THE BREEDING OF THE ARCTIC FOX. 529 



be disposed to entertain some doubt. In such cases he makes great 

 use of snow; for nothing is easier than to heap it up over the hidden 

 store, and then to press it down hard with his nose. A captive fox 

 often used an ingenious stratagem when he had no snow at his com- 

 mand. He would take the whole of his chain into his mouth, and then 

 carefully wind it up on the ground so as to hide his meat. When he 

 went awav, satisfied with having accomplished his object, he would, of 

 course, unwind his chain, and expose the meat. Thereupon, he would 

 go at it again, as before, with the utmost patience, recommencing five 

 or six times in succession, until, at last, tired of this business, he would 

 make up his mind to swallow his prey without having rendered it 

 more appetizing by keeping it underground. 



The Eskimos take the arctic fox in ingenious traps which, according 

 to Captain Parry, consist of a sort of little round hut of stone, closed 

 everywhere except on top, where there is a square orifice. This ori- 

 fice is closed by whalebone fixed only at one end, and passing across 

 the aperture. A little snow put on the whalebone makes the place 

 look like solid ground; but when the fox, attracted b}- bait so placed 

 that to get it he has to pass over the whalebone, puts his weight upon 

 it, it gives way, and down he goes, too deep to get out, while the whale- 

 bone springs back into place, all ready for another fox; and two are 

 often caught. 



The arctic fox, like many other animals, has a fur which varies 

 much, both in abundance and in color, at difi'erent seasons. This fur, 

 which covers even the plantar side of his paws, especially in winter 

 (thus at once protecting them against the polar cold and facilitating 

 locomotion over ice), is white in winter and in summer has a grayish- 

 brown color, giving a slightly bluish effect. This transformation of 

 the hair does not appear with other members of the dog family. Nor 

 does it invariably take place; for there are arctic foxes that remain 

 "blue" all the year round, while others never cease to be white. This 

 led F. Cuvier to distinguish two species, the one changing color and 

 the other remaining white. But, in fact, the two sorts of individuals 

 belong to the same species; indeed, young of the two kinds may occur 

 in the same litter, according to Schreber. On the other hand, it seems 

 that in Iceland all the foxes retain their blue livery all the year round, 

 never donning the white. 



Even in his winter costume the arctic fox is never completely white, 

 the nose and the end of the tail generally remaining black. Moreover, 

 many foxes become rather gray than white during the dark season. 

 Many are only relatively blue. This coloration presents numerous 

 differences of [chromatic] intensity. 



Seeing that the pelt of an arctic fox will sell for $20 or more, pro- 

 vided it be '• blue," and for nothing at all if it be white, it is not to be 

 wondered at that some ingenious spirits have been led to practice the 



