88 



CARNIVORA. 



tracts or districts do not produce a perfectly black skin 

 during a whole winter. A good black skin, with only 

 the characteristic white tip at the tail, will fetch from 

 £50 to £72. 



Some skins are silvery nearly all over ; that is, the 

 dark under fur is thickly covered with longer black and 

 white hair or fur ; such skins are very beautiful ; as a 

 rule, the more black there is in a skin the greater is its 

 value. There are a great many shades of colour, rang- 

 ing down to the pale silvery, and cross silvery skins, 

 which are much lower in price, say £4 to £8. 



The belly is generallj^ black, although occasionally a 

 spot of white fur of greater or less extent is found 

 there ; the tip of tail is invariably white, even in the 

 blackest skins ; the under fur or ground is dark dral). 

 The finest quality skins come from the Lal)rador coast. 

 The tail is extremely bushy and thick, and it has five 

 toes in its feet. About 1,500 to 2,000 skins are annually 

 sold in London : in 1891, 554 by the Hudson's Bay 

 Company, and 815 by other brokers from Alaska, 

 Canada, etc. 



The fur of the Silver Fox is one of the finest and 

 most expensive skins. It is usually made into muffs, 

 trimmings, etc., and is principally purchased for Russia 

 and France. It is also in favour, though to a less 

 extent, in England and Canada. 



Eichardson says : — " Like the two preceding varieties, 

 the black Silver Foxes have the soles of their feet thickly 

 covered with wool in the winter ; no callous spots being 

 then visible." 



