46 THE BADGER 



as solitary in its habits, but this seems to be 

 erroneous ; he is monogamous and is said to 

 pair for life. Mr. Pease once enjoyed the 

 singular spectacle of seeing no less than seven 

 full-grown badgers issuing at night-fall from 

 one earth. Another imputation against him, 

 that of foul-smelling and unclean habits, is also 

 unfounded. His earth is usually sweet and 

 clean, the animal retiring when necessary to 

 some distance from his habitation. There is 

 a tradition, repeated by the German writers, 

 that the fox is in the habit of evicting his 

 powerful neighbour from his comfortable abode 

 by means of be-fouling the chamber of malice 

 prepense ; but this also is groundless fancy, for 

 foxes and badgers are known to inhabit the 

 same earth ; such earths, it must be remem- 

 bered, being often very large and with many 

 ramifications. Here, about the month of March, 

 the young come into the world, according to 

 Mr. Pease usually two, sometimes three, never 

 more than four in number, although the German 

 writers say from three to five, and give January 

 and February as the usual dates ; but locality 

 and climate may account for the difference. 



In the matter of food the badger is decidedly 

 omnivorous, nothing, almost, seeming to come 

 amiss. All manner of roots, vegetables and 



