14 Game and Foxes. 



efficacious as lighted lanterns, and require no 

 trimming or other tedious attention. 



The excrement of a sitting bird has been known 

 to prove the salvation of a nest. This Is of a very 

 foul nature, and Is generally dropped before the 

 bird has progressed far when leaving the nest to 

 feed. A dog passing along the side of a 

 fence containing a nest has been noticed to 

 diverge, leave the side of the fence, and go several 

 yards Into the field, attracted by excrement of 

 this description, afterwards returning to the fence 

 lower down. The dog thus follows a semi- 

 circular course for a short space, which takes it 

 out of scenting distance of the nest. The tracks 

 of foxes on arable land beside a hedge containing 

 a nest show that they act in a similar manner to 

 the dog, but some keepers are of opinion that the 

 sitting bird's excrement brings about the ruin of a 

 nest if a cunning old fox passes that way. The 

 latter recognises what it Is, and forthwith hunts 

 the neighbourhood closely till the wretched bird is 

 found and seized. 



There is not the slightest doubt that some 

 birds, both pheasants and partridges, have the 

 misfortune to give off a stronger scent than others 

 of their kind ; or perhaps their nests are In 

 positions which admit of scent being more widely 



