172 THE BADGER. 



to his conception. If it is a nomadic old dog- 

 badger that has passed, he is not interested ; but 

 if, on the other hand, an eligible lady-caller has 

 seen fit to leave the sign of her passing, he is 

 all on edge. In all probability he follows, and so, 

 in due course, they make each other's acquaintance. 



Intercommunication in the wild exists for but 

 one purpose that of bringing the sexes together. 

 The wolves have their calling- posts, the beavers 

 have their castor-signs, the weasels have their 

 musking-places, and it is reasonable to think that 

 the scratching-post of the badger answers the 

 same purpose as the rest. It is the marriage ex- 

 change of the district, the agony column of the 

 local press. Of course, a badger may exercise its 

 claws against any tree it happens to pass, but 

 there is always one tree in particular recognised 

 for this purpose. 



Moreover, a badger living in solitude resorts to 

 the practice more regularly than the mated couples 

 it may, indeed, have several calling-places all up 

 and down its range, and the necessity for claw- 

 exercise alone cannot demand such activity. It 

 would seem that the more earnestly a dog-badger 

 desires a mate, the more blatantly does he advertise 

 the signs of his stature, and the more diligently 

 does he search for the records of other badgers 

 left in the same way. That the habit plays some 

 important part in the multiplication of the species 

 can hardly be doubted, and possibly the old male 

 badger wandering restlessly from place to place is 

 searching chiefly for such signs. 



DESTRUCTIVENESS. 



I would see the peregrine preserved just as we 

 would preserve a picturesque landscape, a beautiful 



