Identifier: familiarlifeinfi00math (find matches)Title: Familiar life in field and forest; the animals, birds, frogs, and salamandersYear: 1898 (1890s)Authors: Mathews, F. Schuyler (Ferdinand Schuyler), 1854-1938 Underwood, William Lyman, photSubjects: ZoologyPublisher: New York, D. Appleton and companyContributing Library: The Library of CongressDigitizing Sponsor: The Library of CongressView Book Page: Book ViewerAbout This Book: Catalog EntryView All Images: All Images From BookClick here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.Text Appearing Before Image:rch-enemy, man ; and in this country, where fox-hunting has not yet become common, the fox needs allhis clever wits to evade the cruel traps of the relent-less trapper who means business and not sport. It isa fair fight, though, between the fox and the trapper ;but the fox-hunters childish sport offers the fox nochance; it is all rank injustice ; he must run to hisdeath and make a holiday for idle men and a packof dogs. In spite of his adversaries the sagacious fox stillretains his place throughout the wilder parts of thecountry, and given some proper consideration he willcontinue to live without making serious inroads onthe shiftless farmers defenseless chicken roost. It isdoubtful whether he ever gets a chance to rob a manof thrift. Our failure to recognize the common THE FARMERS SLY NEIGHBOR. 217 rights of life among the animals often blinds us tothe fact that wild creatures are really beneficent other, and servants m one way or an-man is generally the oneIt is quite naturalthe foxText Appearing After Image:With a bedraggled hen. benefited,to picturewith a be-draggled henin his mouth ;but, as a matterof fact, he de-stroys a score ofsuch creatures asrats, woodchucks,rabbits, and moles,to every single hen. I know this by experience, fora casual examination of the vicinity of a foxs holelast summer revealed the truth beyond a doubt; butto be quite candid, I must admit that another foxsretreat revealed more chickens feathers than wouldguarantee my proportion of one to twenty. But all sorts of things and weatherMust be taken in togetherTo make up a yearAnd a sphere, and it happened that this particular fox took up hisresidence within a convenient distance of two shift-less-looking farms. 218 FAMILIAR LIFE IN FIELD AND FOREST. Not only are we apt to lose sight of the beneficentphase of wild life, but we are quite as prone to for-get that it possesses any joy. We think the foxstruggles for existence. What does he know aboutstruggling for food and shelter ? It is a joy to himto creep stealthilyNote About ImagesPlease note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.