BADGER VICTIMS.
I have long feared that the spread of electric power may do much damage (along with its incomparable good) to wild animals until they learn the dangers ; but it certainly never occurred to me which animal would be the chief victim. I am credibly informed that over one not very large stretch of newly electrified railway in the South of England thirteen badgers were electrocuted within six months. The railways are a highway in more ways than most of us suspect. They are, for example, a most important agent in the distribution of seed. Was not a particular toad-flux carried by the draught of the train all the way from Oxford to Winchester ? Again, since the roads have been treated with tar, all sorts of birds have beets forced to resort to the railways for a dust- bath. The cuttings and embankments are favourite nesting sites. Once again, now that the roads are dangerous with speed and headlights, the quieter railways become a transport road for badgers, foxes and many vermin.
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