6 THE FOX 



time to time. Those in the Midlands are probably 

 descendants of some Sardinian foxes turned down, it 

 is said, in the Belvoir country, or of the long-legged 

 variety, often imported, known as V. Melanogaster 

 from the dark colour of its under parts. This variety 

 is also found in Italy, the Ardennes, and Scandinavia. 



The fox is a member of the family Canida, 

 a notable and ancient race of which the foxes at all 

 events belong to the old world, no fossil remains 

 having been found in America up to the present 

 time. Although the Canidce are remarkable among 

 the families of the animal kingdom for their similarity 

 in structure and habits, yet the fox diverges from 

 the rest of the dog family to such a degree, that the 

 late Professor St. George Mivart considered it pos- 

 sible that the wolf and the fox may be among the 

 instances of animals much resembling each other in 

 structure and habits which are yet developed from 

 widely differing originals. The dog, the wolf, and 

 the jackal will interbreed, and in some cases the 

 hybrids are fertile. But the fact of a cross between 

 the dog and the fox still remains to be proved. 



Although, however, the existence of the cross 

 has not yet been proved, many competent observers 

 believe that it occurs. Mr. T. Smith, the author of 

 ' The Life of a Fox,' certainly thought that such 



