the throw-sticks employed being about eighteen inches long and an inch or more in diameter. Possibly this sort of sport is alluded to in 1 Sam. xxvi. 20, where Saul is said to come out as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.' The Sinaitic Bedouins of the present day are clever enough in striking the desert partridge with a stone, when certainly it would be difficult to procure suitable throw-sticks.

sorts.

Of snares, nets and traps, there were probably many Seven Hebrew words are so translated. Job speaks of four ways of trapping in one passage: 'He is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare. The gin shall take him by the heel. . . and a trap is laid for him in the way' (xviii. 8, 9, 10). And there are numerous similar uses of these expressions. The usual term used in the Authorized Version is " snare.' Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth?' &c. (Amos iii. 5).

In two passages in the Bible the word 'cage' occurs, as it does also in the one above quoted from Ecclesiasticus. In Jer. v. 27 we read, ‘As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit.' The allusion here is to the basket-cage containing birds used as decoys, not to a pet collection. Or it may mean, as in the margin, a 'coop' containing a number of living birds to be sold for food. Again, in Revelation, 'a cage of every unclean bird' signifies properly a 'prison,' and it is unlikely that 'cage' in the modern sense can be intended.

There is no indication to be found in the Bible, that the art of falconry was practised by the Jews, though there is every reason to believe it is of the remotest antiquity amongst Eastern people. Neither can we find

anything to lead us to believe that dogs were used in the chase, although Egyptians and Assyrians employed these animals in this capacity from the earliest times into which we have any clear insight.

Fox (Heb. by shual).

The word shual, although always translated 'fox' in the Authorized Version, undoubtedly included the ‘jackal' (Canis aureus) amongst the Hebrews, and should so be rendered in most of the passages where it occurs, as may be seen by the context.

There are two varieties of fox found in Palestine. In the southern and central parts the Egyptian fox (Vulpes Nilotica) is the common species. It is very like our own fox, but a little smaller, and resembles it exactly in habits. In the northern parts of the country, another variety, the tawny fox (Vulpes flavescens), is met with. It also closely resembles our fox, but it is larger and of a lighter colour, with a finer fur.

In Ezek. xiii. 4 the false prophets are likened in their cunning to this animal; 'O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the desert.' And the deceitful Herod in Luke xiii. 32 is so described; 'Go ye, and tell that fox.' And, again, where the burrowing habit is referred to in Matt. viii. 20, 'Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His nead,' it is probable that the 'fox' is referred to. In another passage in the Old Testament 'foxes' are mentioned as destroying the grapes. But both fox and jackal have this predilection in the East, and both animals may in fact be regarded as omnivorous. It is stated that packs of jackals often commit great destruction amongst the vineyards, and the fondness of foxes

for grapes is proverbial. This is the more characteristic in Palestine, since animal food or carrion is scarce. In Ps. lxiii. 10 no doubt the jackal is intended;

'they shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for foxes.' Foxes are not properly to be regarded as feeding upon carrion. Jackals, on the contrary, prefer it,

and resort to graves and cemeteries for that especial purpose. Hence in Lam. v. 18, 'jackals' are also most likely intended.

Jackals never hunt alone, but assemble in packs of twenty to fifty or more, as a rule. In this habit they differ entirely from the fox, which is under no circumstances gregarious. From this fact it is most probable that 'jackals' were the animals turned loose in pairs by Samson (Judg. xv. 4) amongst the standing corn of the Philistines, with firebrands tied to their tails. It would be absolutely impossible that any such stratagem should succeed with foxes, who would inevitably pull in opposite directions, no matter how long a line might be given to the brand drawn by each couple. But jackals, accustomed to hunt in droves, might go straight across through fields and crops. Moreover the difficulty of procuring three hundred foxes would be very great, since the animals were very much fewer in number, and would require to be captured singly. An experiment to see how jackals actually would behave under such treatment would be very interesting, if it could be conducted without cruelty.

In the Authorized Version the word ‘jackal' does not Occur. It will be seen, however, that it is probable the animal was intended in many passages. Further instances will be found in the article BEHEMOTH, where I have endeavoured to show that iyyîm, translated' wild beasts of the islands,' should be rendered 'jackal.'

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Frogs are mentioned in the Bible in connection with the second of the Egyptian plagues (Exod. viii.), and again in Ps. lxxviii. 45, cv. 30. In Rev. xvi. 13 unclean

spirits are spoken of as being in the likeness of frogs which came out of the mouth of the dragon.

There is only one species of true frog in Egypt at present. This is the edible frog (Rana esculenta), which abounds on the Continent and is also an inhabitant

of some parts of Southern England. Other species of the tailless amphibians found in Palestine and the regions adjoining are the green toad (Bufo viridis), and less commonly the African toad (Bufo regularis). The beautiful little tree frog (Hyla arborea) is common