THE FOX 151 



Pheasants, which most hunts are willing to com- 

 pensate for, is bad enough, but in this case Reynard 

 has a hundred to one chance, for it is rarely that he 

 is going to be caught by the ordinary methods of 

 vermin trapping. 



A keeper weH known to me has been trapping 

 vermin and Rabbits for over thirty years in many 

 parts of the country where Foxes have been plenti- 

 ful, and he tells me that he has never had the mis- 

 fortune to catch a Fox. His vermin traps have 

 been baited, too, with all kinds of birds and other 

 animals, many of which are considered delicacies 

 by Reynard. He never allows such traps to 

 remain too long set in one place, and renews the 

 bait often enough, hence the secret of trapping 

 where Foxes are preserved. If not impossible to 

 catch a Fox in a freshly baited trap, it is very 

 improbable. Rabbit traps left unattended for 

 weeks are liable to do harm in this way. Run 

 traps may catch cubs if set anywhere near the 

 earth. 



A friend of mine once caught a cub in a drain 

 pipe where he always kept a trap set for Stoats. 

 The little chap got his pad rather badly crushed, 

 but after a few dressings he soon got well. 

 Through being constantly handled he also became 

 tame to a certain extent, but never wholly so. 

 He became a great pet and was kept tied up to a 

 small box kennel in the corner of a yard. When 



