THE FOX AS OUTLAW 149 



there as remains of sheep that have died of disease or 

 accident. But it would be difficult to persuade a 

 Welsh or Scottish farmer that the fox does not kill 

 sheep, and it is never wise to set oneself altogether 

 against the beliefs of practical men : they have a way 

 of proving right after all. 



The methods by which war is made against the 

 fox are various. A good many foxes are trapped, 

 but the traps have to be most carefully set. The 

 smallest taint of man is detected. Moreover, if a fox 

 has once grasped in his mind the nature of a trap, he 

 cannot be induced to go near one again. If a fox 

 has once been caught by a foot, if he cannot drag the 

 trap away with him he will gnaw his foot off. In 

 England a three-legged fox soon falls a victim to the 

 hounds, but in Scotland he seems to get on very well, 

 and to be as sleek and well-looking as ever, and a 

 great deal more wary. 



In Scotland the professional foxhunter was at 

 one time a familiar figure ; his duty was to track the 

 foxes to their dens and earths, and to draw out the 

 cubs with one of his clever terriers, or to organise a 

 hunt for the extinction of some well-known robber. 

 Mr. St. John, who was one of the best of observers, 

 gives a vivid description of the Highland foxhunter, 

 his steady old hounds, his wiry terriers and swift 



