7098 Quadrupeds. 



fortunately destroyed, and taking upon himself the feeding of their 

 young progeny, is of such rare occurrence as to be a fact worthy of 

 insertion in the ' Zoologist;' but although I have heard of stories to a 

 similar purport I was never before satisfied of the correctness of such 

 statements. I have frequently inquired of huntsmen, keepers, and 

 other persons most likely to know, if such was really the case, and the 

 answer has generally been, they " believed so," but none seemed to 

 know it from experience. The following fact, however, may be 

 relied upon. 



A vixen laid up her litter of five cubs in a retired spot, under a pro- 

 jecting rocky shelf, in a small dingle belonging to myself, but adjoining 

 to which, unfortunately, there w^as one small field or paddock not 

 mine, in which the tenant's sons were accustomed to set traps for 

 rabbits ; through this field the poor vixen had often to go to obtain 

 food for her litter ; and at last, after the young ones had attained a 

 considerable size, and had become fine merry-looking fellows, — bold 

 enough to stand near the mouth of the earth, regardless of being seen 

 by those who cautiously resorted to the spot to watch them, — the poor 

 mother was caught in a trap, and, after carrying it about for some time, 

 she got it off, but unfortunately some men at plough saw the poor 

 maimed fox, and ran after her and finally beat her brains out, when 

 almost close to her earth and cubs. 



The rabbit-catcher employed near the spot, who was also paid for 

 looking after the foxes, having been told of this mishap and of the 

 anger the ploughmen had met with from their master, when informed 

 of their having killed the poor vixen, went the next day to look at the 

 earth, and there saw a fine white-plumed hen lying near it, which was 

 not there the preceding day, and must therefore have been brought by 

 the father of the family. The man then left a few young rabbits for 

 the cubs, and the next day found the rabbits and fowl consumed. 

 He continued occasionally to take the young foxes a fresh supply of 

 rabbits, rats or other food, for two or three days ; and shortly after- 

 wards he again found laying near the mouth of the earth, amongst the 

 remnants of other things, a black fowl, brought there like the former 

 by the only remaining old fox, and no doubt many other articles of 

 food had been taken down to their earth by the young foxes to feed on 

 in private : this plan of the man and the old fox alternately sup- 

 plying the young cubs continued for several weeks, until two oak 

 trees which grew on the bank above their residence were ordered to be 

 cut down, when, unluckily, the trees fell exactly across the foxes' 

 habitation ; and since this neither old nor young foxes have been seen 



