rox-uD»TiKO.] FOR MOUNTAIN, FIELD, AND FARM. [rox-uusTiso. 



worth doscribini;. Tho tliroo luiuls wliieh 

 exist in Dorb} sliiro are : — 



Tho Common Fox, nlreiuly described. 



Tho Greyhound Fox, tho form of 

 resembles that of a greyliound dog. 

 is larger in size, longer on tlio leg^^, more 

 slender in shape, and of swifter speed than the 



whieh 

 He 



seereto themselves in tho holes and crevices. AVo 

 reniiMubt'r a braeo once climbing a tree nearly 

 twenty feet high, whic!i grew in a slanting 

 direction, and hiding themst'lves amongst the 

 branches whilst the hounds were beating the 

 brushwood beneath. Tho bitch dis{)lay8 cot)- 

 siderable allVetion for her young, and, even if 



common fox, generally giving faster and more ' hard pressed by hounds, reluctantly leaves tho 

 endurin-'' chases. One of these animals has cover where they are situated. In 1842, tho 

 been known to run for four hours before the Marquis of Hastings' hounds were drawing 

 hounds; and he usually leaves tho cover in Staunton Springs, near Calke, Derbyshire, and 

 dashin'» stvle. In colour he resembles the found a fox, which, for more than an hour, 

 common fox, but has almost invariably some defied all effort to make her break. Several 

 frisly or silverv hairs in his coat. His head is covers having been drawn blank, the huntsman 

 lar^o and sharp-looking, rather broad across! was anxious to get her away, but failed; so, 



supposing she was a bitch that had cubs, the 

 hounds were whipped oft'. This proved to be 



length. These foxes are occasionally met with 

 on Charnwood Forest. 



Tiie Little Eed Fox is the third, and is an 

 animal of much smaller size than the common 

 fox. His form is short, compact, and thick, 

 and the colour of his coat red — hence the name. 

 He seems to prefer the oldest covers and woods, 

 and is supposed by many people to be indige- 

 nous to Britain, or the one from which the 

 other kinds are descended. When leaving 

 cover he does cot gallop off boldly before the 

 lioundsjbut endeavours to steal away cautiously, 

 and frequently affords the best sport, and 

 most protracted runs. For so small an animal 

 his endurance is very considerable, frequently 

 knocking up the best-bred hounds and horses. 

 A Berkshire friend observes : — " I was once 

 with the Craven hounds, and viewed a small 

 red fox away from a piece of gorse, which gave 

 us a run of sixteen miles from point to point, 

 without a check, threading woods of five hun- 

 dred acres, when, at last, she was run into by 



the cheeks ; ears broad and large ; nose thin and 



pointed ; and the jet black hairs growing from 



the upper lip are some of them three inches in correct; for some pedestrians, who had been 



following the hounds, stumbled upon the lair 

 by accident, and brought the cubs to show tho 

 hunters. They were afterwards taken back, 

 and reared in the wood. Her breeding- 

 place was at the bottom of a thick honey- 

 suckle bush, through which luxuriant herbage 

 had crept, and afforded excellent conceal- 

 ment. A hole, about three feet in circum- 

 ference, and three inches in depth, was scooped 

 out of the ground ; and round the edges of 

 it, dead oak and beech-leaves were ranged. 

 The young were seven in number, shaggy and 

 grotesque-looking objects, four of which had 

 their brushes tipped witli white hair. 



In the summer of 1812, a bitch fox reared a 

 litter of cubs in the middle of a wheat field, in 

 the parish of Melbourne, Derbyshire. The 

 crop was in full ear when they were discovered, 

 and, being thick and higli, aflorded them ex- 

 cellent shelter. The spot occupied by the 

 family was on the top of a piece of dry land, 

 and the stems of corn were trodden down and 



being caught in a wire. There were only six • padded close to the earth for many yards. The 

 up at the death, out of sixty or seventy at the parents provided a most bountiful table ; for, 



meet: aud when the second whip went into the 

 wood for the fox, I remarked to Mr. Villebois 

 * that the fcx we found was a remarkably small 

 one, and red ;' and, on being brought out, she 

 proved to be the same." This animal is found 

 in some parts of Nottinghamshire, Derbysliire, 

 Leicestershire, and Berkshire. 



;cattered around them, lay no less than two 

 leverets, a young bantam cock, a partridge, the 

 wings of a pheasant, besides the remains of 

 fowls, and a vast profusion of feathers and 

 bones. The novelty of the scene tempted the 

 curious to visit the spot ; and the dam led her 

 family away, not quitting the field, however, 



"When the covers in the vicinity of parks but concealing them amongst the thickest parts 

 have been drawn several times, foxes betake of the crop; and, although eventually reared, 

 themselves to hollow trees, and endeavour to ; they were rarely seen afterwards. 



421 



