LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



I am persuaded that most of us would be 

 surprised to learn how many wild animals of 

 the bigness of a cat and upwards pass their 

 lives in the midst of cultivated districts without 

 ever having been seen by men^ to die at last of 

 old age, their existence even unsuspected by the 

 owners of the land they dwelt upon. 



In studying quadrupeds, the chief thing to 

 bear in mind is that, with the exception of 

 squirrels and woodchucks, and possibly one or 

 two others, all of them have comparatively poor 

 eyesight, at all events for daylight, and appar- 

 ently not much better for twilight or darkness. 



But even with the best of eyes they could 

 only see in one direction at a time, while the 

 slightest screen of grass or foliage conceals every- 

 thing beyond it. But with a sense of smell and 

 hearing such as theirs, they are instantly aware 

 of anything that takes place in their immediate 

 vicinity, with the exception of the one point 

 towards which the wind blows. And here is 



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