FOXES AT HOME 



CHAPTER I. 



THE FOX. 



The vulpine race is pretty well distributed all 

 over the face of the earth, almost every country 

 and climate has its fox, or foxes of sorts, though 

 I believe the first of their kind, a dog and two 

 vixens, were imported into Australia as late as 

 1864, and were purchased for the Melbourne 

 Hunt by Mr. George Watson, a brother of the 

 late sporting master of the Carlow and Island 

 Hounds. 



The Arctic regions have their represen- 

 tative with its lovely silver fur ; and the 

 sweltering African desert has three (or four) 

 distinct breeds — a large red fox, something like 

 our friend at home, which the natives call a 

 ''wolf," a long-legged, lanky, light-coloured, 

 yellowish-grey fox, and the small " Fennec " 

 about the size of an ordinary cat, though longer 



