50 FOXES AT HOME. 



of the toenails in a dog's track, but not 

 on that of a fox, unless he is traveUing very 

 quickly or playing on loose sand ; the latter, 

 too, has a velvety or wrinkled appearance 

 caused by the thick fur between the toes over- 

 lapping the ball of the foot. The pads of a fox 

 are longer and narrower, and the ball of each 

 toe much more oval-shaped, than those of a dog, 

 which are broad and round. The difference, 

 however, is much easier to see at a glance than 

 to describe on paper. The pad of the dog fox, 

 which is very small for his size, is much larger 

 than that of the vixen, and the fore pad is 

 larger than the hind one in both sexes. 



When the cubs come to the mouth of the 

 earth to meet the vixen they generally play 

 about a little whilst she is there, but when she 

 moves off return into the earth again. How- 

 ever, they soon come out of their own accord 

 to play round the earth in the evening (and if in 

 a quiet place also in the early morning and heat 

 of the day), and this is the time, especially in 

 the evening, to watch their gambols. Nothing 

 can be prettier ! Kittens are not in it with cubs 

 for playfulness ; they pair off and chase each 

 other all over the place, bowling over and 



