242 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 



part assured by his admirable covering of long hair as well 

 as by his capacity for taking on fat during the short summer 

 in sufficient store to last him through the trials of the winter 

 season. The kinship of the musk-ox to the group of the 

 sheep is near enough to warrant the belief that the hair 

 could be improved by selection, and that from the process 

 we would be likely to obtain an animal much larger than 

 our largest sheep and yielding fleeces of peculiar value in 

 the arts. 



Among the northern carnivora there are several species 

 which deserve attention for the reason that they may be 

 brought to some degree of domestication which may enable 

 us to make better use of their hairy coverings. Among 

 these we may mention the foxes, the polar bears, and the 

 seals. The first-named group affords at present about the 

 dearest furs of our markets. The silver-gray variety, which 

 at present seems to be a frequent individual variation, .could 

 doubtless be affirmed by selection, and probably could be 

 brought to a higher state of perfection than it has as yet 

 attained. The animals are, if we may judge from their 

 kindred, not untamable ; at least they could be brought to 

 live in a sufficient state of captivity to permit selection. In 

 time they might be quite domesticated. Many of the islands 

 of the high north and south are well fitted for such experi- 

 ments. 



As is well known, the polar bears have a wonderfully 

 developed hairy covering ; their coats, indeed, are among the 

 richest that exist. These animals subsist mainly on what 

 they capture from the sea, so that it might be possible to 

 keep them at a small expense. They are, however, of all 

 their kindred the most indomitable ; it would probably 



