IN THE SHIRES 



CHAPTER VI 



IN the Shires, where the fox is closely pre- 

 serv^ed, he has few enemies beyond the 

 hounds. Food is plentiful and near at 

 hand, and in spring he has no great distance to go 

 in search of a mate. He is bred and reared 

 within sound of human habitations, and his life 

 is spent more or less in the midst of civilisation. 

 The result is, he shows comparatively little fear 

 of man, and is less easily headed in the hunting 

 field than his relations which inhabit wilder 

 districts. In comparison with the hill-fox of the 

 north, he leads a pampered existence. 



Years ago, even the Shires were unenclosed, 

 and coverts were few and far between. Foxes 

 too were much less plentiful, and scattered over 



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