ON THE MAMMALIA OF THIS DISTRICT. 227 



howls I think this is the worst, and one's very 

 marrow seems to freeze on hearing it. 



The common fox (Canis vulpes, Lin. ; " skogs 

 raf," Sw.) was not nearly so common around here 

 as the Arctic fox (Canis lag opus, Lin. ; " fell riif," 

 Sw.) ; and I never heard of one being killed while 

 I was up. But the Arctic fox was very common 

 on these fells, and we got two old ones and four 

 cubs. The male was what they call the blue fox, 

 and considered rare. It was not, however, blue, 

 but a dingy black-brown ; the female was whity- 

 brown. The male weighed about 91b., or little 

 more than a good hare. The habits of these fell 

 foxes are curious. They appear to live in holes 

 under boulders of rock, and as soon as a man 

 approaches they just poke their heads out and bark; 

 but such a bark -just like the cough of a wheezy, 

 asthmatic old man. If you go near the hole they 

 withdraw; but as soon as you turn away they 

 come out again directly to have a look ; and this 

 curiosity often costs them their life. 



The fell hare (Lepus borealis, Nilss.). I never 

 saw more hares in any part of Sweden than here. 

 We used to find them in the small bushes on the 

 fell sides as well as on the fells themselves, and 

 any day we could have killed two or three, if they 

 had been worth the trouble of carrying home. 

 They did not appear to assume the grey summer 



