WHEN MARCH WINDS BLOW. 133 



tender young rabbits ? They put flesh on to his 

 ribs after his fast often a long and compulsory one 

 in winter. So he digs for them in the most 

 business-like manner, just like a mole. He knows 

 where they are exactly his nose tells him that 

 and in less than two minutes the fore-part of him is 

 buried ; all you will see will be his hind-legs working 

 vigorously, and a lot of earth moving. But he gets 

 his rabbits; hungry stomachs are hard to reason 

 with. The badger is, I know as a rule, nocturnal 

 in his habits, so is the fox; but where the places 

 that they frequent are quiet and secluded, they will 

 at times hunt by day for their food. A vixen and 

 her mate at times reverse the order of things : like 

 humans, woodland wild creatures are governed by 

 circumstances. 



I have at different times met with the fox and the 

 badger in spots where I certainly did not expect to 

 see them ; and when I have gone where, according 

 to my reckoning, they ought to have been so far 

 as locality could be relied on they were not there. 

 Very contradictory experiences one has in looking 

 for wild things. 



Occasionally a couple of curlews will drop on the 



