in the Fox and other Animals. 573 



not so easily accounted for, since the end of hunting seems 

 to be, that the chase pursued should be eaten. Dogs, again, 

 will not devour the more rancid waterfowls ; nor indeed the 

 bones of any wild fowls ; nor will they touch the fetid bodies 

 of birds that feed on offal and garbage ; and, indeed, there 

 may be somewhat of providential instinct in this circumstance 

 of dislike ; for vultures *, and kites f, and ravens, and crows, 

 &c, were intended to be messmates with dogs over their car- 

 rion, and seem to be appointed by nature as fellow-scavengers 

 to remove all cadaverous nuisances from the face of the 

 earth." p 



True, however, as the above remark may be in the main, 

 the circumstance that the fox has no objection to prey on fox- 

 flesh, tends to qualify it in some degree. It is a curious fact, 

 that no cat will eat the body of a skinned bird; though every 

 one knows how apt grimalkin is to make off with one, not of 

 its own killing, that has its feathers on. This, and the fol- 

 lowing fact, will throw some light on the refusal of sporting 

 dogs to feed on the remnants of cooked partridges : — > 



Near where I formerly lived, there existed, for two or 

 three years, a fine male pointer, which was a great destroyer 

 of game, and, at times, of poultry also ; but so extremely 

 wary that the keepers could never entrap it, or even get a 

 shot at the animal. It was not much in the habit of worrying 

 sheep, but appeared to subsist chiefly on hares and rabbits, 

 which it hunted during the twilight. This animal was at 

 length shot, after several nights tedious watching. The cir- 

 cumstance of its having been known to steal poultry places 

 it beyond a doubt, that it was not over-scrupulous about prey- 

 ing on feathered game. § 



* Hasselquist, in his travels to the Levant, observes, that the dogs and 

 vultures at Grand Cairo maintain such a friendly intercourse as to bring 

 up their young together in the same place. 



f " Wild and shy as hawks are," observes the present Bishop of Nor- 

 wich, " it will scarcely be credited, that at one time the common kites 

 were numerous in London streets. This happened in the time of Henry 

 VIII., when it seems that they were attracted by the offal of butchers' 

 and poulterers' stalls ; and as, on account of their use in removing so ex- 

 tensive a nuisance, they were not allowed to be killed, they became so 

 fearless, as actually to mingle with the passengers, and take their prey in 

 the very midst of the greatest crowds." (Stanley's Familiar History of 

 Birds.) 



^ Letter xlviii., to the Hon. Daines Barrington. 



() However wild and savage, and insensible to kindness, may be the 

 ordinary character of the wolf, there are instances on record of their being 

 as tractable, and attached to their owner, as the most faithful dog; and 

 the inverse of this I have had occasion to observe in two instances, wherein 

 the dog evinced the usual disposition of the wolf and fox. The second 

 case occurred in a female greyhound, which derived its sustenance much 



