INTRODUCTION 



anything except such delicacies as chicken and lainb should not 

 miss what the auhor has to say about the varied diet of the Fox, 

 which includes among other things, rats, moles, mice, frogs, 

 fruit, insects, musseb, and dead fish. This varied regimen is 

 dealt with in a chapter of remarkable insight in which every 

 statement is either highly rational, or else capable of positive 

 proof. Above all the other endowments of the Fox, his capacity 

 to keep his head when he is in a tight place is one that seldom 

 fails him. He never seems to give up hope, however awkward 

 things may look. A Fox is never really yours until you have 

 got your foot on his dead body. Mr. Clapham also mentions 

 the reputation of the Fox for killing rats. I have never had the 

 good luck to see a Fox kiU a rat, but there is good ground for 

 beUeving the story that a tame Fox was a certain professional 

 ratcatcher's best friend. The movements of a Fox are quicker 

 than those of any dog ; his pointed muzzle is particularly well 

 designed for seizing and nipping a rat without any mouthing or 

 fimibling. Those who have seen a Fox killing rats will tell you 

 that it is the neatest and quickest thing imaginable, and that 

 he wiU kiU rat after rat without pausing for a second. No 

 mangling, nor worrying. The hghtning stroke, the death-nip, 

 and then the next rat. We have heard of Counties where there 

 are too many rats. If in these Counties there are too few 

 Foxes, the method of redressing the balance by giving full play 

 to the chain of nature seems to be fairly obvious. 



We must allow ourselves one more word on Mr. Clapman's 

 well-informed chapter on Foxes and cubs. He says he has never 

 seen a wild Fox barking, though of course he has heard them on 

 scores of occasions. One night I was watching a litter of cubs 

 playing round the roots of an old elm, underneath which was 

 the earth. The old vixen was sitting a few yards away in 

 exactly the same position as the Fox in the plate on page 47 of 

 this book. Two of the cubs chased each other down a slope to 

 where I was lying in the grass, and one actually ran over m.y 

 legs. Then he ' ' got the wind up " and rushed back to his 

 mamma, who dismi^ed the whole family into the earth with one 

 sharp bark. She could not see me, but she knew there was 

 danger ; she remained seated and barked and barked until it 

 was pitch dark, and I went home. 



Not only does Mr. Clapham display an intimate acquaintance 

 with the domestic habits of his game, but he also ofTers some very 

 sound remarks as to the manner in which Foxes behave when 

 they are hunted. For instance, he calls attention to the ex- 

 cellent plan of drawing back over the old ground to pick up 

 beaten or half-beaten cubs, and reminds us that the education 



