Popular Btctionarj? of &mmatrtr $ature. 245 



CROSSED Fox. (Cunis decussatus.) The 

 colour of this animal's fur is a sort of gray, 

 resulting from the mixture of black and 

 white hair. He has a black cross on his 

 shoulders, from which he derives his name. 

 The muzzle, lower parts of the body, and 

 the feet are black ; the end of the tail is 

 white. It inhabits the northern parts of 

 America ; and it has been suggested as pro- 

 bable that it is only a variety of the Black 

 Fox. 



COURAC Fox. (Cants Corsac.) This 

 animal, which inhabits the vast plains of 

 Tartary, is, in summer, of a clear yellow- 

 ferruginous colour : in winter, mixed or 

 lhaded with giey, deeper on the back, white 

 on the belly, and reddish on the feet i the 

 eyes are surrounded with a border of white ; 

 and a brownish stripe runs from them down 

 the nose : the ears are short ; the tail almost 

 as long as the body, both the base and tip 

 being blackish. It commits great ravages 

 among the game ; is hunted with falcons 

 and dogs ; and it is said that not less than 

 forty or fifty thousand are annually taken, 

 sold' to the Russians, and a vast number of 

 them sent into Turkey. 



SWIFT Fox. (Canfs refer.) This beau- 

 tiful little animal, which is much smaller 

 than any other species, is distinguished by 

 its extraordinary speed, which, it is asserted, 

 surpasses the fleetest antelope, and seems 

 rather to fly than touch the ground in its 

 course. Its body is slender, and the tail 

 rather long, cylindrical, and black : the hair 

 is fine, dense, and soft. 



FOX-HOUND. Among those manly and 

 exhilarating field sports for which " Old 

 England " has so long been famous, fox- 

 hunting justly claims pre-eminence ; and in 

 the annals of the chase numerous instances 

 of speed, courage, and perseverance are to 

 be found which may well be ranked among 

 the marvellous. With this part of the sub- 

 ject, however, we have no legitimate busi- 

 ness, but merely allude to it, in order to 

 account for the extraordinary care and 

 attention which, for centuries, have been be- 

 stowed on this peculiar breed of dogs a 

 breed in which are combined, in the liighest 

 possible degree of excellence, fleetness, 

 strength, spirit, fine scent, perseverance, and 

 subordination. The Fox-hound is much 

 smaller than the Stag-hound, his average 

 height being from twenty to twenty-two 

 inches ; but in all the requisites for hunting 

 he is unrivalled. To be perfect, we are told, 

 " his legs should be straight as arrows ; his 

 feet round and not too large ; his shoulders 

 black ; his breast rather wide than narrow ; 

 his chest deep ; his back broad ; his head 

 small i his neck thin ; Ms tail thick and 

 bushy, and well carried." 



FRANCOLIN. The birds which are thus 

 designated bear so great a resemblance to 

 the Partridge, that many naturalists include 

 them in the genus 1'crdix; but there are 

 others who say that the Francolins are dis- 

 tinguished from the Partridges by the 

 beak being longer and stronger ; the tail is 

 also longer, &c. In the manners of the 



birds also there is a great dissimilarity, the 

 Francolins residing in damp places and 

 perching upon trees, whereas Partridges 

 always rest upon the ground. 



The COMMON FRANCOLIN (FrancoUnm 

 vuJfiaris) is upwards of twelve inches in 

 length : the upper parts of the head, hind 

 part of the neck, back, and wing-coverts 

 are varied with dusky and yellowish rust- 

 colour ; the sides of the head, neck, breast, 

 and belly are black ; round the neck is a 

 rusty orange collar ; the sides of the neck, 

 breast, and body are black, varied with 

 spots of white ; the lower part of the belly 

 and thighs striped with black ; the lower 

 part of the back and rump crossed with 

 alternate lines of black and yellowish white : 

 the quills dusky, marked with transverse 

 rusty yellow spots : toil rounded, the four 

 middle feathers alternately striped with 

 black and rusty yellow ; the others on each 

 side, with black and white for two-thirds of 

 their length ; the rest black to the tip : legs 

 reddish, and furnished with a spur. This 

 elegant species is found throughout all the 

 warmer parts of Europe ; other allied spe- 

 cies are met with <a Bengal, and are abun- 

 dant in Barbary and other parts of Africa. 

 It feeds upon insects and seeds : it has a 

 very loud whistle ; and its flesh is greatly 

 esteemed. 



The POXDICHERRY FRANCOLIIT (Franco- 

 linvs FontJicerianus) is a beautiful species. 

 Its length, including the tail, is fourteen 

 inches : the beak is red at the base and yel- 

 low at the tip i the top of the head is gray- 

 brown ; the forehead bright red, that colour 

 passing over the eyes like an eyebrow, and 

 ending on the back of the head : the breast 

 is alternately striped with whitish-yellow 

 and bright brown : the back, the greater 

 and lesser wing-coverts, and the rump, gray- 

 brown j the edges of the feathers with black 

 spots, and all of them with three reddish- 

 white stripes : the quills and secondaries 

 are gray, the outer v ebs striped with yel- 

 lowish white : the two middle tail-feathers 

 are gray, spotted, and crossed with four yel- 

 low-white bands; the belly and abdomen 

 are white, striped with semicircular bands : 

 the legs are red, and armed with a strong 

 spur. It is met with in parts of India, where 

 it frequents gardens and cultivated lands, 

 and is called a partridge. 



The PEARLED FKANCOLIX. (FrancoUmu 

 perlatus.) This species is common in China, 

 and is likewise known at Bengal, the Mau- 

 ritius, and Madagascar. Like the rest of 

 the Francolins, it is a forest bird, and perches 

 upon trees. The male of this beautiful spe- 

 cies varies from ten to twelve inches in 

 length : the feathers on the top of the head 

 are black, edged with red ; two longitudinal 

 black stripes commence from the beak, and 

 surround the eyes, leaving the space between 

 pure white, of which colour the throat is 

 also : the feathers on the hinder part of the 

 neck are black, marked with four longi- 

 tudinal white spots ; those on the top of the 

 back, the fore part of the neck, the breast, 

 and the lesser wing-coverts, are black, each 



