The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-12-17
WAYS OF THE SLY OLD FOX.
An Observnnt Creature Who Easily
Gets Over the Ground.
tFrOm &c Hartford Times.

I wa. e f-jokingly assured by an
old foN-hunter that nc red fox never ran;
that he was blown along oy the wind. and
just used his legs to guide himself with,
and after observing good many foxes,
confess | know of no active verb which
adequately describes their movements.
Even greyhound is a clumsy numbering
animal when compared with fox. Not
that a greyhound cannot cover the ground
faster. but there is certain lightness of
foot in the wild creature which is not
even suggested by any dog. unless it be n
well-bred and well-trained collie. puff
OF reddish smoke or a loose ball OF tawny
fur blown along close to. but not quite
touching the ground, would suggest the
movement OF red fox as nearly as any
thing l can think of.
Our early education concerning this ami
NAL usually begins with some nursery
rhyme. in which "Reynard" figures as
poultry thief. In my own case. remem
Der. was taught that
"A fox went out one winter night
and that after an interesting series OF ad-
ventures, in which he stole the grey
goose" and awakened the farmers wife. he
finally got back to his den. where
''iie and his wife ate the gray goose up,
And the little ones picked the bones"
In this, as in many other nursery
rhymes, there is as much truth as non
sense for no one can say that the fox gets
his information concerning the poultry
yard at second hand. He studies the hab-
its Of the inmates perhaps more carefully
than .he farmer does. Particularly does
he give attention to their bad habits II
some silly little duckling Is fond of stray
ing of, the fox knows it, and he won't
forget that duckling. If some old fool of
a hen thinks it smart to rOost outside in a
tree. instead OF going into the COOP the
fox will quietly put her on his visiting
list. and some fine night when she has
psrched on branch rather lower than
usual. he will call around to see her. He
can leap to considerable height when he
wants to. and even If he can't quite reach
the hen. he will make her so nervous that
she will probably iy. and come laundering
TO the ground In the darkness. The fox
cubs will be introduced to her later in the
evening probably and she will never an
swer the roll call any more.
But he is very cautious when out on an
expedition of this or any other kind, and
the man who invented the expression as
cunning as fox" knew what he was talk
ing about. Reynard distrusts everything.
man and all his works. He
will not even believe the unsupported tes-
timony OF one of his own senses. II his
he must have the assurance of his nose
and ears as well before he will believe it.
This is why he is so seldom caught in
traps. He is caught this way. sometimes.
but not often enough to warrant any ones
sitting up to wait for him
But the barnyard is only one of his
many sources OF food supply. He is very
fond of wild mice Of different kinds. rats,
squirrels, and rabbits. These he catches
in various ways. Sometimes he lies con-
cealed near the mouth of a woodchuck's
or chipmunks burrOw, and waits patiently
until the proprietor put in an appearance.
At other times he scents his prey from a
and after following it UP. in
the manner of pointer dog. suddenly
leaps upon 1t. He prefers stratasem to
direct pursuit. but when he cares to be
with chasing anything. he can
give it pretty good run for its
life.
He is a keen observer. too. and very
little goes on around him that he does not
know something about. AS he passes
through a meadow. his quick eye marks
the movement OF each elump of grass.
and he makes a mental note of the cause
of the movement. THAT one was mOI ed
by the wind" he says to himself: that
was an earthworm.''- that Jump
ing suddenly sdewise. and bringing his
forepaws down close together) was a
mousse And SO. of course. it proves to
be- he knew it before he jumped just as
well as when he wedged his sharp nose
between his paws and gobbled up the
luckless little rodent which was dad be-
fore it had time to squeak He catch s
and crickets, too. by leap
ing upon them with his paws, and he
sometimes rushes out into shallow water
and seizes wild fowl lying asleep on its
surface.
While he shows great ingenuity in
catching his prey. he shows still more in
avoiding capture himself. In England
where foxhunting is perhaps the most
sport OF the people. there
are innumerable stories OF the art and
cunning displayed by Reynard in oUtwit-
ing the dogs. He frequently misleads
hem by doubling on his own trail. and in
localities near the coast he will often
travel for long distance through the
SURF which Of course destroys the scent /
II once.
The American red fox does the same !
hing Like his slightly smaller English |
,ousin he has wonderful endurance. and ,
le. too. can give the hunters and hounds
, long chase and often beats them out at |
he end.
The home of the red fox is usually
ieat and quite often extensive burrow.
having two or three openings.
Here the young are born in February.
March, or April AS rule there are from
our to six of these youngsters, but occa-
ionally there are as many as seven. They