THE BLACK FOX. 51 



coloured coat of the cross species. The cross fox of 

 ordinary colouring, although far from numerous, is not 

 so rare as the black, and the value of their respective 

 skins is very different. Still a prime pelt of the former 

 will often sell for 5, the value generally being deter- 

 mined by the darkness of the colouring. The Indians 

 have an idea that age turns foxes black, and when 

 a dark specimen of the cross fox has fallen into their 

 hands, I have heard them regret that he was not a few 

 years older, so that he might have been black, and con- 

 sequently more valuable. 



Perhaps these views of the origin and species of the 

 black or silver fox may not be new ; at the same time, 

 I know that they are essentially different from what 

 has been the belief of the majority of naturalists. 



