THE DOG FAMILY WOLVES. 169 



the price of the lynx and fox, the furriers saw an oppor- 

 tunity to utilize the wolf to meet the constantly increas- 

 ing call for good popular-priced long-haired furs. Wolf 

 skins are now being dyed black, blue and other shades, 

 and sold either for what they are or under some fictitious 

 name. The finer grades make articles as beautiful as they 

 are serviceable ; but as the best Siberian W^olves are now 

 worth from twelve to fifteen dollars each, and fine Ameri- 

 can skins are bringing as high as seven dollars, the 

 manufacturers have to depend upon other and lower 

 priced skins for their supply of "cheap" substitutes for 

 Lynx and Fox. 



Scandinavian Wolves are similar in shape to the Rus- 

 sian, but heavier, and deeper in the shoulders, and lighter 

 in tint. In winter they become almost white. The 

 wolves of Italy and southeastern Europe are fulvous, 

 but in the Pyrenees a Black Wolf is found that is more 

 common than the ordinary variety. The Wolves of 

 France are smaller and browner than those of Germany, 

 and the Indian Wolf approaches the Jackal in appear- 

 ance more nearly than any of the other Old World 

 wolves. The range of the wolf in the Old World extends 

 from the German Sea to the Pacific Ocean, embracing 

 all of Europe and the greater part of Asia. When 

 wolves attack cattle they bite their hind legs so as to 

 hamstring them, but their method of attacking a horse 

 is to spring upon his back, or to seize him by the but- 

 tocks taking care to keep out of the range of his heels. 



There is a difference of opinion among naturalists, as 

 to whether the American Grey, and the European Com- 

 mon Wolf belong to the same species, but it is certain 

 that the geographical varieties of both species differ 

 more widely among themselves than the type forms of 

 each do from one another, and it is safe to say that they 

 are identical. 



