I04 Game and Foxes. 



following ideas to be put into practice, the author 

 feels that they are worthy of discussion in a work 

 of this description, and he only regrets that he is 

 not permitted to name the estates upon which they 

 have been carried out. On one estate the head- 

 keeper made a practice of confining every fox for 

 a few weeks during the breeding season of the game, 

 and he contrived to do this without handling one. 

 Two litters of cubs were reared annually, and each 

 was fenced in with wire-netting, together with the 

 vixen belonging to it. No dead carrion was 

 thrown down for the litter to feed upon, but each 

 eveninor a few live rabbits were released in the 

 enclosure, and these were sufficient to maintain 

 the family of foxes in health and vigour. The 

 fence w^as not erected till the end of March, when 

 game commences to nest, was taken down at the 

 end of June, and the results accruing from this 

 system were wonderful, as the game was free from 

 molestation during the nesting season. This 

 keeper's method of catching up the dog and other 

 odd foxes about the estate is curious and yet 

 simple and effective. He merely wires in a big 

 enclosure in the centre of his principal covert, 

 erecting a fence impassable to a fox, and in it 

 places one fox to serve as a decoy to the rest. 

 This enclosure is got into w^orking order as soon 



