162 THE BADGER. 



hunting are bred chiefly in the Principality. In 

 most parts of Scotland the badger is now rare, 

 though occasional families are to be found in 

 remote Highland localities. 



PROTECTIVE COLOURING. 



Judging from its markings, one would con- 

 clude the badger is truly a beast of the night. 

 In daylight it is conspicuous, the markings of the 

 face seeming to catch and hold the light; but 

 when at night-time Brock moves among the silver 

 patches of moonlight and the ebony, shifting 

 shadows, he himself is a shifting shadow of silver 

 and ebony so wonderfully camouflaged that the 

 keenest night-watcher must keep very wide awake 

 indeed if he is to see anything at all. 



HABITUAL CAUTION. 



I have said that the habitual caution of the 

 badger renders it difficult to locate. One must 

 know where to look and what to look for, as 

 the lifelong endeavour of this animal seems to 

 be to avoid encounters with man and his dogs. 

 I know of one warren situated in the heart of 

 a small, dense pine-forest, surrounded by open 

 fields. In passing to and from this forest during 

 their nocturnal pilgrimages the badgers prefer 

 always to follow the course of a hedgerow rather 

 than venture into the open moonlight. They 

 will even make a detour of two or three fields 

 to avoid passing an open gateway, and in this 

 way they gain a strip of wild undergrowth border- 

 ing a stream, which they visit regularly for the 

 roots of the common wild hyacinth. The un- 

 dulating portions of the New Forest are drained 

 by means of narrow canals or gutters, which 



