AMERICAN FOXES. 261 



The Fennec burrows in the earth, forming a den with many passages, 

 in which it sleeps by day, rolled up with its head under its tail. At sun- 

 set it leaves its home and seeks some spring, where it drinks eagerly 

 before proceeding on its nocturnal chase. Small birds are its favorite 

 food, but it is also very fond of fruit, especially that of the date-palm, 

 which it is said to possess the capability of climbing. 



THE AMERICAN FOXES. 



The Red Fox, Cajiis fulvus, is very plentiful in the Northern fur 

 countries ; it has long, fine fur, and has a much finer brush than the 

 European animal. The coat is of a bright ferruginous color on the head, 

 back, and sides ; the throat and neck a dark-gray ; the tail is not tipped 

 with white. 



In summer it burrows, in winter it shelters under a fallen tree ; it 

 preys on the smaller animals of the rat family and is fond of fish, but 

 rejects no animal food it can find. It runs for about a hundred yards 

 with great swiftness, but is easily overtaken by a wolf or a mounted 

 man. 



THE SILVER FOX AND THE CROSS FOX. 



The Silver or Black Fox, Cattis fulvus, van argentatus (Plate XVIII), 

 supplies one of the most valuable furs of the world, surpassing in 

 richness and beauty those of the beaver or sea-otter. The outer hair, 

 which is in some places two inches longer than the under fur, is soft, 

 glossy, and fine ; the under fur is unusually long and dense, feeling to the 

 hand as soft as sea-island cotton, and the separate hairs exhibit a crimped 

 or wavy appearance. This under-fur is uniformly blackish-brown ; the 

 long hairs are brown at the roots, then silver-gray, and then tipped with 

 black ; the tail is brownish-black to near the extremity, where it is broadly 

 tipped with white. 



The Silver Fox is by no means abundant, and presents considerable 

 variations in color. Some skins are brilliant black, with the exception of 

 the white tip to the tail ; others are bluish-gray. This white tip of the 

 tail is a characteristic of the variety. 



The Cross Fox, Cards fulvus, var. decussatus, is considered by Rich- 

 ardson a mere variety of the Red Fox. Its fur is nearly six times more 

 valuable than that of the latter ; the front of the head is gray, the ears 



