NATURAL HISTORY. 



himself, ho stretches out his hind legs, and remains 

 Hat upon his bellv. In this posture he watches for the 

 birds as they perch on the hedges; who no sooner per- 

 ceive him than they give each other warning of their 

 danger. The jackdaw and the magpie, in particular, of- 

 ten follow him to the distance of some hundred paces, 

 still towering beyond his reach, and with their cries 

 and notes of hostility, apprize other animals to beware. 

 Of all wild animals, the fox is most subjected to 

 the influence of climate ; and there are found nearly 

 as many varieties in this species as in that of any do- 

 mestic animal. The generality of the French foxes are 

 red ; of some, however, the hair is of a greyish cast j 

 and of all, the tip of the tail is white. In the northern 

 countries we find foxes of all colours. 



THE BADGER. 



THE Badger is a lazy, distrustful, solitary animal, 

 that retires far from the approach of man, and digs a 

 subterranean residence, where it spends at least three 



