THE BADGER. 167 



be found to consist of 50 per cent, old bedding, 

 drawn out and intermingled with the sand. Very 

 often a single dump-heap of this kind would form 

 several cartloads the work of generation after 

 generation of badgers who have occupied their 

 spare time in tidying up and enlarging. 



NESTS. 



From the mouth of the main burrow there 

 generally exists a clearly defined runway to the 

 patch of open ground at which the bedding 

 material is collected. Dry grass is preferred on 

 account of its softness, but often the badgers make 

 shift with bracken. Following the runway, one 

 arrives at an opening amidst the trees (probably 

 within a distance of fifty yards) from which all 

 the low herbage has been dragged and clawed up, 

 so that the entire plot has an untidy appearance. 

 (Indeed, the whole area of the warren is untidy 

 owing to the litter of bedding, this being the 

 chief indication that it is a badger-warren.) This 

 is the hayfield of the colony. All these features 

 are clearly shown on the rough plan-sketch repro- 

 duced herewith, which shows the lay-out of a New 

 Forest warren close to the main Bournemouth 

 road, and is typical of many others in the locality. 



The grass or the bracken as collected is rolled 

 into tightly packed balls, a number of which appear 

 to be made in readiness for transportation before 

 the badgers leave the field, as one often finds these 

 balls lying forsaken on the ground ; and the 

 amount of bedding rolled into such small com- 

 pass is surprising. The animal carries the ball 

 between its chin and its forepaws, cuddling the 

 bundle against its chest, and half-pushing, half- 

 supporting it in this way. 



