the blood, the 

 only part agreeable to his palate. When pressed with hunger, he 

 destroys every other creature he can master, and it is believed 

 that, during the year, he consumes at least thirty times his own 

 weight of animal food, which, in cultivated countries, renders his 

 injurious character more apparent, from the large number of do- 

 mestic animals he necessarily must slay. In winter, when the 

 ground is covered with snow, and he finds his prey to be scarce iu 

 his natural haunts, he becomes exceedingly bold, intrudes into the 

 sheep-folds and pig-sties, and even into villages or populous towns, 

 in quest of food. 



The ordinary method of capturing wolves is in winter, by means 

 of a steel trap. It has been found, however, that the most success- 

 ful method of destroying them is, to drug small sausages with 

 strychnine, or nux vomica, and hang them on the boughs of trees, 

 at such a height, that the wolf must leap ta obtain them. Under 

 these circumstances the animal swallows the bait at once, and has 

 not time to find out that it contains any suspicious admixture, 

 which he often does, if the poison be applied to the carcasses of 

 sheep, horses, &c. Another mode of poisoning them is this : The 

 kernels of nux vomica are grated or powdered, then mixed up with 

 three or four times their bulk of fat or grease, and honey (wolves 

 are very fond of the latter), and made into balls about as large as 

 a hen's egg. These are placed in the woods, covered with a piece 

 of flesh or tripe, and some offal is hung on a tree near tho spot, to 



