FOX-HUNTING IN NEW ENGLAND. 



By ROWLAND E. ROBINSON. 



man 1 



In New England and some of 



the northern and middle States, 



the fox is hunted with two or 



three hounds, or oftener with only 



one, the hunter going on foot and 



armed with a shot-gun or rifle, his 



method beino- to shoot the fox as 



it runs before the hounds. The 



proverbially the most cunning of 



, often eluding by his tricks the most 



hunter and the truest hounds. Long 



are required, which take one over 



miles of woods, hills, and fields, and 



this in fall and winter when the air is always 



ire and bracing. 



In New England, the hunt is for the red fox and his 

 varieties-; the silver and cross foxes, the gray fox of the south and 

 west being almost, if not quite, unknown. From the tip of his nose 

 to the root of his tail, the red fox measures about twenty-eight or 

 thirty inches, his tail sixteen to eighteen inches including hair, and 

 his height at the shoulder thirteen inches. His long fur and thick, 

 bushy tail make him look larger and heavier than he is. Of several 

 specimens which I have weighed, the largest tipped the beam at 

 twelve pounds ; the least at seven pounds. The general color is 

 yellowish red ; the outsides of the ears and the fronts of the legs and 

 feet are black ; the chin and usually the tip of the tail, white ; and 



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