Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1896-09-03
DOMESTIC LIFE OF THE FOX.
Tho Mother Fox Has . Large Family %
Provide For.

DOMESTIC LIFE OF THE FOX.
Tho Mother Fox Has . Large Family -
Provide For.
Let US take glance ut the private
life of our foxes. The vixen lays up
her cubs in early spring, in mild
winters very often in January and
February, but should say that
most cubs arc born in March and
April. She chooses q nice, quiet
place to draw her earth. Often some
cornfield is chosen that has been al
ready sown, for foxes arc very clever
and soon discover that field that
has been worked is not likely to be
disturbed for some time. She Sc
leots suitable bank and in that
produces her cubs, which average,
as a rule, from five to seven in num-
Der. At first, of course, they eat
nothing, but live entirely upon their
mothers milk, like puppies, but
soon they require more nourish-
ment, and nature prompts their fond
parent to provide them with some
thing more substantial This she
does by eating small rabbits, birds,
rats and beetles, which, on arriving
home, she casts up for her family in
exactly the same way as q dog does
for her young. As soon as they
grow big enough to como out of the
earth and play about, the vixen re-
moves them to another earth where
there is a plentiful supply of water
AS little foxes are thirsty little
souls and require plenty of drink.
One of the most charming sights
Is to see family of baby foxes at
play. The vixen is now assisted by
her spouse in providing for their
family and they both bring in young
birds, rabbits, etc. A fox Harder is
one of the most wonderful sights
know of and certainly our friend
Reynard is very catholic in his tastes,
for nothing comes smiss to him,
from q beetle or cookohafer to a
young lamb. Rabbits also form a
large item in his bill of fare, but
moles and rats are the staple food,
so that it is not all damage that our
little red rover aocomplishes. No
doubt a hungry vixen is not particu-
lar, but one cannot blame her if she
helps herself bit too freely, for it
Is hard for her to travel far for her
young ones support.
Fox stories that have happened
within my knowledge have been
many and various. On one occasion
a very Moe litter of cubs was
brought to the house. They were
too young to do we'll without their
mother and with one exception all
died, but this little survivor was
adopted by a Pomeranian dog, who
at the time had litter of puppies
and took to her founding quite hap
PLY. This CUB grew up and used to
come in to dessert with the dogs and
would sit up and smoke q pipe.
They all lived in the pantry and
were quite happy family, living
together until the CUB was a year
old, when it broke its chain and es.
capped. After three or four days il
returned and from time to time
used to go and come at its will; but,
alas, one day it never returned!
never heard of her death, so we may
hope she lived to good old age. In
the Fitzwilliam country once saw
a very pretty fox that had three
white pads, but l never saw it but
once again. In Devonshire a fox
used always to live on the top of a
pheasant stack in one of the coverts.
He was always to be found there and
In the summer did not mind peo-
pie walking past the stack, but di-
rectly the hunting season began
the shutting of the gate was quite
enough for our friend, who went at
once. He was hunted for several
seasons, but never caught. He was
a very beautiful fox. with q great
deal of white about his throat and
neck.-Country House. England.