THE FOX 
ARING and rascally is the fox as a pet, 
and on account of its rascality it 
needs especial attention and care. 
Many a country boy who kept his 
spet fox carefully chained to a ken- 
if nel wondered how it managed to 
capture a chicken so often. But, 
E after he had studied the wiles of 
his pet, he wondered nolonger; for hesawit apparently 
deliberately bait the chickens with the remnants of 
its meal, meanwhile pretending to be fast asleep, until 
some reckless biddy came within the radius of its 
chain. 
The fox lives in a den or burrow, often selecting 
a woodchuck burrow, or making one for itself. I once 
saw a fox home that was in a rather deep cave beneath 
the roots of astump. The mother fox usually selects 
some open place for a den for her litter; often an 
open field or side hill is chosen for this. The den is 
carpeted with grass, and is a very comfortable place 
for the fox cubs. The den of the father fox is usually 
near by. 
The fox is an industrious hunter of meadow mice, 
rabbits, woodchucks, frogs, snakes, grasshoppers and 
birds and their eggs. It has a bad reputation with 
the farmer because of its attacks on poultry. It not 
only raids hen-roosts, but catches many fowls that 
are wandering through the fields after food. It 
carries a heavy bird, like a goose, in an interesting 
manner, by slinging it over its shoulder, and holding 
the head in its mouth to steady the burden. 
Wy 
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“19 
