St. Mary's beacon., 1853-04-28
From Grohnm's Magazine for .Mv. !
A " ICAN GAME.
BT HcNnY w1LL.iM HERBERT.
THE FGN.-TIIE FOX.
Fr'pep FxI7.Yc.

FDIper FHhssq
TIN. we'I-lnown and widely distributed
animal i one of the few species, whether
OF birds or quadrup"ds, that is not pecu-
lar.tH .;.is continent, bat co-exists. iden-
t'cai II al It's characteristics. in Europe
aal A.nc.i~a.
1t : not indeed, fac, perfectly cs-
ta3il,h1d that the red fox is originally
indigenous 70 :his country; it being we'll
aNccr;"in"i hat it was largely imported,
as a b"a:t Of chase, b. the founders of
u" C1"a;;"T settlements of MARYLAND,
SHORTY after their arrival, in order to
minister to tlcir sporting propcnsities,
fer which purposes It's craft, courage and
endurance adapt ii far more than its con-
g'ner The grey fox, which is peculiar to
the western hemisphere.
This circumstance, together with the
fact. that The red fox of America is not
70 be distinguished, in any structural
points, from the European animal, has
induced the belief among many weu-in-
formed persons, that the red COX was un-
49, a sCs JTe TIC 1!fISl-S ~@l
white Tnan, and that the whole race with
With the continent, in its rorthcn por-
tiJns, especially, abounds, are all de-
sccndants Of those imported by the set
tiers Of Lord Baltimore, such as were
fortunate enough to escape the fox'hounds
OF The gallant Cavaliers.
Without asserting positively that this
derivation is true, it may be we'll to state
that il is b. ~ means. as some persons
have main aimed, impossible; since, not
wi.h>taadirs : The vast increase, ina COM
parl.iye!Y short period, Nhich must be
assumed in order 10 account for the wide
diffil.ion Of the race at the present day,
such an increase is ny no means incon-
sistcnt with the laws Of nature as regards
the propagation of animals, where they
are entirely, or in great degree, unmo-
Tested.
1t is, moreover, wotthy Of remark, in
this point of view, that the red fox,
though il no respect domcstica:ed, or
perhaps susceptible Of domestication, is
vet the attendant and Concomitant Of
man, extending his range as the range Of
civilization is extended, and rarely if
ever occurring in the interior Of the ma
tive wilderness.
The English rabbit has in Ills manner
become indigenous TO parts of Florida,
where | am Informed they are now
abundant, of all colors, being sprung
from few pairs of the domesticatcd va
ricty; while it is notorious that the
countless droves Of cattle and wild horses
which people the rampas of South
America are sprung from individuals
turned loose by the Spaniards, and that
many uninha5ited islands in the Pacific
and elsewhere actually swarm with Eu-
ropean animals, the descendants of sim
gle pairs set ashore by benefcent mari
ners for the benefit Of humanity at large.
The limits inhabited by the red fox of
America are, as l have stated above,
very widely extended, embracing all the
settled parts of the U. States, but more
especially in the central portions along
the seaboard, and to the eastward. In
Florida and farther south they are far
.a-e-. and they are impatient of the ex-
:.ezae cot3 OF the high nothern regions.
The red fox is thus described in Delays
Fauna Of the State. of New York -