LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



self just how they have been spending their time. 

 On snow that is twenty-four hours old you can 

 hardly go a dozen rods without crossing the 

 track of one creature or another, and of course 

 they multiply each night so long as the weather 

 is favourable, until in many places it becomes 

 difficult to distinguish between them. Perhaps 

 the best snow on which to study footprints is a 

 good firm crust, not too slippery, with half an inch 

 of fine snow spread on its surface. 



Snow that has been blown about a good deal, 

 and then packed by the wind, takes the clearest 

 imprints, showing the exact mould of the feet 

 that made them ; but such tracks are apt to be 

 shallow, often little more than scratches, and hard 

 to see at a distance. If the crust Is icy and the 

 surface snow very light, most animals slip about 

 on it more or less, often making it difficult to 

 identify their tracks. Very light snow, if more 

 than an inch or two in depth, falls back into 

 the footprint just made, obliterating the outline 



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