36 Poachers and Poaching. 



formed the general abode. These were at the 

 ends of the burrow, where w r ere the beds, com- 

 posed of roots and dried grass. The young were 

 brought forth in April, and after about six weeks 

 might have been seen sitting about the mouth of 

 their hole, or accompanying their dam to short dis- 

 tances when on her evening rambles. We always 

 found the badgers unoffending, harmless creatures 

 unless first attacked. They fed almost entirely 

 on roots, wild fruit, grain, and occasionally 

 insects. They were, however, extremely shy 

 and wary. Beautiful it was to see these crea- 

 tures on summer evenings searching for food 

 among the low bushes, occasionally giving a low 

 grunt when some favourite root was turned up. 

 When insects came within their reach they 

 were snapped up somewhat after the manner 

 of a dog catching flies. The life of the badger 

 is eminently that of a peaceful creature, harmless 

 in all its ways, unoffending, interesting in its life- 

 history, useful, and, above all, fitted with a quiet 

 contentment almost human. The body of the 

 badger is long and heavy and its legs short, 

 which give it an awkward shambling appearance 

 when running. Its beautifully-shaped head has 

 two long lines running from the snout to the tips 

 of the ears. The upper parts of its body are 

 light grey, becoming darker below, the lower 

 parts being quite black. 



The total length of a fully-grown male badger 



