114 THE AECTTC FOX. 



underfur is of that colour. Often by a large development of the bluish- 

 grey parts of the hairs and a less degree of brown, the predominant 

 colour of the animal in summer becomes bluish grey. Sometimes, as 

 in a specimen in the British Museum, the back may be bluish grey, with 

 the sides and underparts nearly white. In another skin the apices of 

 the hairs generally are much darker than lower down, so that the animal 

 looks as if it was white, with a veil of grey thrown over it. 



As winter approaches the fur lengthens, the white hairs increase in 

 number, and all the hairs become white towards their tips, but remain 

 for a time grey towards their roots. When the perfectly developed 

 winter dress is put on, the hairs are wholly white, the animal becoming 

 of snowy whiteness, save the tip of the nose, and sometimes the tip of 

 the tail, which is occasionally black. 



But this perfectly, or almost perfectly, white condition is by -no 

 means constantly to be met with, as before said, even in winter ; so 

 many of the hairs may remain grey as to greatly diminish the brilliancy 

 of the white coat, or even to cause it to be predominantly grey. 



Richardson * tells us that many individuals retain a little duskiness 

 on the nose, and others remain more or less coloured all the year, while 

 a pure white Fox is sometimes to be met with in summer. The 

 duskiness may sometimes be due to the animals being young, for, accord- 

 ing to Hearne, the young are of a very dark colour. 



Prof. A. Newton f informs us that in Iceland all Arctic Foxes are 

 " Blue " Foxes that is to say, their winter coat is of nearly the same 

 colour as their summer coat. 



Our Plate XXVI., drawn from life, represents two individuals which 

 were living at the same time in the Zoological Gardens. 



Habitat. The Arctic Fox inhabits almost all hitherto explored lands 

 within the Arctic Circle, and descends southwards in the New World 

 to 50 north latitude, but (according to Pallas) not below 60 N. in 

 the Old World. 



* Op. cit. p. 84. f Loc. cit. p. 497, note *. 



