THE FOX. II 



Many people aver that the "smell" of the 

 fox, which greatly resembles that of the^ root of 

 '^ Crown Imperial," is '' peculiarly offensive." 

 I do not agree with them at all ; not that for a 

 moment I would like to put "essence of vulp'^ 

 on my handkerchief going to a dance or a 

 dinner party, out of consideration for others, 

 who perhaps do not take as great an interest in 

 the little animal as I do ; but I must say that 

 when walking through the country, or by the 

 covert side, a " whiff " of a fox is particularly 

 refreshing! One immediately thinks of fox- 

 hunting, pleasant scenes and happy days, past 

 and in prospective, and the cares and worries 

 of this wicked world go out of one's head for 

 the time being, and one might say with 

 Somervile : 



*' Where are your sorrows, disappointments, wrongs, 

 Vexations, sickness, cares ? All, all are gone ! " 



Yes ! there is many a worse smell than that of 

 a fox 1 



The scent of a fox is supposed to be secreted 

 in a siihcaudal gland close to the root of the 

 brush. There is, however, on the hack of a 

 fox's brush, about two or three inches from 

 where it joins the body, a small bare patch, 



