98 THE FOX 



and from the centre turning off into an oven or 

 den. Then 'lay a drain of very small tiles placed 

 on flat ones to prevent the rabbits digging in under 

 them. By this means the earth will be kept dry after 

 the heaviest rain. Having formed the large trench 

 in which the earth is to be made, lay the bottom 

 with large flat stones, taking care to build in the 

 chamber a kind of raised kennel in which the foxes 

 may lie secure and dry, having two or three spouts into 

 which the fox may stick himself with his head only 

 exposed in case of a terrier being sent in by a fox- 

 catcher.' I am inclined to th'nk that the fox might go 

 into these head first, and that a bolt-hole as described 

 above is better. 'The earth may then be built of 

 stones or bricks upon the floor, terminating at each 

 entrance in a hole of such a size as not to admit a 

 dog larger than a fox. The mouth should be made 

 with a heavy stone, or a large piece of timber, to 

 prevent its wearing away. A large mound of soil 

 should be heaped over the earth, and, for a better 

 protection, a quantity of dead covert placed on that. 

 Badgers should be caught if they take to the earth, as 

 they soon pull it down.' 



This seems to me excellent, with the addition of 

 the blind bolt-hole suggested above. 



III. In the same year another correspondent 



