The Fox 21 



his part is to be a continual struggle; struggle not 

 only for daily sustenance, but a struggle to escape the 

 snares and pitfalls laid for him by his arch enemy — 

 man. Among the fox kindred it is a survival of 

 the fittest, combined with a wonderful development 

 of hereditary habit, which has fostered, and in some 

 cases multiplied, their race. 



When pursued by a hound, the fox may deceive it 

 in several ways, such as c' oubling on his trail, walking 

 on fences, or wading in shallow water. The last ruse 

 is by far the most effective. Nevertheless the hunting 

 of the fox is most successfully accomplished by means 

 of the hound. In the Northern vStates the hunting 

 season begins in November; but the real sport comes 

 a little later, when the ground is covered with a light 

 snow, for then the hound can follow the trail more 

 easily. A trail must be fresh if a dog is to follow it 

 over the frozen ground with any degree of speed, 

 and on a ploughed field it is almost hopeless. 



Perhaps a few reminiscences of fox hunting wilj 

 serve, better than anything else, to give those unac- 

 quainted with this clever animal clearer notions as to 

 the scope of fox sagacity: — To begin with, it shoiild 

 be borne in mind that foxes, unless old and experienced 

 in guile, will not, when hounded, run far away on 

 a straight course, but will circle near the home where 



