Hunting Instincts of the Dog 1 73 



that unless tbe bushes were parted to look in no one 

 would suspect the existence of this green tunnel, which 

 on the other side opens on the ash copse, where a shallow 

 furrow (dry) joins it. This tunnel is the favourite way 

 and passage of the rabbits from the copse out into the 

 tempting pasturage of the meadow ; through it, too, now 

 and then, a fox creeps quietly. Eabbit-holes drill the bank 

 everywhere, but one near this green bye-way is noticeable 

 because of its immense size. 



It must measure eighteen inches or nearly in diameter 

 at the mouth; nor does it diminish abruptly, but con- 

 tinues almost as large a yard or more inside the bank. 

 Spaniels will get right into such a ' bury,' till nothing but 

 the tail can be seen, and, if permitted, stay there and dig 

 and scratch frantically. They would sometimes, perhaps, 

 succeed in reaching the prey were it not for the roots of 

 thorn bushes or trees which cross the holes here and there 

 like bars ; these they cannot scratch through, but will 

 bite and tear with their teeth — coming out now and then 

 to breathe and shake the sand from their muzzles, then 

 back again with a whine of eager excitement, till presently, 

 in sheer exhaustion, they lie down at the mouth of the 

 cave and pant. This is not allowed if it is known ; but 

 spaniels now and then steal away privately, and so fre- 

 quently make for a hole like this that when their absence 

 is discovered it is the first place visited in search of them. 

 The mingled patience and excitement, the vast labour 

 they will undergo, the quantity of sand they will throw 

 out, the whine — it is not a bark — expressing intense 

 desire, prove how deep is the hunting instinct in the dog. 



Even if the burrows be ferreted, in a few weeks this 

 great hole shows signs of fresh inhabitants ; and such a 

 specially enlarged entrance may be found somewhere in 



