78 CASSELL'S POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. 



lmr)>-|Miint<>(l m\w.\f, the round head, the erect and triangular curs, (lie long liody, sliort limbs, 

 .iii.l i-l..n-.it.-.l thick and l.iish\ brush, constitute dinVrences which separate, the, former from the latter,. 



at least sub-generically. 



There is a remarkable distinction between the foxes and the (logs. In the latter, however great 

 the intensity of Unlit (<> which they may be exposed, the iris uniformly contracts around the pupil ill 

 thJbrm of a circle ; while, in the foxes, it' observed during the day, or under the influence of a strong 

 light, it is seen to close in a vertical direction, the j)ii]iil assuming the figure of a section of a double 

 convex lens. The object of this provision is evidently to exclude the rays of light in a much greater 

 degree than would lie eompatilile with the structure of a circular pupil; and it is, consequently, only 

 found in those nocturnal animals in which the faculty of vision is capable of being exercised through 

 the medium of a comparatively small portion of light. 



Such animals are necessarily incapable ( f bearing the full blaze of day, which soon becomes painful 

 to their eves, thus compelling them to close their pupils to such an extent as to render their vision 

 very imperfect. Much of the cunning suspiciousness of manner for which the fox is notorious, is 

 evidently due to this very circumstance ; his attitudes and motions necessarily partake of the uncer- 

 tainty of his vision, and he appeal's to be most cunning when he is, in reality, most short-sighted. To 

 shade himself as much as possible from the light, he hides himself in burrows during the day, and 

 prowls abroad in full possession of his perceptive faculties under the influence of a clouded night. 



THE COMMON FOX. 



THK ground colour of this animal, in its most usual state, is of a dull reddish - fawn, of various 

 degrees of intensitv, with a strong tendency to assume a blackish tinge along the middle of the back 

 and across the shoulders, and an almost constant production of the same hue on the sides of the muzzle, 

 the Ixtcks of the ears, the under surface of the tail, and the fore parts of the limbs ; the whole of the 

 under surface of the body, the insides of the limbs, the upper lip, and the tip of the tail, being most 

 commonly of a pure white. There is much variation in all these particulars, but the general distribu- 

 tion of colours is, in all cases, pretty nearly the same. In one variety the black of the back and 

 shoulders is strongly developed in the form of a cross ; and in another the fawn is much deeper, the 

 fur much closer and longer, and the tip of the tail black, instead of white. Similar variations in 

 colouring will be found to occur, also, in the other species. 



According to Linnseus, the Common Fox inhabits Europe, Asia, and Africa.. ( 'uvier mentions it 

 as extending from Sweden to Egypt both inclusive. It is said by Mr, Strickland to be found near 

 Smyrna. 



The female on whom devolves the entire care of the cubs breeds in April. She produces from 

 five to eight at a birth, preparing for them a nest at the bottom of her burrow, and lining it with dry 

 leaves, moss, and hay. Her maternal solicitude is now powerfully stimulated. She employs every 

 artifice to conceal her offspring ; she defends them with indomitable courage ; and, if she suspects that 

 her retreat is discovered, she carries them away one by one, to what she regards as a place of safety. 

 A female fox has been known to carry a cub in her mouth during a severe chase of nearly an hour, and 

 only to drop it, at last, from the impossibility of retaining her hold and of breathing freely in her 

 harassing circumstances. A terrier, on one occasion, scented a fox to the bottom of a pollard-tree, and 

 then up the tree, which the dog repeatedly but vainly attempted to climb; at length, the whipper-in 

 having managed to ascend, lifted the dog before him, and there, in a hole, twenty feet from the ground, 

 wag the fox, with four cubs that had been littered there for security ; and this hiding-place she must 

 have gained by the assistance of the roughness of the bark and the boughs alone. 



The cubs of foxes are very playful, and, like puppies, are fond of endeavouring to catch their own 

 tails. When about four months old, they shift for themselves. If captured, even at the earliest age, and 

 brought up with every kindness, the young fox retains its suspicious character. It may, perhaps, show some 

 familiarity with the person who attends it and supplies it with food, but it never manifests the attach- 

 ment, or the gratitude of a dog. On the approach of strangers, it will almost always conceal itself, or, 

 hould they attempt to touch it, repel their advances with a bite. A full-grown fox cannot be tamed. 



Vulpes vulgaris. Brisson. Canis vulpeff. Linnicua. 



