52 FUR BEARING MAMMALS. 



the Arctic fox {Canis lagopus), from which the valuable white skins are 

 obtaiued. 



As far as I know there is no export* trade in mole skins from 

 North China. This is doubtless due to the great scarcity of moles 

 Three species belonging, to the genus ScaptocJiirus are recorded from 

 North China, but these animals are nowhere common. 



Judging from the great number of rodents found in the country, 

 one might reasonably expect to find that at least some of them yielded 

 valuable furs. As a matter of fact the marmot {Marmota robusta) and 

 the grey squirrel {Sciurus vvlgaris) are the only two rodents in North 

 China, which have valuable pelts, and these only occur in the extreme 

 west, along the frontier of Thibet and Chinese Turkestan, and in Man- 

 churia and Eastern IMongolia. There are a great many varieties of 

 the grey or fur squirrel. They range in colour from red to dark grey. 

 In many districts they are red in summer and grey in winter. The 

 common squirrel of Great Britain belongs to this species. 



The marmot is a very large member of its genus. The Chinese 

 name is Ta la, or Han ta (Lit. Land otter), and in East Mongolia 

 Tarabagan. I am told that far fewer marmot skins reach Tientsm 

 now than formerly. It was this animal that was credited with spread- 

 ing the pneumonic plague, through the agency of its fleas, as is the 

 case with the common rat in Bombay and elsewhere. This may 

 account for the falling off in the numbers of skins on the market. 



