THE DOG FAMILY. 181 



underground dwelling for a game of play. Such 

 intelligent little things they are ! 



A fox will catch mice and field voles as 

 scientifically as a cat ; and when a vixen has 

 cubs she will bring home five or six in her 

 mouth. 



Of course a fox kills hares and game birds, and 

 will, when it gets a chance, make a raid on your 

 poultry if you are so foolish as to leave them out 

 at night in the open, or let them roost in shelters 

 exposed to any bird of prey, wild animal, or 

 vermin that may come along. But if they are 

 locked in one of the modern moveable poultry 

 houses, which they should be, nothing can 

 disturb or hurt them. 



With wonderful sagacity and cuteness, foxes 

 will not as a rule commit theft, or do much 

 damage in their own immediate neighbourhood, 

 for fear of betraying their hiding-place. 



There is no disguising the fact that a fox will 

 do a certain amount of harm, but, on the other 

 hand, it does a deal of good by catching an 

 enormous number of rats and mice, and eating 

 cockchafers, worms, and snails. 



Careful observers and students of natural 

 history now tell us that, on the whole, the good 

 a fox does outweighs the harm it does. 



" Fox-hunting." If the fox were exterminated 

 the best hunting in this country would cease, 



