LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



at the top of the bank watching their retreat, 

 and barking at intervals, until my approach drove 

 him back into the woods. In all probability his 

 family was near there, and he felt it his duty to 

 protect it from invaders. 



It must add immensely to the fascination of 

 fox-hunting to know that at any time you may 

 draw that inestimable prize, a black or silver 

 fox. This is now believed to be merely a variety 

 of the common red fox, only with long black fur 

 of an entirely different quality. The white- 

 tipped over-hair varies in amount in different 

 specimens, so that the colour varies from pale 

 silvery gray to absolute black, and other things 

 being equal, the darker the skin, the more valu- 

 able it Is. 



Although occasionally found wherever the 

 red fox Is abundant, it is everywhere decidedly 

 rare ; and I cannot discover that an undoubted 

 specimen has ever been killed hereabouts. But, 

 a few years ago, all the hunters agreed that 



46 



