The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-04-16

bought for him. and that both foxes are housed in large wire cage in the gar den.
 Before the cold weather came, had erected, on the north and east sides of the cage, high wind-breaks, which sheltered the foxes from the bitterest of the storms. In the lee of these, a wood en den was placed, with two compart- ments. one near the ground and the other above it. At the other end of the cage, which caught the morning sun light platform was built. about two feet from the ground. that the animals might lie and sun themselves. away srom the floor of the cage, as they might lie on the top of a rock if they were free in the woods. But the den they scarcely ever used to sleep in. ex- cept during severe storms of rain or Slee-; they preferred to lie out on the bare platform even in the coldest wealth CT, when the thermometer went down | to twenty degrees below zero or lower. Before lying down, they usually walked around on the platform in a very small circle. curving the whole body inward, and then sinking down, already curled up, the legs and face covered by the bushy brush. Thus they would lie, of ten back to back, even when the heavy snow was falling, and several times we have found them in the morning with nothing but their black ear-tips pro- truding above the snow. The den they used chiefly as a playhouse. After chasing one another round the cage seemingly in a game of tag, one of them would dart into the den, as though that were "home," and the other would seldom pursue him into his sanctuary The vixen often leaped into the upper compartment and, com ing to the door, would paw her mate playfully as he passed underneath. At other times they would wrestle to- gether in fun, and the one which was thrown down would be gently chewed until it changed the subject by leaping to its feet and reversed the order of things. In short, they lived happy, care-free lives, until few days ago, when family cares began to occupy them both.
 On the 2Sd of March, the vixen be- came very restless, jumping in and IO0l "a bOtA S0kiilNcl1 tlltCAlto VI SAN QCils lattempting to burrow out of the cage, and often bowling piteously. Some times she would run up to 'The Sorite" and throw herself on her back in front of him. just as some dogs will do when they meet any one they are pleased to see, or when they wish to be petted When any of us went near, she dashed around the cage. stopping now and then to wag her tail, and express ing great delight. In the afternoon, the boy who takes care of the foxes went to rake out the cage. The vixen showed great dislike for the rake, fly ing at it and biting it savagely, and Following it up as it moved from place to place. When they were fed at six o'clock. neither of the foxes ate the meat. nor did they bury any of it, as they usually do. They scene dto take Inc interest in food. At times the vixen would leap into the upper compartment Ios the den and scratch In the bedding of leaves. Once, while she was there, a piece of cloth was held out to her. She took it in her mouth and drew it in, and then smoothed 1t out by poking land batting it with her nose to take out the humps. Then she covered the cloth lover with the leaves which were in the box, but for som reason the arrange lment did not suit her, and she took the lcloth in her mouth and flung it out of 1.-the den. She continued restless and IhowIed continuously until well into the night.
 At half-past six the next morning, when we went out to see her she Jumped out of the den, yawning and stretching as usual, but without recog- lnizing us in the usual way Then she igrowled, dashed into the upper com lnartment of the, den, and soon reap lpeared with newly-born cub in her mouth. She dropped it on the ground Ipushed it with her nose, and then picked it up again and in great agi- ltation carried it to different parts of Ethe cage. as though looking for a safe place to deposit it. When we went
 away, she carried it back into the den, where we eventually discovered the
 whole family of five baby foxes. And
 since them, whenever disturbed, she
 would pick up one of the little ones and
 carry it to new place. Finally, she
 made a hollow in the leaves at one
 corner of the cage, and put all the bab-
 ies into it. I spread an awning over
 that part of the cage, and they have
 been there ever since. The Sprite''
 showed great interest in the proceed
 ings from the first, and would undoubt-
 ely have taken part in them had the
 vixen allowed him to. But whenever
 he poked his nose into the den, to have
 a look at the children, the mother
 snapped at him, and drove him away.
 But he seemed to take it all in good
 part, and when another chance offered
 he tried 1t again. Once, when one of
 the cubs had been left on the ground
 and the vixen had gone for another
 one, "The Sprite," saw his opportunity
 and made the most of it, He walked
 up to the baby sniffed it, pushed it