190 The Naturalist in Siluria. 



sent over early, and they dug most of tlie day, and 

 found Ca6sar between a dead fox and two living ones ! 

 The two heads have been stuffed and mounted on one 

 board." 



This occurrence is all the more inexplicable from the 

 dog and one of the foxes being found dead, while the 

 two others were alive. Might it be that the terrier and 

 chased fox, after a long exhausting run, were smothered 

 in the hole by their own hard breathing ? If not, how 

 came they dead ? 



TOO TOUGH FOR EVEN A BADGER'S TOOTH. 



In the same letter my fox-hunting friend gives account 

 of another incident; curious, too, but this time more 

 comical than serious. Thus runs it: 



tf On the 12th of December we found, and had a good 

 run, though ringing, and fox put into a drain close before 

 hounds. The terriers soon bolted what I at once saw was 

 a fresh fox; but hounds viewed him, and ran him to 

 ground by the side of the river. I at once took them 

 back to hunted fox, and found that two hounds and 

 terriers had killed him in the drain. On opening it, a 

 badger was also found in the drain; beside it a cldna egg, 

 no doubt taken from a farm close by." 



No doubt it was taken from the farm, and by the badger, 

 for how otherwise could it get into the drain ? The egg 

 was one of those in common use as " nest eggs " ; and, as 

 is well known, these animals prowl around farmsteads by 

 night in search of real eggs, not counterfeits, and chicks 

 as well. The curious part of it is the badger not dis- 

 covering the counterfeit till he had carried it into the 



