80 H. H. COLLINS 



The moult may be well under way before there are any evi- 

 dences of it on the surface. The details of the process can be 

 learned only by parting the overlying juvenal pelage and observ- 

 ing the new hair as it comes through the skin. The new post- 

 juvenal pelage is first seen on the surface, usually on the fore- 

 limbs, and somewhat later as triangular areas on the sides. 

 These lateral areas gradually become confluent, first, as a rule, 

 just posterior to the shoulders (figs. 5 and 6). 



After this 'saddle phase' (fig. 6) has been reached, further 

 growth for days or weeks may be limited to the region posterior 

 to the saddle. The direction of growth is posterior and, at the 

 same time, upward on the hind limbs from the lateral line, the 

 region above the base of the tail being the last to undergo the 

 change (figs. 3, 7, 8). 



On the ventral surface, the moult is regularly completed before 

 that of the dorsum. As shown in figure 2, growth proceeds from 

 the throat posteriorly. In many cases, there may be no super- 

 ficial indications of the change, though in some instances a de- 

 finite moult line^ may be observed. 



The moult is now completed over the whole body surface, 

 except the region extending on the dorsal surface from the tip 

 of the snout to the shoulders. The investment of this area may 

 occur soon after that of the rump, but usually only after an in- 

 active period which in extreme cases may be as long as two months. 



In this region the post juvenal pelage first appears, anteriorly, 

 on the tip of the snout, passing posteriorly tp the eyes, thence as 

 two diverging strips to the anterior insertions of the ears, the 

 intervening space being filled in by lateral and posterior growth 

 (fig. 1). Posteriorly, the moult line moves from the shoulders 

 forward toward the ears, where the two areas coalesce. Growth 

 in the two directions may occur simultaneously or that of one 

 region may be slightly in advance of the other. 



The post juvenal pelage is somewhat longer and coarser, though 

 still shorter than that of the adult, which it closely resembles in 

 color and texture. The general color effect is quite different 

 from that of the juvenal. It may be described as varying from 



^ The line separating the old and new pelages. 



