11 
isiir.') 
AMF.RICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
and pkiii. They are afraid of man, and rarely, 
if ever, injure the hunter or his horses, although 
stealing into a still camp at night, they often 
cause the latter to stampede. The mule is an 
excellent ■watchman, for he no sooner detects 
theii neighhoihood by his keen scent, than he 
gives vent to his own, peculiar, musical bray, and 
others have a more or less distinctly marked 
cross, a stripe down the back and across the 
shoulders. The usual color is bright reddish 
brown, most intense along the saddle and should¬ 
ers. The face is nearly black, as are also the 
flanks; and the feet are black in front, the color 
extending up on the outside of the thighs. The 
under jaw, the 
edges of the up¬ 
per ja-w, and the 
throat are white, 
and this color ex¬ 
tends more or less 
upon the belly. 
The brush is ren¬ 
dered dark by 
many long black 
hairs, occurring 
among the reddish 
ones, which are 
more abundant 
and shorter. In 
the darker varie¬ 
ties of the fox the 
brush is often 
white tipped. The 
head and body 
measure 27 to 30 
inches usually, 
and the tail to the 
tips of the hairs 
about 15 to 17 
inches. They rare¬ 
ly attain a weight 
of 15 pounds, and 8 to 10 pounds is the usual 
weight. The young are littered in March or 
April, 4 to G in a nest. As the old one has these 
to provide for just when field mice and birds 
are least abundant, foxes are then boldest in 
their attacks upon poultry, and will even attack 
young lambs. We think, however, that lamb is 
not a favorite diet by any means, and that rats, 
mice, and small birds and eggs are much pre¬ 
ferred to poultry of any kind—we are willing 
to give the little 
rascals credit for 
all the good they 
do. Their habits, 
their great degree 
of sly intelligence 
and reasoning 
powers, are ■well 
known. They are 
active throughout 
the winter, and 
lives in burrows. 
In trapping the 
fox, to destroy the 
smell of iron, the 
trap should be 
smeared with 
fresh blood, or 
heated and cover¬ 
ed with bees-wax, 
then set near their 
haunts, covered 
with light earth,or 
ashes, and fasten¬ 
ed to a clog of 8 
orlOlbs. The sur¬ 
face all around 
should wear a natural loolc Scraps of fried 
meat and honey may be 
bed but not on the trap, and no foot punts 
Lould be se'en near. The genital organs of 
the female fox, or dogm heat, preserved m al 
111 and smeared f 
trap will be most alluring. A fox will be v y 
likil’y to follow a trail of bloody meat to the trap. 
The Prairie Wolf. 
Thi.s animal latruiu) is found 
upon the Ihalrifs of the West, from Mexico to 
as far mirlii as lat. 55"*, is the typ-e in this coun¬ 
try c.f the .laekal of the Ea.slern world, both in 
appearance and 
hai)i:^. Allhoimh 
natiirali'ts ditlcr 
on the subject, it 
is the generally 
r'cfivi d opbiion 
that he is the- same 
arhnia! aslhc Mex- 
i an t'oyote. In 
-iZ'-, be a ine- 
di on 1 "'t Ween ! he 
coinni n Red Fi;x 
aPi'l the ore/uiary 
IVoif. Hi-lo ad, is 
so ip i n;i>re like 
t'ac :• inner aiiiinal, 
having its long 
and harp muzzle, 
whi.e the wliole 
form Ilf h.- bo.ly 
is more 'hat of the 
\Vi i; and hi- tail, 
wl.ich is bushy 
and '.aic-ring, and 
h:^ co:'.r-e hair, 
are unmi tak.ably 
tho-e of 111 - lat¬ 
ter. He i- from 30 to 40, or 42 inches in length 
of 1)0 iv, with a tail sonu! IG or 18 inches long. 
In Color he i> usually of a dull, yellowish gray 
Oil the !■ id; and sides, sprinkled or clouded with 
Id. ;ck, the 1 m lly and inside of the limbs being 
whi’e. ll's ears are large and triangular, al- 
wnvs held in an erect position, and almost en- 
tl-i'ly eoatc 1 with hair. lie has four toes on 
eacli foot, besides a sharp claw on the inside of 
the fore-f( ot, about two inches above the sole, 
and altnched to 
the rndiim.-ntary 
ti .exorresj'' ciding 
to'hiithnmh. He 
hi- a -litirp, snap- 
])ing bmk, ■svhich 
giv's him the 
name, among the 
dwellers upon tlic 
piairies, of the 
‘‘Barking Wolf.” 
Tiicy live and 
breed in burrows, 
and have tlieir 
yonuL'’ in April. 
Tlicy are very ])ro- 
lifie, sometimes 
bringing forth 10 
or more at a birth, 
and not often less 
than 8. They tire 
very fle<d of foot, 
more so than tlic 
ordinary Wolf,ami 
hunt in packs, 
Iginging on the 
outskirts of the 
herds of buffalo, on the lookout for stragglers, 
aged, halt, and maimed. Tlioughsmall,tliey area 
most terrible enemy when combined, and attack- 
in-r in numbers. They will follow up a company 
of" hunters for dtiys, and loiter around tlieir 
camps f(jr the refuse of their game, of whicli 
they g(d fpiantilies, as your true buffalo hunter 
only cares for the hump, tongue, marrow-bones. 
The Red Fox.— fulvus.) 
Closely allied to the wolf and the dog, is the 
Fox, of which there are several distinct species 
in th’is country, and among these there exists a 
great tendency to varieties. ’ The skins of the 
common red fox show diverse shades, some henig 
very dark, (indeed there are those called black;) 
PUAiuiE WOLF OK COYOTE.— {Cams latrans.) 
stands like a well-bred game dog, head and tail 
erect, and nose pointed in the direction of his 
enemy. The hunter then looks out for the safety 
of his game or provisions, for the little thieves 
are as expert as the New York pickpockets, and 
will appropriate his most precious morsels. 
They are killed for their skins, which, however, 
are not very valuable, and are used to fill up the 
scanty load of some not over-successful trader. 
