DIVIDING THE TWO PACKS FROM THE FIRST. 149 



tioned oven or den, a kind of raised kennel, in which 

 the foxes may lie secure and dry, having two or three 

 small spouts in the side, into which a fox may stick 

 himself, with his head only exposed, in case of a 

 terrier being sent in by a poacher or fox catcher ; by 

 taking this precaution, it will be next to an impossi- 

 bility for a dog, which is small enough to creep into 

 the earth, to bolt or draw a fox out. The earth may 

 then be built of stones or bricks upon the floor, ter- 

 minating at each entrance with a hole of such a size 

 as not to admit a dog larger than a fox. The mouth 

 should be made with a heavy stone, or large piece 

 of timber, to prevent its wearing away, A large 

 mound of soil should be heaped over the earth, and, 

 for a better protection, a quantity of dead cover 

 placed upon that. Badgers are a sad nuisance when 

 they take to an artificial earth, and should be imme- 

 diately caught, or they will in a short time pull down 

 and destroy the whole of the interior. Great care 

 should be taken to select a dry place for an earth, or 

 the foxes will become mangy, and, by dying in the 

 earth, spoil it for ever. 



As long as there is a chance of finding and killing 

 foxes in large woodlands, hounds should never on any 

 account be taken to draw small spinies, or be suffered 

 to work in the open; it is impossible to keep so large 

 a body together as are generally taken out at that 

 time of the year, and the mischief they may be led to 

 commit, and the vices they may contract, will be 

 much easier acquired than cured by such a practice. 

 Some countries are so extensive, and the foxes so well 

 preserved, that the two \^acks necessary for four days 



