THE LIFE OF A FOX, 9

lain before. Here we were safe from poaching
kidnappers, as it would have been impossible for
them to find us, without being found out them-
selves whilst searching for us, Let every mother
lay up her cubs in gorse, or close and thick
coverts, rather than in large earths, which are
sure to be well known to the fox-taker. We were
now three months old, and living upon young
rabbits and mice, with which such coverts
abound, feeding also upon other food, such
as black-beetles; rabbits, however, were our
favourite food, and if we could find them, we
cared for little else. They are fruitful breeders,
particularly at this season of the year; and a
female has been known to carry two distinct
broods of young at the same time, and to
bring them forth three weeks after each other.
This astonishing fact I have witnessed myself,
and I have heard that the same thing has
‘occurred with the female hare, The usual time
of bearing is twenty-eight days. We now began
to venture out of the covert at night-fall, or
even before, being warned by our mother, when-
B 5