518 FOX. 
than by force : his scent is exquisite, $o that he 
can perceive either his prey or his enemies at the 
distance of 2 or 300 paces : he has the habit of 
kiUing more than he eats, and hiding the remain- 
der under grass, the roots of trees, &c. His 
voice is a sharp^ quick yell, often ending in a 
higher, stronger, and screaming kind of note, 
not unlike that of the Peacock. 
The smell of the Fox is proverbially offensive. 
This smell, as in many other quadrupeds, pro- 
ceeds, perhaps, from certain glands situated near 
the base of the tail ; but there is an observation in 
the System a Naturae of Linnaeus, which at first 
appears in the highest degree paradoxical, viz. 
that the Fox diffuses an ambrosial odor from the 
upper part of the base of the tail. ( Ambrosiaco 
fragrat odore supra caudce basin.) This observa- 
tion is also made by Mr. Schreber in his History 
of Quadrupeds. The smell (says he) of the 
Fox is strong and unpleasant, but on the tail is a 
spot from which proceeds a violaceous scent." 
This strange particularity seems to have been first 
published by Doebel in his work on hunting* 
The offensive or general smell of the Fox is sup- 
posed exactly to resemble that of the root of 
crown-imperial (Fritillaria Imperialis Lin.) This 
is mentioned by Dr. Grew in his Anatomy of Ve- 
getables, where he assures us, that the root of this 
plant, being rubbed a little, smells as like a 
Fox, as one Fox smelleth like another." 
The Fox produces five or six young at a time; 
and if they are discovered or disturbed, the fe- 
