278 WHALING AND BEAR-HUNTING 



general colour scheme of the floe, tempting one to drag in 

 the trite quotation : " Nature red of tooth and claw." 



We are inclined to dwell at some length on the theory of 

 the protective coloration of the fauna of the Arctic and the 

 Antarctic regions. For in these frost-bound portions of our 

 sphere there is frequently so much fog, or nebulous condi- 

 tion of the atmosphere, of such density that the naturalist 

 observer is compelled either to evolve theories or play cards. 



Another of the carnivorae of these high latitudes, Vulpes 

 lagopus or Arctic fox, has also by Nature been given a re- 

 markable skin as protective colouring of perfect whiteness 

 (value to-day about 12). Beyond doubt, as with the 

 bear, this resemblance of the colour of this skin to the sur- 

 roundings is in order to allow the fox to secure its prey 

 namely, the Lagopus hemilencurus or Arctic grouse, of which 

 it is particularly fond, as also of the Lagopus glacialis or 

 white hare of the polar Arctic regions. 



Now, seeing that the fox is singularly gifted with cunning, 

 a fact which has been universally admitted by naturalists of 

 all times, Nature, to prevent the complete extinction of the 

 smaller fauna, such as the hare, which has neither wings to 

 fly with nor fins to swim with, has also gifted the hare with 

 a white coat, and so the balance of Nature is preserved. In 

 the case of this Lagopus hemilencurus or Arctic grouse, 

 which, unlike the fox or bear, is unprovided with teeth with 

 which to protect itself, Nature, with its unstinted bounty, has 

 provided it with lateral appendages, one on either side, with 

 which it is enabled to fly ; thus it has, besides its protective 

 coloration, another means by which it can escape its natural 

 enemy, so the preservation of the less cunning but more 

 edible species is preserved. We might perhaps have thought 

 that, being provided with wings with which to take flight, the 

 protective coloration for this bird would have been unneces- 

 sary, but we must remember that the fogs of these high 

 latitudes, which have already been alluded to as affecting the 

 actions of the higher animal homo, put this bird to a dis- 

 advantage. For it has been stated (the writer need hardly 

 quote his authority here) the nebulous conditions referred to 

 in these high latitudes are sometimes of such density that 



