THE BADGER. 195 



like coats, or do kind offices for each other, and search for parasites after the manner of Monkeys. No 

 creature is more cleanly in its habits. Over their earth hangs a birch-tree, from which grows a 

 horizontal bough eighteen inches from the ground. On this they scrape their feet in dirty weather, 

 and keep their house inodorous by depositing their excrement at one place for many months and 

 covering it with earth. The hibernation of the Badger is not like that of the Hedgehog continuous 

 and complete but is irregular, and is probably influenced by the character of the winter. I have 

 known the mouth of the earth covered with a coat of snow for fourteen days, and it might have been 

 much longer before they came forth, while they may sometimes be ti-acked in a thin snow for a long 

 distance. 



" As the winter approaches, the old bedding is replaced by dry fern and grass, raked together 

 by their powerful claws. This is often left to wither in little heaps till diy enough for their purpose. 

 Partially concealed, I have watched a Badger gathering fern and 'using a force in its collection 

 quite surprising. 



" Bell, in his ' Quadrupeds' quotes BufFon as stating that Badgers are fond of Wasps' nests. This 

 is true, for, like the Bear, they love honey and sweet food. I once heard a pair of Badgers fighting, 

 and crept upon the ground until within a few yards of the angiy conflict, but the bracken hid 

 them from view. Next morning I visited the place. A Wasps' nest had been stormed and eaten ; 

 very little of the comb remained, and not a dozen homeless Wasps. That summer I myself saw the 

 wrecks of seven Wasps' nests taken by the Badgers in one field, and this autumn they are digging out 

 every one they can find. 



" The Badger and and the Fox are not unfriendly, and last spring a litter of cubs was brought forth 

 very near the Badgers ; but their mother removed them after they had grown familiar, as she probably 

 thought they were showing themselves more than was prudent."* 



Although far from common, the Badger is found in many parts of Great Britain and on the 

 Continent. Closely allied species occur over a great part of Northern Europe and Asia. 



In former times it was in great requisition for the so-called sport of " Badger-baiting," in which 

 charming and refined amusement the unhappy animal was put into a barrel and attacked by an unlimited 

 number of Dogs, amongst whom it was often able to do considerable execution, thanks to its sharp 

 teeth and powerful jaws. 



THE AMERICAN BADGER.f 



The distinction between this species and the European Badger consists chiefly in the shorter and 

 more hairy character of the snout, and in the fact that the body is of a uniform whitish hue, sometimes 

 shaded with grey or tawny. The body and head together are about twenty-four inches long, the tail 

 six inches. It is found throughout the greater part of North America. 



In its shyness, its general mode of life, and its habits, it differs but slightly from the Common 

 Badger. Although in many parts it is so numerous that its burrows form a very serious obstacle to the 

 traveller, yet it is a comparatively rare thing to see a specimen, so immediately does it retire to 

 its strongholds on the first intimation of man's approach. It can, however, be trapped without much 

 difficulty, and thousands are caught in this way every year. In 1873 the Hudson's Bay Company 

 sold 2,700 in London alone. Dr. Coues quotes an interesting account of the habits of a captive 

 Badger. He says : "In running, his fore-feet crossed each other, and his body nearly touched 

 the ground. The heel did not press on the ground like that of the Bear, but was only slightly 

 elevated above it. ... We have never seen any animal that could exceed him in digging. He 

 would fall to work with his strong feet and long nails, and in a minute bury himself in the earth, and 

 would very soon advance to the end of a chain ten feet in length. In digging, the hind as well as the 

 fore-feet were, at work, the latter for the purpose of excavating, and the former (like paddles) for 

 expelling the earth out of the hole ; and nothing seemed to delight him more than burrowing in the 

 ground. He seemed never to become weary of this kind of amusement ; and when he had advanced to 

 the end of his chain he would return and commence a fresh gallery near the mouth of his first hole. 

 Thus he would be occupied for hours, and it has been necessary to drag him away by main force. He 



* The Times, Oct. 24th, 1877. f Taxidea amei-icana. 



