THE BADGER 



shot into his ear, and then he assured me 

 the badger only shook his head. He was 

 so taken aback that for a moment or two he 

 thought of giving up the attempt to kill him, 

 but firing a second ball into him behind the 

 shoulder he put an end at once to the poor 

 brute's sufferings. 



The badger, as I have said, is becoming 

 very scarce in England, and is decreasing in 

 numbers in France and other countries as 

 well. There are, however, several English 

 and Welsh counties where in woodlands he 

 still is to be found in considerable numbers, 

 and some districts where they are common 

 enough. The badger is fairly plentiful in 

 many parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, 

 Somerset, Hants, and Gloucestershire, along 

 the Welsh border, and in Mid and South 

 Wales. It is to be found also in Sussex, 

 Wilts, occasionally in Surrey and Kent, and 

 here and there through the Midland and 

 home counties. It is becoming rare in the 

 north of England, but still lingers in the 

 North Riding of Yorkshire, chiefly in the 

 districts of the hills and moors between 



39 



