98 With Rod and Gun in New England 



the family out, it being determined to lie in wait and shoot them at the 

 first opportunity. Accordingly, one day, I took my gun, and hiding behind 

 an old stone wall, less than a gunshot from the mouth of the burrow, 

 awaited events. Shortly I heard a rustling in the bushes, and looking, 

 saw the mother fox coming up the hill with a nice large domestic duck in 

 her mouth. I waited until she got near the burrow, when I fired one bar- 

 rel loaded with swan shot ; she did not drop, but ran limping across the 

 fields to some woods, where she was subsequently found dead. I reloaded 

 and waited patiently for her to return, but she did not. I was on the 

 point of abandoning the hunt when suddenly a young fox ran out of the 

 den, and he was quickly followed by three others ; they were about half 

 grown and were very playful, rolling on the ground and over each other 

 like kittens or puppies. 



I watched them a minute or two and then shot them, killing two with 

 each barrel. They were much grayer than the old one, and the pelage 

 lacked the hairs which in the old animal extend beyond the fur. 



" Speaking of destructive animals," said the Doctor, " the domestic 

 cat, that has run wild and makes its home in the woods, is one of the worst 

 offenders." 



" You are right, Doctor," I replied, " it is one of the greatest pests in 

 settled localities, and I always feel it my duty to shoot every one I catch 

 in the woods. In England it is classed among the vermin and is always 

 destroyed by gamekeepers. Sometimes the house cats make trips to the 

 woods, and I have known of their bringing in woodcock, young partridges 

 and quails. Yes, they are very mischievous. I have repeatedly seen their 

 tracks in the snow, miles from any house." 



" Yes, the domestic cat catches a great many quails," added the 

 Judge; "it is a great pity, for, in my opinion, it is one of our best game 

 birds ; they are not very numerous anywhere in New England, north of 

 Massachusetts, but in that State and south of it, and in the West, they are 

 in many sections very abundant. In some of the Southern States they are 

 so numerous that a sportsman can bag all the way from one to two hun- 

 dred in a day, if he desires. An acquaintance of mine, while on a visit to 

 Meridian, Miss., last winter, found them so abundant that shooting them 

 lost all its attractiveness. He says that the poultry dealers keep several 

 hundred live quails on hand, confined in large coops or cages, and they fill 

 orders at the low price of fifty cents a dozen, they killing the birds by 

 wringing their necks when they are called for." 



" The southern quail averages a trifle smaller than the northern one," 

 said the Doctor. 



"Yes," I replied, "but that condition holds good with many other 

 species; for instance, the Florida deer is smaller than the animal 

 killed in Maine, but it is of the same species. Yes, I also regard the 



