676 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



hound sometimes for two or three of them. It is only 

 when run by packs in relay, exhausted by long chase, and 

 overpowered by numbers, that he is vanquished. 



There are those who believe that the red fox is not 

 indigenous to this country, but that it was introduced 

 here by the English during the early history of the 

 Colonies. Certain it is that the red fox of Great Britain 

 and the red fox of New England are very similar. In 

 some sections the red fox is hunted in the snow in winter, 

 and his schemes to avoid the hunters and the dogs at 

 that season are quite as craftily laid as during the 

 autumn. His pelt, however, when in prime condition, is 

 always in demand, and furriers handle thousands of them 

 as they handle the skins of other species of Vulpes. 

 Unlike the gray fox which lives chiefly in hollow trunks 

 of trees, the red fox prefers a good burrow for his 

 home. Here, in the spring, the vixen brings forth her 

 five or six young, and cares for them until they are old 

 enough to shift for themselves. Besides such poultry as 

 they capture, foxes are very fond of field mice and 

 destroy thousands of them; in this way they are a posi- 

 tive benefit to the agriculturist. They also catch and 

 eat many woodchucks the latter standing in the utmost 

 fear of them. Rabbits, some birds, game, rats, frogs, 

 occasionally insects and 

 fish, all come the way of 

 old Reynard during the 

 course of the season. It 

 is rare that he is driven to 

 partaking of carrion, 

 though it sometimes hap- 

 pens. 



To the best of the 

 writer's recollection he 

 has never seen a litter of 

 very young cubs of the 



red fox, though they are not infrequently secured. They 

 very closely resemble the whelps of the red fox of Eng- 

 land, and a litter of these latter was most successfully 

 photographed by C. Reid, published both in Animal Life 

 and in Living Animals of the World. Through the 

 courtesy of the publishers, we are permitted to repro- 

 duce one of these results here. 



Another of the red fox's accomplishments is his ability 

 to climb certain trees, where the inclination of the trunk 

 and the accessibility of the lower limbs admit of it. His 

 being able to perform this feat often saves his life, as 

 does also his knowing how to swim. As a rule, he is 

 not very fond of the water; and, in crossing a stream 

 when undisturbed, he is careful not to wet his feet if 

 he can avoid it by jumping from one dry stone to 

 another. 



Foxes are about at any time during the day or night, 

 and one of them is just as likely to jump the feathered 

 denizens of the barnyard at midday as under the cover of 

 night, making off with his capture while the farmhands 

 are at work in the meadows. If the weather be not very 

 inclement, he prefers to sleep out in the open air, shel- 

 tered from the wind by some friendly rock or fallen tree. 

 Often he will select the lee side of a hill for his snooze; 

 ''-" moreover, he can detect 



the approach of a pack of 

 hounds better under such 

 conditions, although he is 

 likely to do this under al- 

 most any circumstances, 

 as his sense of hearing is 

 remarkably acute, while 

 his sense of sight is by 

 no means poor. 



His extreme' cunning 

 renders him a very dif- 



PORTRAITS OF THE GRAY FOX 



Figure 4. Mr. Herbert K. Job succeeded in obtaining this fine series of pictures of this widely known animal; they are from life, and show well the 



habit this species has of closing its eyes when subjected to any annoyance. 



