364 Practical Game Preserving. 



evidence is always observable as to their haunts, in the 

 case of the fox circumstances are different. While we 

 may be aware of the general movements of the animal, 

 the particular tracks which it is wont to follow and the 

 exact places which it makes a point of visiting at intervals 

 of shorter or longer duration, experience of its habits and 

 knowledge of the ground is required to catch it, in addition 

 to the plain, careful setting of a trap ; and it is therefore 

 necessary, before actually preparing for its capture, to obtain 

 such insight into its ways and the nature of the covert it 

 haunts as the astuteness of the trapper may supply. It 

 is of no use looking for a chance without having acquired 

 the information necessary, but once having thoroughly 

 learnt all the ins and outs of the fox's domain, one may 

 search for " likely places " with better advantage. We 

 cannot describe .all the signs that disclose the existence 

 of a fox's track, which, it must be remembered, is nothing 

 approaching to the nature of a rabbit run on a large scale, 

 or anything of the sort, but is rather some natural track 

 through the covert, so situated as to be suitable and handy 

 for passing through the brake without threading the intrica- 

 cies of a thick undergrowth. 



In other cases, when either a drive cut tor sporting 

 purposes, a rough road, or even a dry or wet ditch a foot 

 or two wide and with a width of fairly open ground on 

 each side, runs through the plantation or covert, foxes 

 often when in flight make for these more easily traversed 

 places and continue on them, if not for the whole extent, 

 at least for a considerable portion of it. Sometimes a low 

 bank of earth but a few feet high exists right through the 



