CLOTHING OF ANIMALS. 75 



longer and thicker as winter approaches, and thins 

 and falls off in the spring: this is called their win- 

 ter-coating, and preserves them from the cold. 

 The same thing takes place with cows and sheep. 

 Those animals which are sought after on account 

 of their furs, as the beaver, the fox, the hare, the 

 rabbit,' and others, are never hunted during the 

 summer, because the fur is then thin and short, and 

 of little value. As soon ? however, as winter sets 

 in, the fur ripens, as it is called, and rapidly in- 

 creases in quantity and length. 



Not only does the clothing of animals vary in 

 quantity, according to climate and season, but, in 

 many cases, it also changes colour. The arctic 

 fox, during the mild weather, is of a bluish-gray 

 tint, but becomes quite white during the severe 

 cold of winter. The Alpine hare, which inhabits 

 the mountains of the northern part of Great Britain, 

 has a coat of tawny- gray for its summer-dress, 

 but in winter it changes to a snowy whiteness. A 

 similar circumstance takes place with the ermine, 

 which, from a pale reddish-brown, changes to a 

 beautiful whiteness. This alteration in colour, 

 like the alteration in quantity, is a wise and benefi- 

 cent provision to preserve animals from the effects 

 of extreme cold. 



The colour of the plumage of birds, like that 

 of the hair of animals, changes with the season in 

 many instances. The ptarmigan, or white grouse, 

 during the summer, has feathers of an ash colour, 

 mottled with dark spots and bars; but as cold 



