110 



THE OTTEK. 



this creature, and the wild bees, wasps, and other fossorial Hymeno- 

 ptera find a most destructive foe in the Badger, which scrapes away the 

 protecting earth and devours honey, cells, and grubs together, without 

 being deterred from its meal by the stings of the angry bees. 



As is the case with the generality of weasels, the Badger is furnished 

 with an apparatus which secretes a substance of an exceedingly ofi?ensive 

 odor, to which circumstance is probably owing much of the popular 

 prejudice against the "stinking brock." 



The colors of the Badger are gray, black, and w hite, which are some- 

 what curiously distributed. The head is white, with the exception of 

 a rather broad and very definitely-marked black line on each side, com- 

 mencing near the snout and ending at the neck, including the eye and 

 the ear in its course. The body is of a reddish gray, changing to a 

 white gray on the ribs and tail. The throat, chest, abdomen, legs, and 

 feet are of a deep blackish brown. The average length of the Bad- 

 ger is two feet six inches, and its height at the shoulder eleven 

 inches. 



Although by no means a large animal, the Otter has attained a 



The Utter {Lutm vulgaris), 



universal reputation as a terrible and persevering foe to fish. Be- 

 ing possessed of a very discriminating palate, and invariably choosing 

 the finest fish that can be found in the locality, the Otter is the object 



