82 THE INDUSTRIES OF ANIMALS. 



preserving the surplus of the present in view of 

 privations to come.^ 



The Fox, a very skilful hunter, has no trouble in 

 finding game; of all the Carnivora he is, however, the 

 only one who is truly foreseeing. The others in 

 presence of abundant food gorge themselves, and 

 abandon the rest at the risk of suffering to-morrow. 

 The fox is not so careless. If he has had the good 

 fortune to discover a poultry yard, well supplied but 

 ill watched, he carries away as many fowls as he can 

 before dawn and hides them in the neighbourhood of 

 his burrow. He places each by itself, one at the foot 

 of a hedge, another beneath a bush, a third in a hole 

 rapidly hollowed out and closed up again. It is said 

 that he thus scatters his treasures to avoid the risk of 

 losing all at one stroke, although this prudence com- 

 plicates his task when he needs to utilise his pro- 

 visions. The fox, however, loses nothing, and knows 

 very well where to find his stores. The very nature 

 of the game prevents him from keeping it more than 

 a few days. 



Provisions laid up for a long period. — The Rodents, 

 who live on dry fruits or grains, can on the other 

 hand preserve them for a long time in their barns. 

 The Squirrel, who may be seen all the summer leaping 

 like a little madman from branch to branch, and who 

 seems to have no cares except to exhibit his red 

 fleece and show off his tail, is, contrary to appearance, 

 a most sensible and methodical animal. He knows 

 that winter is a hard time for poor beasts, and that 

 fruits are then rare or hidden beneath the snow; in 

 the autumn, therefore, when all the riches of the earth 

 are abundant, and beech-nuts, acorns, and chestnuts 



' Naumann, Naturgeschichte der Vogel Dezitschlands, etc. 



